My car got sapped

[davester]

For some types of saps, the fats in butter (yes really) will dissolve the sap. Give it a try.

[JEBB]

If it is lipid soluble, motor oil or cooking oil should take it off. The remaining oil should wash off easily with dish detergent.

[kap]

After all that work I will certainly have myself a peanut butter sandwich or a salad with a dash of cooking oil

Will test a small area with all of these suggestions. Thanks again!

[Grateful11]

I always heard that dish soap also removed wax from the finish but in this case it maybe necessary just to get the sap off.

[SteveO]

Ditto the natural solutions first (always start mild!). If those don't work, go to your auto parts store and ask what will safely take off the sap. Those guys and gals know that stuff -- and sell it!

[C(-)ris]

Try using a clay bar on the spots after you have removed the sticky crap. That should remove the sap unless it is really deep into the paint. You can find a clay bar at most automotive stores.

[BernDog]

Another vote for WD-40. My wife drove over a patch of highway a couple years ago that had very very recently been tarred. Unfortunately, there were no signs and before we knew it we had tar on the bottom 3-4 inches of her entire car. It took a lot due to the surface area involved, but WD-40 did the trick lickety-split. Absolutely no finish damage at all. If you have a large area, try to find the gallon cans rather than aerosol.

[Baby Tats]

The chemist says, "First rule of solvation: like dissolves like."

You have tree sap so I would go for a tree based solvent. The obviuos first choice is turpentine. Another option as samintx mentioned would be a citrus based cleaner with a high percentage of limonene (citrus oil) in it. Limonene is a terpene somewhat similar to the terpenes found in turpentine. Use a soft cloth and rub softly.

Since carnauba wax is also highly soluble in turpentine you will have to wax the car again. But if you are putting any of the above solvents on your car you are probably going to need to wax it again. In fact, if you are like most people then it is time to wax your car anyway so use this as an excuse to do it. Afterall, after removing the spots and washing it, it would be a shame not to give it a good coat of wax. Your '86 will love it. I am partial to Mother's brand but no matter what you buy make sure it is a paste carnauba wax.

Another nice thing about turpentine is that it is great for removing wax that may get onto your trim pieces when you are applying it.


BT

[bruceko]

Don't know about palm tree sap but Laquer thinner gets fir tree sap off really well.
Don't rub just let a rag soak the pitch for a minute.
It doesn' hurt the paint finish.

[karsen]

Before you try anything to aggressive give fabric softner sheets a try. Take one, moisten with water and rub. The texture of the sheet along with the softner works to safely remove almost anything from cars.

I've use this method to remove love bugs every year and even pine sap once.