My dad parks his Ranger under a pine tree in his driveway and he has gotten some sap on his paint. Unfortunately, he let it sit there forever and now he can't get it off. Does anyone know of a good product I could use to try to get it off before I detail the truck for him? Thanks guys.

 

Hey Sherm,

Hot water has always worked for me. A soft sponge will help, but will also probably scratch the paint slightly. Do you live near any power washing boothes for cars/trucks?

SL

 

What worked for me is regular rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball (or one of those cotton Makeoffs for women). Just put some alcohol on the cotton, apply it to the sap, keep it there for a few seconds, kind of rub it around. It should eventually alleviate from the surface.

I know I had tree sap on my previous car that had been sitting there for years. It came off, nonetheless! Good luck.

The alcohol didn't make any marks the first time I did it, but the second time around it kind of created a haze in the paint. I'm not sure if I used the same percentage alcohol content each time but the car was a 93 and well that may have something to do with it...

But if you're gonna use the alcohol method, you must re-wax.

 

Try a clay bar and then gently rub with a cotton towel while spraying WD-40 on the area keeping it damp the entire time. If it's not too engrained, it will come off.

Good luck!

 

Thanks for the info guys, I give it a shot.

 

Use turpentine or mineral spirits. Yes, it will take off any wax but it will not harm the paint at all. Mineral spirits and turpentine are made from sap, so they are very effective at dissolving dried sap. Take it from somebody that climbs trees for a living.

 

wd40 will take it off

 

Alcohol works well, but Rain-X is the best I've ever found. You'll be surprised how fast the sap comes off. I've never seen it damage paint, but try it somewhere out of site first.