Any tips to get very hardened sap off paint?

[LonelyOilFunnel]

The sap has been on the paint for 6+ months. I’ve used isopropyl alcohol and hand sanitizer which works well on the fresh sap but now the old dried on stuff.

 

[vavavroom]

Denatured alcohol. You could also try a rag with a little kerosene or lamp oil on it.

 

[CharBaby]

The )))HOTEST((( water that you can manage with rubber gloves.

 

[Danno]

Soak some paper towel with WD40, spray the sap with WD40, then put the soaked paper towel on it for a few minutes. Should work. Mask the area with soap(blue Dawn) and water immediately after as the WD40 will soften the paint/clear coat.

 

[demarpaint]

WD40 and Turpentine have worked for me. Be patient and go easy. Make sure you wash the area down real good when you're done. Then re-wax the area.

 

[Egg_Head]

Put a healthy dollop of Duke's Mayonnaise directly on the sap, cover with a wet paper towel and wait 2 days.

 

[4WD]

I tend to start with mild first - baby oil can actually clean a few things for example … Then Dawn …

 

[CharBaby]

Be careful with mayo as it has eggs in it and we all know what eggs do to paint.

 

[Kira]

FYI: "Cover with a paper towel" doesn't mean an entire paper towel. Seriously, just enough to cover the spot. Keeping that wee patch of toweling wet without wasting solvent is the chore.

Mrs. Kira was the proud owner of a dark green Honda Accord when we met. The hood was a field of hardened sap.
Helen Keller should have read it before I cleaned it.
Repeated denatured alcohol "soaks" followed by gentle scraping with my thumbnail eventually chewed through the blobs.
And yes, do it quite warm.
The plastic single edge "razor blades" I found well after completion of this job would've helped.

Tragic note: The sap shielded the paint from fading so afterwards, the hood was leopard spotted.
That effect did fade some with time.

 

[97prizm]

The sap has been on the paint for 6+ months. I’ve used isopropyl alcohol and hand sanitizer which works well on the fresh sap but now the old dried on stuff.

Stoners tar remover. Works great. I detailed many a vehicle and it seems to work the best. They have it at Walmart next to the stoners invisible glass.

 

[Marcozi]

Try carnuba wax. Let it sit on the sap for a few minutes. The oils in the wax will soften the sap.

 

[Hermann]

This is a case for soaking, no matter what you use.

 

[John Galt]

 

[ARCOgraphite]

If it's white pine rosin, IPA. My car is covered with blobs and I was too lazy to clean it this Fall. We got so may pine cones dropping this season they covered the road almost completely.

I have found that Kingsford Charcoal lighter fluid (Kerosene: C13-C14 isoparafin) works well.

Uhh - DON'T light it !

 

[Kira]

Parking under pine trees or any other thing that deposits (verb) is all the reason one needs for waxing a car.

 

[wpod]

I wouldn't worry about is especially after 6 months unless you are like me and it takes time to fester and finally annoy me to get the job done.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Parking under pine trees or any other thing that deposits (verb) is all the reason one needs for waxing a car.

I put NuFinish on - It only seems to last one to two months, Does anything work on clearcoat?
My days of sealing and then mothers carnauba on top are long past

 

[Kira]

There are so many products out there it isn't funny.

We used to drive through dairy country and the cow manure would dry like dental adhesive along the lower body panels of Dear Mom's Taurus.
It was grey and I'd daub Nu-Finish on it and not even buff it out.
After the Summer trips I'd wash the manure off with water and a soft brush.
Cheap car wax for the win!

 

[spasm3]

I have sap, that only acetone will remove. It's not great for the paint, but it's the only thing that works.

 

[LonelyOilFunnel]

Thanks to everyone that responded! Much appreciated brothers