So i was driving along and the car to the side of me flings a bag off the front of it's airstream. It flys into my lane and then goes under my car. It gets stuck on one of the exhaust bolts and is now burnt to my pipe right where it splits. i was wondering if anyone knew how to get the gunk off. it smells pretty bad and it's really annoying. thanks

 

Hmm at this point I would say, 1 of 2 options, Use a plastic type scraper or maybe a screw driver with electrical tape on it, or just pull any excess off and let the remainder melt off, I would not be overly concerned with it causing a fire or anything like that, but you never know. Depends how much it bothers you and how bad you want it off. Unfortunately chemical solvents may not be your best choice. If you were really careful, wheel cleaner might do the trick...someone else chime in and help this guy out

 

hey thanks a bunch for the quick reply. Yea i don't think its going to catch fire because it's pretty far back in the pipe but just to be on the safe and non-smelly side, I want to get it off.

 

What about some type of scuff pad?

 

Remember "likes dissolve likes". Since plastic is a petrolum product, and petrolum product should eventually dissolve or soften the melted plastic.
The downside- these products are also flammable. You might try dissableing the car so it cant be started and soak some rags in diesel fuel and wrap the affected area for a few hours. Hopefully, this will soften it enough so you can wipe or scrape the residue off.

 

i would just keep driving and it will burn off. it should be totally gone is a few days. i have done this before, so i speak from experience.

 

Thats what i would do aswell..

 

I would try some acetone or dichloromethane (methylene chloride), both can be bought at the local hardware store paint remover section. Make sure the exhaust is cool to the touch...and work in a ventilated area...no open flames or incandescent bulbs with the acetone (protect your eyes as well). Also, if the dichloromethane gets on your hand under a ring or in a cut it hurts like the devil until it evaporates, but isn't permanent.

 

i see this all the time in the summer months. scrape off the larger peices with whatever you have handy. large screwdriver, heavy knife, metal file, scraper. then sand down the rest. this is of course, if youre very anal about the bag on your pipe. otherwise, just let it burn off.
i found the ziploc logo from a ziploc bag that got stuck on an exhaust pipe once. looked pretty neat.

 

Alright thanks guys. it's been a few days and it's not really gone.. i'll wait another week and if it's not all gone then i'll get up under there and scrape/sand it off. thanks again.