Hey, i tried searching and have tried every single thing people have done, and then some of my own ideas to get some tree sap off of my car.

It was from a tree that had little leaves that curled and they had sticky as hell sap on em. The sap was probably a week and a half old before i tried getting it off. I didnt think it'd be this bad because I've taken sap off of my last car using some adhesive remover spray.

Anyways, this is the worst tree sap ever, and on berlina it sucks because all of the buffing and trying to get it out just makes the surrounding paint look like shit.

I had sap in a bunch of different blobs on my hood, so i tried a couple different methods.
Here's what i tried...

Claybar: (took forever and barely took it down, but you can still see a ghost outline).
3M Adhesive,Bug,&Tar remover spray: didnt help at all
Turtle Wax Bug & Tar remover spray: didnt help at all
Fingernail: no help
Meguiars Clear Coat Scrub: no help whatsoever and actually dulled the paint a lil bit around the sap and flattened the sap a tiny tiny bit.
Meguiars Medium Cut Compound: no help and dulled the paint around the spots (i can buff it out the dullness with a lighter cut compound later hopefully).
Rubbing Alcohol: left it on a papertowel piece soaked on top of the tree sap, then tried rubbing off the sap after it sat for a few minutes. No help whatsoever.

Then i finally found something that semi-works. Simple Green Foaming Engine Degreaser. I sprayed it on, let it sit and do its thing. Then I wiped off and it helped a little bit. So i tried again, but then used the claybar along with simple green spray and it brought the sap down to just a tiny ghost outline left on the paint. I cant get it any better no matter how long i try (i tried one spot for an hour and a half of consistent Simple Green & claybar with it keeping the ghost outline.

Now, is there any other way to get this thing out, or do i need to just get a professional detailer to use a porter cable buffer and do his thing? My $35 generic Schucks auto store buffer doesnt do shit, just works kinda for wax and thats it.

any help in removing the last ghost bit of sap out of the paint would be greatly appreciated. thanks

 

you are on the right track- great article for ya:

http://www.bettercarcare.com/articles.php?articleId=7

 

As silly as this may sound, at my wifes suggestion, I tried butter and WTF, it took pine tree sap right off of a dark colored car with no effort. Margarine and olive oil will do the same thing. I've only tried butter, and it's perfect. Just put a dab on you finger and touch it to the sap and you'll feel the sap start to melt under your finger. Try this before the chemicals.

 

yea I get hit with sap at work all the time....but thank god I got rio yellow......

 

Might be wierd, but try wd-40. Its what i use to get random crap off my car.