I've just finished taking a bunch of dark brown dried sap spots off of my wife's car.

I used Coleman Fuel and fingernail effort. Then I washed and waxed.

 

i use goof off but i have no idea where i got it then i hit that spot with a little eagle one nano wax

 

coleman fuel? please explain w/ a little bit more info......if it's the same coleman fuel that i found when i did a search....is this too abrasive?

i may need to rephrase what hit me. it doesn't seem like it's the traditional tree sap that is like maple syrup. these looked more like bird droppings (from a tree??) that were about a bit larger than a quarter in size, and left a discoloration stain on the car after a wash.

 

Has no one tried the hot water power wash? It has worked great for me in the past.

 

[QUOTE=arrrmand,Aug 28 2006, 10:25 AM]coleman fuel?

 

I really would advise against using highly combustible substances to clean your car. It's just plain dangerous. There are other chemicals available which will not pose the same danger.

 

Giggity Giggity.

Yeah that doesn't look like something I would ever rub on my paint.

 

Really? It is not so different from gasoline that car paint MUST be designed to tolerate, at least in the area of the filler spout.

It can't be too different from turpentine or other hydrocarbon based sap removers. It really loosens the sap and tar spots and lets me get them off with much less fingernail effort.

I'm sure it would be dangerous if left open in large amounts, but I just pour a little on a cleaning rag and then close the Coleman Fuel container.

The main reason I "chose" Coleman Fuel is that I buy a fresh can each spring for my backpacking stove. I don't want "stale" fuel gumming up a stove jet in the backcountry, but I only use 1/4 to 1/2 gallon each summer, so I've got leftovers. It is not ideal for charcoal lighting and this is one way to use it up.

Anyway, my "test bed" is my wife's 1994 Accord with 115,000 miles, 13 years of outdoor storage and not great paint in spots.

My "target vehicle" to detar is my 1993 Prelude with pretty darned good paint, mostly indoor storage, and I want to make pristine after some touch-up body work coming in September (a tiny rust spot at the left wheel well, a ding on the trunk lid, and failing paint after a dentless-repair on the roof).

My S2000 paint is just about perfect. It has no tar. It is getting Dawn-Claybar-Dawn-ZXF-#5-#2-#2-#2 this weekend.

It should look as great as an '01 Silverstone can get.

:-)

 

Coleman fuel is just a really high grade of unleaded gas. I wouldn't be any more worried about using it than I am about the fuel that dribbles down the side of the car when I fill the tank.

 

ok, i have a better description after i showed my friend.

i don't think it's necessarily sap anymore, but rather just things that come from trees?

anyway, the best way to describe it now is to say that it looks like faint jizz stains on my paint (for lack of better description). it's really hard to get a picture of it, as it can pretty much only be seen under certain lighting under certain angles, but it's not the traditional maple syrup type sap that most of you guys are probably talking about.

anyone have an idea of what i'm talking about? highly corrosive bird droppings?