Remove tree sap from paint

[Nigel Mercier ®]

Hope this isn't too fat OT. I need to remove a blob of tree sap from the paintwork on my car - it's about the size and thickness of a 1p coin.

Any suggestions?

[John Laird]

I used some acetone (nail varnish remover), but please don't sue me if it dissolves your paintwork down to the bare metal. I tried it first on a patch under a painted bumper and the metallic lacquer coat seemed to be unaffected. Nevertheless, I had some rags and liquid polish at hand to deal with any after-effects. Celloluse-like compounds are easily dissolved by ketones, and any house with a female inhabitant will have some acetone handy in this form (sniff it first and make sure it's not some softy substitute).

Americans seem to like something called a "clay bar", but I have no idea what this is or whether it is available in the UK.

[Michael McNeil]

Tree sap is turpentine -if it is from pine that is. Hard to imagine how you'd get it on your car from anything else. White spirit will shove it as will petrol. I doubt your paint will suffer from after effects from petrol.

[John Laird]

I'm sure I tried some white spirit, and maybe petrol. But then my memory is pretty crap these days...

[geoff]

In message , Nigel Mercier ® writes

Angle grinder