Tree Sap+My '66 Show car=Pissed.

[Sexylil66]

Okay. I have a '66 coupe. She's a show car, my show car.

Anyways, I don't have a garage, I have a carport. Sad I know. But I'm car poor.

So about 2 1/2 to 3 feet of the front end are exposed to the elements outside. And my house is surrounded by trees...

Needless to say, my paint job has been damaged by tree sap. Which sucks.

I don't want to wax the car, I don't want swirl marks in the paint job,
very expensive paint job...

One of my car guys told me to use a clay bar, and that would take out the tree sap.

Has anyone ever used a clay bar? How do they do? How does it work? Any swirl marks, scratches or other things to be aware of?

This is my baby, so you can understand why I am freaking out:

[chris]

if you let the tree sap sit too long on the car, it will chew into the paint......i know because it happened to me. i have a nice quarter sized blemish in my hood. i think the sap was on my car for a few days before i knew about it, plus it was middle of the summer, so it got baked in pretty good. lucky for me though my hood also got nailed with a lead pipe bouncing down the freeway while driving 70. so no one even notices the tree sap now

i do have a new hood that i am waiting to get painted/installed.....

as for the clay bar, i have used them a few times....usually once a year i try to use it. i use nothing but zaino products on my car and nothing else. i have tried mothers, meguirs, zymol, and just about everything else and nothing is as good as zaino imo.

good luck with the tree sap though, hope you can get it out without any issues.

[Trinity]

Originally Posted by Sexylil66

Okay. I have a '66 coupe. She's a show car, my show car.

Anyways, I don't have a garage, I have a carport. Sad I know. But I'm car poor.

So about 2 1/2 to 3 feet of the front end are exposed to the elements outside. And my house is surrounded by trees...

Needless to say, my paint job has been damaged by tree sap. Which sucks.

I don't want to wax the car, I don't want swirl marks in the paint job,
very expensive paint job...

One of my car guys told me to use a clay bar, and that would take out the tree sap.

Has anyone ever used a clay bar? How do they do? How does it work? Any swirl marks, scratches or other things to be aware of?

This is my baby, so you can understand why I am freaking out:

First thing I'd do if this was my car is get a cover. It doesn't have to be the most expensive on the market.... an off-the-shelf cover at AutoZone will protect the paint while sitting in the carport. Case in point, mine is covered the moment I come home from work and once I arrive AT work. My co-workers think I'm nuts but hey... they don't have a collectible mustang that they adore so what do they know...

Anyway... 1) stop further damage then 2) address the current damage. Has the tree sap etched into the paint? I assume you have a clear coat finish? (Looks like it.) Clay Bars would be the ticket just be careful. One trick would be to break the bar into quarters so that if you drop a piece you are only out 1/4 of the bar rather than having to throw out the whole thing. If you use plenty of liquid, follow the directions, and use the bar in the shade, then you should be fine. If you aren't sure about doing it yourself, you may want to find someone whose done it before to do it for you or show you how.

Hope that helps!

[asimmons04]

WD-40 is the BEST way to get it off. It eats it like acid, BUT will NOT hurt your paint in any way. The only thing you'll have to do is spray it on the blob of tar and let it sit a minute. then wipe it off. you may have to do it a few times. Then wash the car with your regular car wash stuff to get the WD-40 off. Also works for road tar and bugs.

I have done it 32389898439 times on mine. best of all you wont have to scrub on your paint to remove it. it melts the tar so you just wipe it off a few times.


Drew

[Sexylil66]

Thanks for y'all advice.

It's not damaged the paint too bad yet.

It is a clear coat...very expensive paint job.

I have a tent that I use at car shows to keep the sun off us, I've put that up over the area of the car that is exposed.

I really hate using car covers, I've heard some horror stories about paint bubbling up...and in Ga we have some serious humidity....

I used the clay bar/wax on my '00 earlier today, the paint on it is shot to hell, and it really helped out with the damage on that car...

[gvervoren]

Just remember, if you have any type of protection on your paint, the clay bar will take it off and you will have to reapply. I know you don't like wax but lets say you did have some on your car, the clay bar will completly remove all the wax. I claybarred my stang and I was very pleased.