Best clearcoat safe tree sap remover?

[harringtondav]

I fuss over our vehicle's finishes like I fuss over our boat's gelcoat. ...Clear coat is simple: Keep it clean, give it a coat of Liquid Glass LG100 once or twice a year.

But we have a large clump river birch over our driveway. In the spring it mists down sap. I try to keep the vehicles in the garage, but apparently I spaced this off once or twice. One car looks great, but when I wash and wax it I can feel the hardened sap tiny mist.

I've had luck with mineral spirits on fresh sap, but once it hardens the mineral spirits won't touch it.

Any recommendations on how to soften and remove the sap w/o stressing the clear coat?

 

[dingbat]

Finger nail polish remover

 

[harringtondav]

Finger nail polish remover

Thanks. But isn't the solvent in this stuff acetone? Most clear coats are a two-part catalyzed finish, but I don't know if acetone will damage.

I've got plenty of acetone. I'll spot test in a hard to see place.

 

[dingbat]

Thanks. But isn't the solvent in this stuff acetone? Most clear coats are a two-part catalyzed finish, but I don't know if acetone will damage.

I've got plenty of acetone. I'll spot test in a hard to see place.

Yes, it's acetone but watered down pretty well.

I've used it for years to remove sap when my wife would park under the pine trees at school.

Just cleaned a bunch off my daughter's hood last weekend

 

[Scott Danforth]

turtle wax has a bug/tar/tree sap remover. I glop it on thick, let it sit for a few hours, then use an old pair of pantyhose to scrub

then take a clay bar to it

then buff

 

[robert graham]

WD-40 on a rag will remove it....and it won't damage the finish. If the blobs of sap are large and mostly soft the edge of an old credit card is good for scraping....and again won't damage your finish....

 

[FunInDuhSun]

Mayonnaise! I use it to get pine sap off my truck and it works!

 

[82rude]

Cover with lettus and top off with a tomato!

 

[harringtondav]

turtle wax has a bug/tar/tree sap remover. I glop it on thick, let it sit for a few hours, then use an old pair of pantyhose to scrub

then take a clay bar to it

then buff

We recently had a bit of hail damage to our two cars parked outside at our river place. Nationwide adjuster came by yesterday.

He was previously a body technician. He recommended Meguiar's C2000 Mirror Glaze Detailing Clay.to remove the sap dust. He said follow buffing probably wouldn't be necessary. If it is,. I've got the stuff.

I'll take his advice. ...and the $5800+ he wrote for mostly paintless dent removal on the Dart and Ranger. I can live with the shotgun dents in the truck's aluminum pebble texture tonneau cover. That and a few near invisible trim dents that I can live with will cover our deductable.