Removing pine pitch from car paint

[lakelover]

My wife parks in a parking lot at work that is surrounded by pine trees and there really isn't any place to park that's not under the trees. I noticed some pitch on the car in a few places that had dried and gotten hard.

I tried to remove it with vegetable oil, and then turpentine - no luck.

How do you remove pine pitch without dissolving the paint?

 

[dingbat]

Re: Removing pine pitch from car paint

Finger nail polsih remover

 

[Bondo]

Re: Removing pine pitch from car paint

My wife parks in a parking lot at work that is surrounded by pine trees and there really isn't any place to park that's not under the trees. I noticed some pitch on the car in a few places that had dried and gotten hard.

I tried to remove it with vegetable oil, and then turpentine - no luck.

How do you remove pine pitch without dissolving the paint?

Ayuh,.... Rub it with Butter....

real Butter, not oleo...

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Removing pine pitch from car paint

I have had excellent luck with brake parts cleaner or carb cleaner......sprayed onto a paper towel and rub the pitch away. My wife works at an office and parks under a pine tree all the time and during the hotter weather it really drips. Just did her Toyota yesterday.

 

[foodfisher]

Re: Removing pine pitch from car paint

Wd40

 

[ehenry]

Re: Removing pine pitch from car paint

We have lots of pines around here. I've found that brake parts cleaner works as good as anything.

 

[rivermouse]

Re: Removing pine pitch from car paint

Has anyone tried to freeze it and then chip it off?

 

[Silly Seville]

Re: Removing pine pitch from car paint

Finger nail polish remover

Yep...or straight up acetone! But you better be ready to wash and wax that spot immediately to protect the paint.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Removing pine pitch from car paint

Has anyone tried to freeze it and then chip it off?

Nice idea but it does not remove it very well....... take that from a person who lives where it really freezes in the winter and the parts cleaner still works best.

 

[Fishing Dude too]

Re: Removing pine pitch from car paint

Spray with silicone let set spray again then it slides off after several sprayings

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Removing pine pitch from car paint

I would not be using acetone on car paint and that is what finger nail polish is.

 

[lakelover]

Re: Removing pine pitch from car paint

I would not be using acetone on car paint and that is what finger nail polish is.

I have to admit, that one made me a little nervous and I'm going to try some of the others first. At any rate, I got lots of iedas to try, thanks everybody. I'll post back & let you know what I used. (The car is back at work parked under the trees as I write this, I'll probably have more to deal with now :facepalm. It will be an ongoing battle.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Removing pine pitch from car paint

Clay bar might work, too.

 

[ehenry]

Re: Removing pine pitch from car paint

I'm tying to be a smart@$$ here but Bob_VT is correct. I use brake parts cleaner or carb cleaner just like he says on my 67 Chevell. The car has a true black lacquer paint job and those has never affected the paint at all.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Removing pine pitch from car paint

Carb cleaner is often made of acetone and MEK. Really don't think you should be putting that stuff on your paint.

http://www.schmeling.com/msds/gumout_carburator_cleaner.pdf

Brake cleaner is often made from Trichloroethylene and is a product used in paint stripping...again, I wouldn't be using that either.

 

[Tim Frank]

Re: Removing pine pitch from car paint

Turpentine works well, and is pretty gentle by comparison to some other options.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: Removing pine pitch from car paint

I use bug and tar remover. then I wax the snot out of the car a few times to prevent sap from sticking in the future.

denatured alcohol and WD-40 work well to remove sap. soak a cotton ball or a few sheets of paper towel and place over the sap, put something over it to hold in place for a few hours. come back and wipe clean with the alcohol. then spot-wax the area to protect the paint.

 

[hungupthespikes]

Re: Removing pine pitch from car paint

Been fighting the same problem for over 30 years.

http://googone.com

If it's dry then your SOL, and will have to use something that will attack the paint.

Like Scott said "I wax the snot out of the car a few times to prevent sap from sticking in the future."

 

[lakelover]

Re: Removing pine pitch from car paint

Turpentine works well, and is pretty gentle by comparison to some other options.

I tried turpentine, but it didn't work too well on the dried, hard stuff. It was just before she was leaving for work and maybe I wasn't patient enough. Today's the day I can work on it.

When I was a kid, my cousin and I used to use sticks to burst the pitch bubbles on spruce trees. We'd come home with the stuff, and an added layer of dirt, all over our faces and hands. My father would get out his can of turpentine and a rag, and scrub us raw until it was all removed and we stunk to high heaven. Good excuse for a couple kids to go jump in the lake! Fond memory! (I still like the smell of it!)

 

[dingbat]

Re: Removing pine pitch from car paint

I would not be using acetone on car paint and that is what finger nail polish is.

There is a huge difference between finger nail polish and the advanced one and two-component polyurethane clear coats in use today.

Here are some of the performance specs for a common OEM clear coat

? ASTM D4752 MEK resistance: Greater than 1500
? ASTM D1308 chemical spot resistance: no effect
? ASTM D1308 skydrol immersion (7 days): no effect

Wiping the surface with a rag saturated with a product designed for use in contact with human skin isn't going to phase this stuff. I've been using finger nail polish remover for years and it doesn't bother the finish one bit.