Around 1976 I purchased a product made by 'Snap,' a company I had never heard of at the time. I used the product on my then-new 1976 Pontiac Trans Am.

I had been using the kerosene-type products to remove tar from my vehicles. These products were made by Turtle Wax, etc., and basically the products were kerosene in a can. Some were liquid and others were spray-on. These products worked, but it took lots of time and even more 'elbow grease' to completely remove the tar from vehicles. The spray-on products were just aerosol versions of the liquid products.

The Snap product was kerosene-based, too, but when applied to the vehicle it had the appearance of shaving cream. It stayed where it was applied; it didn't run down the side of the vehicle and puddle on the ground. Leave the product on the car for about twenty minutes and the tar would wipe off with zero effort. You wouldn't believe how smooth the finish was following the use of the Snap tar remover.

Needless to say I was sold and used a lot of the product. One can would do one or two cars.

After a few years, I could no longer find the product. My guess is the kerosene attacked the paint jobs on vehicles with less-than-perfect paint jobs, especially since the cream held the product on the paint finish. This was before, or in the early days of, clear-coat paint jobs.

My question is this: does anyone make a similar product now? I'm willing to bet this product would not attack the clear-coat paint on modern vehicles.

 

WD40?

Works well for me.

 

Ok, you're not going to believe this, but I saw this very subjuct covered on a DYI show and immediately thought of this thread. Their solution? Creamy Peanut Butter! The cheaper (oilier) the better! You can use your fingers to apply to the tar/grease and rub gently until the gunk is lifted and removed. Wipe the area down with a damp cloth and clean with some soap & water. Won't scratch, smells good, is cheaper and easier on your paint than a bunch of solvents.

Heh, heh...Skippy or Peter Pan?

 

The base ingredient in most tar removers is mineral spirits. I use just plain mineral spirits and it works fine and does not remove Zaino or paint.

 

That’s just common sense.

 

I still use a combinaton of kerosene & water. Real easy & no problems.

 

Some guys are using wet Bounce fabric softner sheets to remove bugs & tar!

 

had a problem like this after I drove over fresh payment. Use a clay bar followed by zanio and came out perfect

 

citrus Greased Lightning...spray on - let sit for a couple minutes....wipe off with car wash solution and wash mitt...

 

does wd40 ruin the paint over time? i used it on my z32 when i got it on the paint when i cleared out the taillights, but that was a one time thing, then i washed it with soap and water..

 

You should contact one of the major car care product manufactures, and make a suggestion about a “foam cleaner.” An example is a tar cleaner for the bottom side of the car. Spray on the foam, and it sticks instead of running off.

If they adopt your idea, then maybe you’ll get some sort of royalty from the sale. Say ten cents a can. If they sold a million cans, that would give you…I don’t know but its a lot of dimes.

 

The likely problem with a foam cleaner is surface tension. Foams are bubbles that form and stay together based on surface tension of the liquid they are made from. An oily base like WD40/mineral spirits/kerosene wouldn't bubble and make much of a foam.

 

As far as I've seen, no it will not ruin the paint over time.

The use of WD40 was an idea I picked up from watching HorsePowerTV on TNN (SpikeTV). They claimed that it won't harm the paint nor strip the wax.