Tree sap is the big issue I have with the Z. No garage space, tons of pine trees around and the car sits there all night every night. Right now there are probably close to 15-20 drops of sap on the car. Sometimes they dry and just wash off, other times they stay and will not come off. Some spots have been sitting on the paint for months. I know that's bad but they won't come off!

I have tried a bunch of different retail store sap removers and they do nothing. I ordered the Wurths stuff from proper auto care and that works a little but you have to scrub so hard I'm afraid of scratching the paint. Is there anything that just dissolves the sap? There is a coat or two of zaino on the paint before the trees started letting loose in the springtime so hopefully that protected the clearcoat a bit, but I will probably have to resurface the CC with my porter cable and put up one of those tent garage things.

Any thoughts?

 

mb27,

When it comes to tree sap, I've got a similar situation to yours...no garage space, pine trees lining the driveway, etc. I used to have some sap remover I used for this, but I've recently discovered that ordinary rubbing alcohol and an all-cotton towel works even better (and won't wreck the paint). Dab a little alcohol on the towel, and gently rub the towel on the sap before the alcohol evaporates. It will probably take you 2-3 rub downs to get it off completely , but it does the job. If it's really stubborn, try using a clay bar on it (Mother's California Gold Clay works well). The clay will pick up the heaviest stuff, and then the alcohol should take off the rest. I also spray it down with instant detailer when I'm done to restore the shine.

--CP2
Super Black Enthusiast, 5-speed auto...tunes by iPod

 

If you have some on glass, use ice on the sap. Works great.
Not so great on paint though.

Thanks for the rubbing alcohol tip!

 

Hmmmmmmm. I'll give it a try tomorrow after work. Thanks for the tip!

 

aaaahhh...i dont reccomend removing it yourself...tree sap ate right through my paint...and it wanst even there that long...take it to a detailer..cause if it screws up (it might be inevitable) then you can blame it on them

 

might be worth looking into a cheapo all weather car cover to protect against the sap.

 

Dammit, now I have a bigger problem. The alcohol did remove the sap somewhat, but left a thin film of sap on the car which is smeared all over. The car looks horrible, like someone took a sponge with elmers glue and wiped it across. I tried washing and claying but it's still there. I may have to buff it out, I don't know.

Little help here