Tree Sap How do I get this off

[bora]

Apparently in my last trip, I picked a severe amount of tree sap both roof of truck and also the camper shell. I don't really care about the camper shell that much, but the sap or whatever it is bothers me A LOT.

I tried washing it off, polishing and then waxing it off, then I tried 3M Sap & Bug & Tar
remover still no luck.

Luckily I have none on the hood of the truck, and none on the rest of the body, but this still bothers me.

The truck is black so you can see these spots from a mile away.

What should I try next, not ready to repaint a 2002 truck yet.

Thanks

Bora

[mackin]

bora,

Try WD40........It took the tar off my car no problem, suggested here,sap is about the same....Thanks again guys and gals....Last resort prep-sol,it removes all the wax, so be prepared to wax on wax off.....Body shops use it as a final wipe prior to painting........

MAC

[ 08-10-2002: Message edited by: mackin ]</p>

[Paintdude]

If that fails you might try simple green or claybar the top surfaces...

[bora]

Thanks for the suggestions, I just tried WD-40 in a small spot. The sap is all gone, but apparently, the sap managed to eat through the clear coat in just one week.

I think my truck roof will need a respray sooner than later.

I keep on telling myself it is just a truck, but this is not working. Pretty sad to see my almost new truck tarnished like this.

Oh well, probably will get just the roof repainted within the year. I am going to leave the other tree sap spots alone for now.

[Paintdude]

A good coat of Zaino on a clean finish will keep that sap from bleeding through next time..

www.zainobros.com

[BadDog]

Hmmm, even a Poly or simple Carnauba wax should have protected better than that. Even without wax, modern Urethane clear coat should not be so easily damaged. Are you sure it was tree sap and not some something more caustic? Park near a coal burning plant and it started drizzling? I think I would go ahead and remove the rest of the sap and try a finishing glaze on it. If it has really damaged the clear, maybe it hasn't gone deep and a polishing compound might do the trick. I was born and raised in N. AL where tree sap of all kinds was common and I

[Paintdude]

I too have never seen tree sap do much damage to a cured finish..They claim it takes 500 hours (20 days)for most clear coated finishes to cure fully..

Bird droppings not cleaned off and baked on by the sun will damage the best clear coats...It is the baking on of the sun that helps what ever contamination that is on the surface do its damage.IMO.My new Duramax has one spot on the roof that had bird droppings on it that has damaged the clearcoat..It was like this when I bought it..

I would claybar the surface and see what happens..No chemicals is best..

[bora]

This is definitely not ash, acid rain, or bird droppings.

It does look organic, I thought it was tree sap but maybe it is not. Either way, the clear coat on the roof is gone in at least 20 spots.

I may try to buff these out so they look better, but it will need a repaint to get rid of that.

I think this truck has the worst paint job of any car that I have ever owned.

Bora

[Silver Bullet]

After seeing what diesel fuel did the undercoating this past weekend I think it would get the sap off, but it can't be good the for the paint!

[Vivayo]

"I think this truck has the worst paint job of any car that I have ever owned."
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I couldn't agree more! I'm pretty cautious about what I use to wash my vehicles, when I actually get around to washing them.
I've only washed my truck twice (that's because it's new - I usually wash my vehicles about 5 or 6 times a year) and it is already full of small scratches and swirls. I've seen kid's toys made in China that had a better finish than this truck. I bought it off the lot and it had some abrasions on it that I asked the salesman to have taken care of. When I picked it up he told me that they had done the best they could but he was afraid to have them try too hard. Now I know why.
I have a '93 Bonneville (with only 26k miles) and that GM paint job is great - one of the best finishes of any of the 15 new vehicles (12 GM, 1 Japanese, 3 European) I've bought over the years. After biting the bullet and paying what I did for this truck, I'd have gladly paid a little more for a decent paint job. I mean, just think what the factory could have done with another $1,000 for the finish. I plan to let them know about it if/when they send me one of those "satisfaction surveys".

[bora]

FYI,

I am starting a warranty claim for my truck's roof paint when I get back.

I talked a GMC dealer today when I stopped by to get my free toolkit (those of you that got the mailer would understand) and they said that the paint looked strange.

Oh well, when I come back from canada, I will get them to take a look at it.