sap stains on my car

A few months ago I posted about the problems caused by pine sap on my car.

I did manage to remove the sap itself.. but there were "spots" left
behind..

I finally have a decent camera and took some pictures of them:

http://www.evangar.com/cgarcia/96civic/

It still feels smooth, like the clearcoat is still there. There's no
noticable "dip" in the paint when feeling across it..

I'm guessing the only way to go about fixing these things is to wet sand,
and repaint.

 

Or use sap remover.
http://www.google.com/search?&q=pine+sap+remover
http://www.gardenpower.com/projects/easy/02056.html

WD-40

 

TCS <> decided to join the
conversation on 23 Jun 2004 with message

well I tried sap remover.. it doesn't work on sap that's been on the car
for 7 years.. previous owner kept it under a pine tree.

i tried a clay bar.. it actually took off some of the newer spots.. but
some of the older spots remained.. so i tried rubbing alcohol.. it
dissolved the sap and allowed me to remove it.. but left behind the spots
under the clearcoat..

long story short.. i've already removed the sap. but thanks for the
suggestion

 

How did you remove the old sap ? Did you hurt the paint finish?

 

Jim decided to join the conversation on 27 Jun 2004 with message

Well the older stuff I used rubbing alcohol on.. It dissolved the sap
very easily.. I don't think the alcohol itself hurt the finish.. I washed
the car immediately after and gave it a good waxing and now all that's
left is the grey spots from the sap..

I'd be willing to bet the spots are from when the sap first fell, it was
clear, and rounded in shape, basically making a nice little magnifying
glass on the car.. The sun shining down on the car and the sap magnifying
the light AND heat probably caused the paint damage..

 

paint looks ok... its the clearcoat thats damaged.

 

SoCalMike <> decided to join the conversation

Interesting.. now that i take a close look at it (the magnification the
camera provides helps ) , i can see the green/blue "speckles" under the
.... whatever they are... scuffs? stains? polka dots?

How would you recommend fixing it?

 

Interesting theory, but I think the damage was chemical. A lens can't
concentrate any significant amount of light, or heat, immediately
adjacent to it's surface. The focal point of that little sap
magnifying glass would have been somewhere below the paint where the
light couldn't penetrate.

Ron

 

Milleron <> decided to join the conversation

True.. It'd be kinda like holding a magnifiying lens directly on the
ground and expecing it to do something .. and if it WERE magnified, the
affected areas wouldn't be in the same shape as the sap..

.... now that i think about it

 

A good quality surface cleaner. Meguiar's Clear Coat Body Scrub comes to
mind as a pretty good one. It takes out sap and water stains. If it's
really serious, Meguiar's also has professional surface cleaners. There
are similar products from Mother's and 3M.

 

(y_p_w) decided to join the conversation on 28 Jun 2004
with message

I'll check it out... Thanks!