went out to my car today and it has several spots of something sticky… not sure what. I rubbed at one and it came off along with the paint!!
Now I am left with some sticky spots and a rust looking spot.
My question now two fold
1. Should I do something about the little spot where the paint was removed? Something I can put on it to stop it from growing?
2. What do I do to take off the zap from the other spots without removing the paint?
Thanks
i had this happen years ago. i parked next to a trash compactor at the mall. the hydraulic hose blew, and the hydraulic fluid sprayed all over my car. i had a fine pattern of dots where the clear coat was “burned” off. i got a free paint job from the trash company.
where have YOU been parked lately?
Work,school, home… not anyplace that I can pinpoint. My car is 4 years old but its my baby and I dont have one ding in it… Its almost going to my daughter as her car… is there any hope?
You mean “sap,” right? Anyway, doesn’t matter. For some reason you have a weak paint job. 85-95 GM products have poor sealent on the paint that they used to offer a recall for. Honda was in the same mess, although I don’t know what years. There was a time limit on both recalls. If you know your paint is strong enough, a little bit of liquid butane (Like you get out of the little yellow and blue can to fill up zippo lighters with)works wonders on anything that sticks to paint. The big thing is to use it carefully and as little as possible. It will leave a little residue which harmfully washes of next time the car is washed.
Thanks… Yea Sap. So where would I buy the butane? At the grocery store? Any idea on what to do with the spot right now, not sure if it matters but dont want it to get worse.
Thanks
Ok Normie…Everyone knows your a Ford guy so you went and started bashing the GM’s even though Solost never claimed what make she had. DO NOT PUT BUTANE ON THE CAR. Go to a well respected body shop in your area and ask a professional. NORM, IT’S TIME TO TAKE YOUR MEDICINE AND GO TO BED.
DO NOT PUT BUTANE ON YOUR CAR. GO TO A BODY SHOP
I think he meant naptha (lighter fluid). Butane boils at about 31 degrees F so it isn’t a liquid at room temperature unless it’s in a pressurized container.
I seriously doubt this is tree sap. Tree sap does NOT remove the paint. Cappy might be on the right track…Sounds something like hydraulic fluid got on the paint and dried. This is nasty stuff and will eat the paint.
on the off ( ? ) chance that you don’t realize how deep the sap is on the car, possibly it is not a deflection into th epaint, but a raised bubble of sap residue.
you coudl go to the hardware store. they have stuff in the paint aisle called “goof off” ir removes paint and most everything. the interesting thing about it, is if you use it sparingly it will take off crud in layers. you coudl try it with a cotton swab (Q-tip) and put it directly on the sap, and then wipe it off, see if it gets the problem. BUT… be careful you don’t want to ruin your paint job.
you may want to try this in a non conspicuous place first. it MAY actually eat the paint or the clear coat right off.
on second thought, if this IS cosmetic, a body shop could get rid of it for the price of a buffing and compound job. (then you don’t have to worry about going too far with whatever remover you were going to use.
I would be leery of any of the petroleum based aromatic solvents. If the spots are pine sap, I have successfully used plain old household ammonia right out of the bottle. Put some on a paper towel and if the sap is fresh - simply wipe it off. If the sap is dried, put a saturated patch of paper towel on the sap to soften it, then wipe off. I’ve used this many times on my 2004 Chrysler and my daughters 2005 Freestyle without any harm to the clear-coat. No residue either.
Use the solvent - then get some spray paint and spot paint - then go drive around the ghetto. OR - go to a professional.
Tree sap, “cherry juice” (hydaulic fluid), auto trans. fluid, and brake fluid just eats paint. Sap affects paint not so much from the sap itself, but what kinds of solvents people use to try to remove it. I’m with the crowd on getting it to a body shop. They’ll be able to come closest to matching the existing color but you’ll still end up with at least a different sheen because of the older, weathered original paint. Also, it would be very helpful to provide us with year, make and model. Might also help to calm Normie down a bit. Jeesh! The guy has a lot on his mind already! Hey, Solost, do you think it might be worth it for a whole new paint job? Though a body shop can very closely match the color, the new paint does eventually fade a little bit itself and then better matches the original color. And then there’s always the issue of what kind, if any, clearcoat is on the original paint.
Norm–Are you trying to sabotage this guy’s car with the butane suggestion?
“It will leave a little residue which harmfully washes of next time the car is washed.”
Since it appears that the paint has already been damaged to some extent, why would the owner want to use something that “harmfully washes off, the next time that it is washed”?? I thought that the object was to mimimize damage, not to increase the damage.
Its a 2004 Hyundai Sonata - I have been very careful with it and honestly it has no dings at all except now for this one and for a few spots of stuff on it. I tried some tree sap car cleaner to no avail and recently heard about using Mineral Spirits - I bought the spirits but have not used them… I think perhaps going to the professionals is my best solution, this car will soon belong to my daughter but I have taken such good care of it that it pains me to see it this way…