How to Remove Tree Sap From Car Without Damaging Paint
Introduction
Tree saps are sticky liquids – often from leaves – that can easily cover and stain your car if not cleaned up properly. Tree saps contain tannin, a natural hardener for cellulose; it causes sap to dry to a strong, resistant coating on whatever it touches. As a result, it will form a bond with surfaces such as wood, metal, rubber, and glass. Some tree saps contain gum-like resin (like pine) or latex (like birch).
The problem with tree sap, in particular, is that they can get into crevices of the vehicle bodywork and wheels where waxes or sealants do not reach. This makes some cars more vulnerable than others if you don’t know exactly how to remove them. For this reason, today, I will discuss a technique to remove tree sap from cars without damaging the paint. So let us get started.
Step-wise guide on How to Remove Tree Sap From Car Without Damaging Paint
Tree saps are disgusting and can damage your car paint over a period of time. The foamy tree branches produce saps that stick to the leaves, get carried by winds, and fall on your car’s exterior surface. Tree sap has an adhesive quality to it, so when it comes in contact with any smooth surface like glass or plastic, etc., it gets attached there without showing signs of leaving any time soon.
A Step-wise Guide From the Experts
- Examine the affected area on your car carefully and note down all the details such as type of sap, color (if you have noticed), etc. Ensure you don’t rub your eyes or skin while handling tree sap; otherwise, you will be blind for some time.
- Clean the affected area with soap and water to remove any dirt or dust particles that may have stuck up during the falling of tree saps.
- Now, pour a mixture of one cup of vinegar and two cups of warm water onto the affected area, ensuring that the liquid covers all the sap areas. Let this mixture be there for 5 minutes. This will soften the tree saps so that they become easier to remove. Keep a bucket full of clean water handy as you will need it afterward.
- Wash off all these liquids using a cloth soaked in buckets filled with clean water and scrub away any stubborn stains using some mild abrasive cleaners (you can use cleaning brushes). The acidity in white vinegar helps dissolve any tree saps and is an affordable solution to removing sap stains from cars.
- Let the cleaned area air dry thoroughly; you can also use a blow dryer to dry any sticky spots or wet patches. Be sure to pay special attention to areas around door handles as the liquid tends to seep into tiny openings there if left untreated for some time.
- Wipe down your car’s surface with a microfiber cloth because dirt particles will remain even after washing, but these can be easily removed using this cleaning method.
- If you find that bubbles remain on your car’s exterior, apply to rub alcohol over it to remove them. Remember not to rub hard when doing so, as this could cause damage by rubbing the paint off.
- Using a damp cloth, wipe your car’s surface to remove any remaining alcohol and let it air dry. Remember not to pour rubbing alcohol directly on your car, as this will only cause damage and ruin the paint coat.
- Make sure you do not have a clean car with just plain water or soap solution as they won’t be able to soften tree saps properly, so don’t even try doing this unless you want to end up damaging the entire exterior; of your vehicle in one go!
Precautions While Performing How to Remove Tree Sap From Car Without Damaging Paint
- Pat the affected area with an old shirt or jeans instead of rubbing hard to avoid scratching the paint.
- Never use abrasives, solvents, or ammonia-based products to remove tree sap from the car without damaging the paint. They will only cause more damage than good.
- Never use water since it easily runs down and causes rusting underneath the paint even if your car is made up of 100% body panels that are rustproof because some portions like wheel wells might have rusted already due to poor maintenance and care and wetting them can worsen the problem continuing a cycle of rusting there which could be disastrous in the long run causing you plenty of money in repairing costs and time wasted too!
- Using baking soda effectively removes tree sap from cars without damaging the paint. Make a thick paste with baking soda by adding little water and apply it to the affected area using an old toothbrush. For this trick, you will need to use some elbow grease, but it will remove tree sap, leaving no damage behind.
- You can also use the spreading or dragging method to remove tree sap from the car without damaging the paint. Just spread some thick wet soap solution on the affected area and drag a clean white cloth over it repeatedly till all of the sap is removed. Now rinse the soap solution thoroughly using a garden hose and then dry off your vehicle so that moisture evaporates completely, being safe to touch when you are done drying your car because moisture can cause rusting easily.
Why is Tree Sap Harmful to Cars?
Tree sap is pretty harmless for cars unless you have a clear car. However, when it comes to your old paint job, tree sap can be really dangerous one! Tree sap becomes problematic when it comes on top of car bodywork because once hardened, tree sap becomes very hard and sticky, providing a nice place for more dirt and other contaminants to stick onto.
Also, because of its color (brown or yellow), if not cleaned properly within a reasonable time period, tree sap will oxidize and leave ugly stains on your paintwork while eating into the protective layers underneath.
When to Clean Tree Sap?
Ideally, you should clean tree sap from your car as quickly as possible. The longer you leave it, the harder it will be to remove, even getting into the paintwork and etching away at the clear coat. Also, if not cleaned in time, the oxidized color of tree sap can become permanent and leave ugly brown or yellow stains on your once beautiful car exterior. If your car has tree sap and is not removed immediately, the outside temperature will affect how fast it becomes hardened.
For example, if you live in a dry area or during summertime (dry season), sap will dry out much faster than if you live in a moist environment or during wintertime (wet season).
Why Use Professional Car Cleaning Services?
Cleaning tree sap from cars alone can be tough and even dangerous if you don’t know what you are doing. Because of its sticky surface, sometimes, when trying to clean it off from your car, your fingers may end up being pulled into the gooey mess! So unless you want to risk damaging your brand new tuned paint job with cheap over-the-counter products, or don’t want to risk damaging your car with tree sap yourself, always use professional car cleaning services.
You would be amazed at the amount of damage done by simple things like bird droppings to a vehicle’s paint job. Whether trying to remove tree sap from your vehicle by yourself or hire professional cleaners, they must know how to clean off your car without damaging its paint job properly.
First of all, check out our tips below on removing tree sap from cars so that you know what products will work better for removing sticky substances like sap. Then find a reputable detailing company and have them do the dirty work for you!
Car Maintenance Tips That Can Help Avoid Accidents
- Check the tire pressure regularly. If you notice that your vehicle’s tires are underinflated, it means that they might go flat at any time, so avoid such a situation and be prepared for a blow-out.
- Clean the windows of your car to clear the line of sight and keep track of every moving object on the road in front of you to avoid any accident from happening.
- Keep some extra clothes inside the trunk as there are chances of having an accident where some cuts may occur while opening doors or during rainfall when we get drenched completely by rains, so have those extra clothes handy to use and change into dry ones immediately else you will catch a cold which is not good for your health.
- If you are taking drives at night, avoid turning on high beam lights as it may cause an accident due to glare as well as if stuck in mud or snow your car will easily get stuck and hence endanger yourself along with others around you so better turn them off during such time.
- While driving, always try to maintain a safe distance from other vehicles; otherwise, there is a chance of collision. People can get injured badly, so driving safely is the best thing to do for oneself during the on-road drive.
- Do not drink and drive. Else you may lose control over the vehicle too.
Conclusion
I hope you have learned how to remove tree sap from car without damaging paint properly from this article. Ensure proper safety while performing the process. Thank you and have a nice day!
You may also read – How to Remove Paint From Plastic Car Bumper.
