Got sap?

[gavolant]

Well I do.

This is not an exaggeration by ANY means. I live here in beautiful northern Virginia, so I don't know if this happens elsewhere but I was parked under a tree for LITERALLY 10 minutes ( the car is otherwise garage kept) and I got sap ALL over my car.

I have to be honest, I'm far too lazy to post any pictures, but the sap comes in the form of tiny little (pinhead size) specs, by the millions, all over the surface of the paint and windows. I have white paint so I didn't notice it on there until further examination, but it was very prominent on the glass especially in sun glare situations. I washed my car as soon as possible, which ended up being 48 hours later, and to my surprise it didn't remove anything. I then did a second wash with a higher concentration of soap, and a clay bar, still nothing.

I made a phone call to a local detailer who had heard/seen this before and he was able to rid the paint of the specs with a polishing compound. The windows still wouldn't respond to anything. He recommended steel wool #0000 ( the finest grain ) and I just gave it a shot, with little hope. Much to my dismay, a little steel wool and some stoner window cleaner took the sap off like it was its job. Maybe it is? The steel wool left behind no scratches at all and was very easy to work with. Obviously, don't use it on the paint, but I figured if anyone had the same issue, they could skip the frustration and buy the $4.17 pack of steel wool.

Anyone else have this issue??

[Detailer]

I suggest you use methanol to remove tree sap. Apply methanol to a microfiber towel and it will dissolve the tree sap within seconds. You will need to change the MF towel often as it will become sticky and will eventually leave residue.

Your car will need a fresh coat of wax as methanol will most likely remove all of it.

[KinoBoom]

I used my clay bar and quick detailer before, worked just fine.

[BlackjackMulligan]

Keeping a fresh layer of sealent will help remove the sap dramatically. I've had my car covered with sap after camping, and with a normal wash it all came off because it was freshly sealed.

Alternatively, I've had good luck with Stoners Tarminator to remove stubborn sap from other cars, as well as stuck on crud on my paint. It works wonders.