Tree resin, no clue what to do, need some help...

[DaC]

Guys, I'm dealing with some tough tree resin all over horizontal panels from a Honda Fit.

Some of it seems to have dug a hole into the clear coat, while others are high spots.

I already clayed the car... didn't touched it.
I even gone far and tried to wet sand it with 2000 and 1200 grits and I was only able to take clear coat out instead of the tree resin...

Measuring one of the spots with a PTG I got the following readings:
- On the tree resin spot: Readings between 92 and 100um (wet sanding barely touched it)
- On the surrounding area of the spot, readings between 76um, 72 after wet sanding.
So the clear coat actually suffered a lot more from the sanding process.

I have no clue what to do to remove or lessen this stuff.... can you guys point me into a direction ?

Here are the pictures:

Before wet sanding



After wet sanding

[DaC]

It's incredible how you find things out once you stop being too lazy.
I googled about it and... a simple IPA solved the problem.....
Now ask me how stupid I felt for wet sanding this sap....

[09redranger]

It's incredible how you find things out once you stop being too lazy.
I googled about it and... a simple IPA solved the problem.....
Now ask me how stupid I felt for wet sanding this sap....

isntIPA deluited rubbing alcohol???

[Cosmin]

use terminator , spray on the spot , massage/rub the area with your hand , it takes time but will brake it down, a light pressure will be ok.
you may need to do a light polish after.

*76-72um is very thin paint , keep eye on it

[DaC]

isntIPA deluited rubbing alcohol???

The one I'm using is 100% pure isopropyl alcohol.

use terminator , spray on the spot , massage/rub the area with your hand , it takes time but will brake it down, a light pressure will be ok.
you may need to do a light polish after.

*76-72um is very thin paint , keep eye on it

Yes, really thin... this car has some crazy fluctuations, ranging from 60 to 140. My guess is that some one did some crazy maneuvers with a wool pad over it in the past...

I don't have terminator here. What else can I use that is paint safe ? Some APC ?
I bought an acid and another one alkaline undercarriage cleaner last week, I'm just too afraid too use it on the paint, it seems to be pretty strong 1:100 dilution.

[BillE]

Something you can keep in mind is try using turpentine for tree sap, especially evergreen types.

Bill

[van185]

I've had the best luck with Tarminator and a plastic razor blade. I have read about using a steamer and I will soon have one and give it a try. I get several cars every year with this type of damage. I have found that once you are able to get it off that alot of times it's already done the damage and leaves stains no mater what I've tried to do to it. A lot of people just wash their cars and never get it off and over time it etches through the clear coat and does damage that I've not been able to correct. Maybe someone on here will have a better answer.

[DaC]

Something you can keep in mind is try using turpentine for tree sap, especially evergreen types.

Bill

Bill, how does the paint get along with turpentine ?

I've had the best luck with Tarminator and a plastic razor blade. I have read about using a steamer and I will soon have one and give it a try. I get several cars every year with this type of damage. I have found that once you are able to get it off that alot of times it's already done the damage and leaves stains no mater what I've tried to do to it. A lot of people just wash their cars and never get it off and over time it etches through the clear coat and does damage that I've not been able to correct. Maybe someone on here will have a better answer.

You guys seem to dig this Terminator, but I don't have it here (Brazil).

I ended up soaking (a lot), a MF towel with 100% IPA, let it sit on top of an area, then put it over another one and used the plastic razor.... worked pretty well, but got me 500ml from IPA to get 90% of it done.

How do you charge for the extra to work on this type of problem ? By hours to get it done ?

[Hoytman]

I could swear that Garry Dean made a video of himself cleaning a yellow car with extremely heavy tree sap on it. I actually tried to find the video a few weeks back for another person, but had no luck.

If I recall correctly he used a two bucket wash with soap and water and added about 4 oz. of Meg's APC+ to the soap, then let it dwell.

Perhaps Garry could chime in here and tell us exactly what he did and possibly provide the link to the video I'm refering to.

[Hoytman]

I sent Garry Dean a link to this thread and asked him to check it out.