[blkcoupe808]

i found out from reading online, that hand sanitizer gel works real good for removing tree sap spots on your car, i have to park under some big trees around my place, and nowhere that does'nt have trees above you, so i was trying to find a solution to get rid of the dried on tree sap spots, and i tried rubbing alcohol, bug & tar remover spray, goo-gone, but the hand sanitizer worked the best out of all of them, and i did'nt have to rub that hard to get it to work, so seemed gentle enough for the paint, but just wanted to ask people's opinions on here to see if theres anything bad about using it ?

 

[slimm1469]

NO! I accidentally spilled some on the center console and it ate that paint off. Sure, it's not the same as exterior paint, but still. Take it to a you-do-it carwash, spray 409 on the bird poo, let it sit a few minutes and wash it off with high pressure soap.

 

[jrock645]

No. Alcohol can wrinkle the clear coat- permanently. Use a proper sap remover or APC

 

[WDMaccord]

I would recommend a clay bar for tree sap. Follow with a light polish by hand if you have any marring. If the hand sanitizer worked, I'd recommend following up with a wax or sealant. The alcohol content in those is fairly low IIRC...5-10%?

For bird droppings, you can use a quick detailer. Plenty available at the local auto parts stores for the non-detailer.

Alcohol on paint is fine at proper dilutions between 10 and 20%. Here's a chart that will help:

 

[blkcoupe808]

yeah, i heard that it might strip the wax or clearcoat off some, so supposed to re-wax the spots you put the stuff on,

i've heard of claybar but never tried it out, but want to sometime,

what sucks is that where i live has big old trees around all sides where i supposed to park, along the curb on either side of the house, and theres no gap in the trees if you look above, so you can't win, and so i got to do this all the dam time, wiping with sanitizer, thats why i seriously want to get a car cover, one thats easy to take on and off, i would'nt always put it on every day, but maybe if its a weekend where your around the house or not driving the car for a while, then be good, etc...

 

[jrock645]

Use a proper sap cleaner- Sonax makes a good one. Afterwards, use a good quality sealant like finish kare or Collinite. After that, you won't need to worry about it.

 

[2012Taffeta]

Talking off and putting on a car cover will take less time then the time it'll take you to clean your car off. I once Parker under a tree for 4 hours and it rained sap on my car. It took me 8 hours to get all the sap off. If you get to when it's fresh it's easier. Pull off as much as you can then you something to remove it. I can't remember what I used but it was from a detailing shop and worked 100x better then the crap they sell at the local parts store.

 

[RTexasF]

Use these for the stubborn spots:

https://www.simonizdetaildirect.com...campaign=cse&gclid=CLuTgNG7psgCFQuraQodT9UBZw

 

[jrock645]

10-20% alcohol solution is safe but i wouldnt use an otc product like sanitizer without knowing exactly how much alcohol is in it. But thats me

 

[WDMaccord]

hand sanitizer typically mentions the alcohol content. It's the other ingredients I would worry about. I wouldn't use it!

 

[Coach Steve]

Well, I'm going to be the detractor on this one. I've used sanitizer for years to remove sap. And while all the replies above warning you about the damage that can be done have their merit, you have to put these warnings in perspective with regard to the volume and time necessary to actually incur the damage.
First of all, I have yet to use a product specifically formulated and sold as a tree sap remover that comes anywhere close to how fast sanitizer works at removing sap. That being the case, when you take into consideration how little is required to dissolve and remove sap from your car, and, given the speed at which alcohol evaporates, you would be hard pressed to actually harm your finish to any noticeable degree.
I have purposely done extensive, non-scientific testing on this subject to prove my hypothesis and have yet to create ANY damage whatsoever. Period. And, as expected, under close inspection of the areas where the sanitizer was used, the wax/sealant was removed - although the synthetic sealant fared much better than did the wax.

Bottom line, if you use it sparingly and keep the area treated minimized, you won't do any damage to your finish.

Now, having said that, the product I've found to be the absolute fastest that was specifically made and marketed for tar, sap, bugs, etc. is Bugs-B-Gone from the folks at SeaFoam. Why they chose such a corny, pedestrian name for a product that works so damn good is beyond me. you'd think that if they wanted people to take the product seriously, they would have named it something a little less...., oh I don't know... STUPID! :laugh

All joking aside, the stuff is amazing and does exactly what it says it will do.

 

[WDMaccord]

Well, I'm going to be the detractor on this one. I've used sanitizer for years to remove sap. And while all the replies above warning you about the damage that can be done have their merit, you have to put these warnings in perspective with regard to the volume and time necessary to actually incur the damage.
First of all, I have yet to use a product specifically formulated and sold as a tree sap remover that comes anywhere close to how fast sanitizer works at removing sap. That being the case, when you take into consideration how little is required to dissolve and remove sap from your car, and, given the speed at which alcohol evaporates, you would be hard pressed to actually harm your finish to any noticeable degree.
I have purposely done extensive, non-scientific testing on this subject to prove my hypothesis and have yet to create ANY damage whatsoever. Period. And, as expected, under close inspection of the areas where the sanitizer was used, the wax/sealant was removed - although the synthetic sealant fared much better than did the wax.

Bottom line, if you use it sparingly and keep the area treated minimized, you won't do any damage to your finish.

Now, having said that, the product I've found to be the absolute fastest that was specifically made and marketed for tar, sap, bugs, etc. is Bugs-B-Gone from the folks at SeaFoam. Why they chose such a corny, pedestrian name for a product that works so damn good is beyond me. you'd think that if they wanted people to take the product seriously, they would have named it something a little less...., oh I don't know... STUPID! :laugh

All joking aside, the stuff is amazing and does exactly what it says it will do.

thanks Coach, just what we needed! Actual real world experience trumps all speculators (myself included). :thmsup:

 

[sm753]

Most tree sap I've encountered came off relatively easily. Even just a wet microfiber did got rid of it in most cases. But I suppose it varies from the type of tree and sap? Now some of the more "colorful" bug guts...those were kind of a pain to remove, especially from white paint.