When you are obsessed with keeping your car clean, there’s not too many things as frustrating and annoying as trying to remove tree sap from its coat. But how to make sure that you are properly protecting your car from environmental assaults? And more precisely, how to remove tree sap before it damages your car’s paint job and leads to rust?
A fluid transported through xylem cells and phloem sieve tube elements of plants, tree sap is also called the blood of the tree. Extreme temperatures, both hot and cold, promote the flow of sap, although plants like pine trees ooze sap almost the entire year. Extremely sticky and hardening fast once it falls onto the surface of your car, tree sap can cause significant damage to the clear coat, as well as the paint layers that are underneath the surface. That’s why when it comes to sap, the faster you remove it the better it is. Removing sap isn’t necessarily complicated once you know what you need to do, and you have the right products.
Removing Tree Sap With Professional Car Care Products
There are many honest car care reviews recommending both detailing products and cleaning methods that will help you prevent sap from etching through the paint’s clear coat, and leading to discoloration and staining. But if you feel a bit lost among the multitude of tips and recommendations out there, just follow these simple steps bellow:
- First and foremost, once you notice tree sap on your car, don’t let days pass by until you find the time to remove it.
- Start by giving your car a proper wash. You’ll need a few soft towels, a sponge, a bucket of water and a professional car soap.
- Once you finish washing your car thoroughly, and after you dried it well, you can proceed by using a product like the Stoner Car Care 91154. This tar and sap remover has powerful cleaning properties, but is also gentle on the surfaces.
- Many sap remover products are very concentrated and powerful and when left too long they can end up removing paint protectants as well. That’s why after using professional sap removers make sure you wash the treated areas one more time with soap and water.
- Last but not least, although the best way to protect your car from tree sap is to make sure the sap never touches the paint in the first place, there’s one more solution which is efficient not only against sap, but all external factors. Applying a high quality ceramic coating to your car like Nexgen Ceramic spray or Torque Detail will form a long-lasting bond with your vehicle’s paint and prevent contaminants like tree sap from doing permanent damage
Removing Tree Sap With Household Products
Although not necessarily recommended as they can be quite aggressive on the paint, and definitely not as efficient as professional car care products, there are also household items that you can use to remove tree sap from your car. Among them, nail polish remover, baking soda and mineral spirits can be your go to helpers when you need a fast pine tree sap remover.
