Hi
i parked my car under a tree and it got covered in small droplets of a sticky solutin. I washed it the following day but the paint is now pock-marked and rough. What has happened and how can i rectify the situation. the car is a Metallic green VW polo.
thanks
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Ooooh, this is so annoying. We have lots of trees around my works car park and I suffer the same problem. In fact I washed my car on Friday for this very reason. Unfortunately the sap seems to harden on these warm dry days making it more difficult to get off. I used Halfords Advanced Car Wash with extra 50% dosage and loads of elbow grease. I believe the elbow grease is the magic ingredient. It also seems to come off easier if you keep your car well waxed. Meths will get off any last remaining stubborn spots, but remember to rewax that area (cos the meths takes the wax off).
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Another magic ingredient for sap removal is to use fairly hot water with your car wash additive.I mean as hot as your hand can bear not boiling.
David Davies (Tune-Up Raglan)
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Just had exactly same problem this weekend. Went down to local Halfords type place and bought some Turtle wax sap remover stuff. Instructions said to wash car first so did it with some wash and Wax stuff and HOT water as Cyd says above and all the sap came off and didn't need the sap remover stuff. Paint had felt very rough before and windscreen had been awful with sun on it. Used hot water and Fairy Liquid on screen because Windolene had no effect. Paint now smooth and screen now clean.
PhilW
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i parked my car under a tree and it got covered in small droplets of a sticky solutin.
Important to note that birds like shady trees as well!
And their droppings make a hell of a mess of the paintwork if not cleaned off quickly!
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Our local town centre mortorcycle park is strategically placed under the only trees in the town centre.
The trees are a favourite vantage point for the dickies so it's a good idea to carry a duster with you!
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I think that today's environmentally friendly water soluble paints are more susceptible to damage from sap, p** etc. By the way, if it really is water soluble why doesn't it come off when you wash the car? I think we should be told!
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It's water soluble in the same way as emulsion, water is the solvent as opposed to acetone.
But once it's dry, it's dry, as my daughter discovered when she did some painting with emulsion and thought that she could wash off the splashes on her clothes at her leisure. WRONG!
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My parking space at work is under a Lime tree which deposits copious amounts very sticky sap. Last week I had occasion to use the windscreen wipers and found them firmly glued to the screen -had to pull over as soon as possible to peel them free. Could damage the motor, and dangerous if you had to use them suddenly on a motorway in a sudden downpour..
Regards,
P.
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I'm sure you could live without knowing this but I'll tell you anyway! According to my book on insects it's not sap deposited from lime trees - it's sugars. Trees are infested by aphids which suck sap. Sap is high in sugars and low in protein. In order to obtain enough protein the aphids pass masses of sugars/saps through their bodies and drip it on your car - it's "honeydew". Car link? perhaps they could make environmentally friendly diesel from it and we could fuel or cars for free! (plus 80p/litre tax of course).
PhilW
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Huge lime trees overhang my driveway and the entire street. The honeydew problem was so bad last summer that the driveway was covered and it was like walking on glue. It has already started this year. The council who owns the trees intend to cut them back next winter.
I take delivery of a brand new zafira in a couple of weeks (non metallic paint). I'll get a layer of Autoglyn Super Resin and Extra Gloss on asap, but does anyone have any better ideas as to my best line of defence? Would anyone recommend a cover?
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Unperturbed by the awful adverts (see also quote me happy) I picked up a car cover from Argos for a fiver a few weeks ago. Not the easiest to fit, so four bricks should also be acquired.
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Silver birch trees adorn my road and while they don't seem to be too bad on the sap front they are terrible on the detritus front.
They seem to have something to throw away for each season - 'katkin' type things that clog all drainage points and air intakes, small razor-sharp seeds that get everywhere, etc. etc..
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After ten years from new, apart from one stone chip, the only blemish on the top-notch paintwork of my now-departed Audi 100 was caused by bird droppings. These days they are the first thing I look for and deal with before driving off.
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PhilW is right, it is honeydew. I once started keeping bees; if the bees find sufficient nectar, the bees will collect the honeydew excreted by the aphids.
I started getting allergic to the stings and SWMBO specified that the bees had to go.
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if the bees CAN'T find sufficient nectar, the bees will collect the honeydew excreted by the aphids.
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PLEASE everyone!
DO be careful about trees and bird poo. They are both notorious for ruining your car paints! Bird poo contains some excellent paint-ruining stuff.
If you have no choice but park under trees (which often have both!!) use a car cover.
Rojer
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