A fingernail is harder than the paint, making it easy to leave permanent marks when trying to remove a spot. If left in place, sap can damage bodywork, eat through the wax and clear coat finish that sits on top of the coloured paint, and leave unsightly blemishes that look a little like a water stain. They have high acid concentrations and will cause further damage if the area they are used on isn’t washed and dried as well. These removers are not good for the clear coat and other components of your vehicle. When tree sap drips onto your car it has a sticky, syrupy consistency, but after air and sun exposure, it thickens and hardens. Sap transports vital water, nutrients and hormones through a tree, and can leak from the tree … To effectively remove tree sap and other sticky substances off car paint, try this. While sap will not immediately damage a vehicle’s paint job, time is of the essence. Originally Posted by Saltmobile I use denatured alcohol from the big box home improvement store on the sap that often falls on my cars. It looks like its eaten through the clear coat (see pictures) which is so upsetting because I've only had the car for about 7 months. Tree sap removal requires a product that can dissolve it … You can prevent damage by safely removing those and other elements from your car's finish as soon as possible. Marriott should accept responsibility, but if they have a "park at your own risk" sign and policy, maybe not. Acetone wont damage clear coat, it's just sap I reckon. Submitted by dougp on Wed, 2014-07-16 22:43 ... Bird droppings will mark the clear coat in hours. The value is ok - you're only going to replace the clear coat. Products Required to Remove Tree Sap. Clay or buffing can renew the finish by removing a bit of the clear coat. I'm assuming its tree sap or possible bird poop residue, but I really have no clue. X Research source So, avoid parking under or near sap-filled trees, especially if you know there are 1 or 2 branches that always seem to leak out sap. So, here we have jotted down some simple steps to remove tree sap off your vehicle surface: If the damage is in the clear coat there is no way to remove the damage without getting rid of the damaged part of the clear coat. Re: Paint Damage/ tree sap? I hand wash the car every 2 weeks so whatever it was wasn't sitting on … If the weather is hot, the sap can harden and turn black, making it especially difficult to remove. level 1. If you do see that sap has gotten onto your vehicle, the first step is to wash and dry your car to get as much of the sap off. 1 year ago. However, over time tree sap can go through the clear coat and begin to damage the paint beneath, leading to discoloration and staining. Tree sap can bake onto a car’s paint and can leave a noticeable stain that takes serious effort to remove. 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