Cannot Remove Tar

[Jbirk]

Hi,

I have some tar spots I tried to remove and I could not remove them!!!

Here is what I tried. Car wash on mitt and car wash on Towel. If I scrub a single tiny spot hundreds of times it eventually does come off, so I know I have good paint underneath the tar.

I have tried the car soap, I tried Mean Grean Degreaser (not intended for cars), I tried WD-40...

I did not succeed in removing the tar. When I was done I washed, dried, and waxed the area to make sure I do not leave any WD-40 type stuff behind.


How can I remove tar? Is there a product to remove tar that is tried on extremely badly (I think). If not, is their any compound like a polish or something that can take it off?

i.e. what would ScratchX do on Tar? Also is their a recomended, safe Tar remover?

Thank You very much for the help.

[RamAirV1]

Try some 3M Tar and Adhesive Remover (available at Walmart or Meijers), or order some Autoglym Intensive Tar Remover from BCC. I really liked the Autoglym and it did a great job of removing some really bad globs of tar from my car.

If the tar is in small dots then clay could work well for you.

RamAirV1

[Jbirk]

I did some reading and apparently Meguiar's has a Tar and Bug remover. I am going to buy that and hope for the best. It may or may not work. If it doesn't I will get the 3M or the Clay stuff.

How do I clay?

Is claying safe and easy to do? I have never clayed before and don't want to buy the stuff and clay unless it is reasonably safe for a novice. I.e. I have no real skills at detailing, so my first belief is first cause no harm.


Is claying easy, if so how do I do it and what product do I need to do 1 to 4 vehicles. Please note I checked with the manufacturers and all of my vehicles have a Factory Paint job with a clear coat.

[Murr1525]

Claying is the most fantastic and best thing to do.. even on what may appear to be clean paint. Incredile difference.

Use the Meguiars Quick Clay, unless you work the clay in with a shovel, you really cant screw up. Just keep everything lubricated with the QD spray. Cut the clay into 3 or 4 pieces, pick one, and start claying. Fold it in on itself when it gets dirty. Claying works with clear coats as well as sinlge stage paints.

[Jbirk]

Okay, since mosts say claying is good to do I am going to buy the Quick Clan and Quick Detail spray.


I am assuming this order will work:

Wash Well and make Clean
Clay
Wash Again (possibly)
Wax with Nxt Liquid Wax

I am a novice, so I am not going to venture into polishing yet. my paint is in good condition i.e. no discoloration, no dents, no chips... you get the idea. Very few scratches.

I am hoping I can get away with washing and claying only then waxing.

[Murr1525]

Well, the full 5 steps are meant to give the best results.

1. Wash - Nxt or Gold Class
2. Clay - Quick Clay
3. Clean - DC#1 is very mild
4. Polish - DC#2 is good pure polish
5. Wax - You seem to like Nxt, so stick with that.


Polishing with a pure polish is quite safe. You may be worried by other companies polishes that are very abrasive, or old polishes, that were rough on old paint jobs. Meguiars pure polishes are completly safe, and even the cleaners with abrasives use diminishing abrasives, that will leave a great finish behind.

If nothing else, I would recomend:
1. Wash
2. Clay
3. ColorX
4. Wax

Leaves great results by hand, if you dont want to do as many indivdual steps.

[Jbirk]

Okay, what is ColorX?


As for polishing, like you said I am worried about anything abrasive. I actually have some older NuPolish or something like that and a rotory tool, but that is only for 30 year old paint jobs!!!! I.e. Single Layer Base Coat that is very very thick!

My newest vehicles all have clear coats and are in excellent condition. I.e. paint looks like new, so I am definatly avoiding all polish materials such as the one mentioned above. I also wish to not use any power tools as I belive I can do better without them. It should be safer that way.


What is this DC #1 and DC #2?

Is that even in the consumer line of products?

You are saying there is diminishing and pure polish. What is the difference? Please explain. I don't really want to poor on a liquid sandpaper like polish and buff away.

I would need something very very mild and safe. It must also be in the consumer line of products as I cannot find the Professional Stuff in my area nor am I a professional anyway.

What about this ColorX?

Thanks

[Murr1525]

Well, lets see if I can explain it good...

Other companies polishes just use abrasives, which is like sandpaper, and get rid of scratches by creating smaller scratches.

Diminishing abrasives break down as you rub them in, so that when you are done, you are practicaly just rubbing in oil. That way, there is nothing left behind. I am sure a search for diminishng abrasives will turn up even more info by Mike.

This link to the 5-step paint care system also expalins a bit if you havent seen it yet:
5-Step System

Deep Crystal #1 is a very mild cleaner with no diminishing abrasives.

Deep Crystal # 2 is a pure polish, with no diminishing abrasives.
Here is a link to why polishing is good:

Polishing Paint

The Deep Crystal products are in the consumer line, and have been used for years to get great results.

ColorX is a cleaner/polish/wax that I use regularly on my new car. It is a bit stronger of a cleaner then DC#1, and does contain diminishing abrasives to help with swirls. It also takes care of the polishing step, and adds a coat of wax. Since Meguiars recomends two coats of wax for even protection and looks, ColorX gives one coat of wax, and I top it with Nxt Tech wax.

I really like ColorX.. If you just work it in mild, it is a great cleaner/wax for a well kept car, that cuts out some steps. If worked in real agressively, or even used with the PC, it can restore paint in fairly bad condition. A fantastic product.

Did I get everything?

[Jbirk]

I bought the

Nxt Car Wash
Gold Class Car wash
3 Water Magnet
3 Plush Terry
2 Chenille Wash Mitt
2 Grit Guard
2 Buckets
Tar and Bug Remover.
Nxt Tech Liquid Wax (not the spray I already have that)
2 more packages of Even Coat Applicator


I washed my car with the Nxt Car Wash and was very impressed with how clean it came out! I used the 2 bucket method with Grit Guard after reading some topics and 2 mitts as well. I dryed with the Water Magnet.


I decided to wash again to ensure I got everything as clean as possible. This time I used the Gold Class Wash and it did not clean as much as the Nxt (probably because I already washed with NXT), but it left a very nice shine. I like both products.

I used Meguiar's Tar and Bug remover and it worked okay, but I only removed half my tar before running out of energy. I spent an hour removing tar with it. Used about 1/3 of the bottle too. The stuff seems weak, but when I tried it on bugs and other things it turns out it is very strong!! It wisks through the bugs and any fresh tar/oil type stuff that the wash won't remove. It is a good product.

I have about 1 to 1.5 hours more of Bug and Tar removal tomorrow. At least I can say I made progress and did no damage.


I still need to make another trip into town to buy Quick Clay, Quick Detailer, Microfiber, Speed Detailer.

My trick is that I park the car i am working on in my garage and don't drive it. I have all doors and windows closed in the garage and keep 2 hepa air filters running in the garage on high. When I actually work on the car, I open the garage door for ventillation.

I wash right in my garage too and just use a floor squeegie to move the water outside. When done I close all doors and windows.

[Murr1525]

Be sure to spray on the Bug and Tar, and then walk away for a minute.. Then spray some more on and walk away... then try working it in and wiping it off.

It is safe and mild, so it can take a little longer to work.

[cab 32]

Autoglym

Hey jbirk go and get autoglym intensive tar remover a.s.a.p. spray on the affected areas and leave for few minutes to work,then spray again and leave for another few mintues then get cloth and wipee wipee off the tar.should take no longer than twenty minutes to do a whole car unless of course you are cleaning the titanic.(we have small normal sized cars in ireland).

[mirrorfinishman]

Re: Cannot Remove Tar

Originally posted by Jbirk
How can I remove tar? Is there a product to remove tar...

You can easily remove tar by using Meguiar's Gold Class Bug & Tar Remover.

http://www.meguiars.com/estore/product_detailpage.cfm?product=Gold-Class-Bug-&-Tar-Remover&sku=G10716

[Jbirk]

That is the exact same stuff I used.

I sprayed it on let it sit for a minute then rubbed vigorously. Some of the tar took about 5 minutes to come loose. Point is, the stuff works if you give it time and have the elbow grease.

BTW, on new tar/oil say less than 1 month it just wipes away. It is the old set in stuff I am getting off. I.e. Tar that has been baked in the sun, cooled, baked, cooled... lost all of its substances that make it soft...

I am talking about tar that is bonded to the paint!!!

Anyway, this product took it off. It was challenging though and took about 1/4 of the bottle, serriously!!

[mirrorfinishman]

For hard to remove tar that takes a little more attention to remove, try adding some carnauba wax to the same cloth being used to apply the tar remover. The wax will help to lubricate the cloth, while the tar remover does it's job of removing the residue of the tar. This process reduces the chance of causing surface damage.

[Jbirk]

The Meguiars stuff caused no surface damage. It cleaned up the tar and my car looks great now.