Body Care Tip: Tree Sap Removal

I love pine trees but they can make a mess of your car if you park under them. Sap can be a sticky mess if you try to remove it with your finger nails or a dry cloth and water doesn’t seem to touch it. Because it is organic and not of petroleum origin a lot of chemical cleaners have no effect either. We recently polished a truck that the owner had tried to clean sap off of with a scotch brite pad (we don’t recommend this either!!). The simplest and least expensive way to remove tree sap is with good old isopropyl alcohol that can be purchased at any pharmacy for a couple bucks. If the sap droplets are thick you may want to try to carefully remove the excess with a razor blade (I stress carefully as you don’t want to scratch or cut the surface of your finish or your fingers for that matter). Once the excess is gone the remaining sticky spots can be wiped off with a soft cloth soaked with the alcohol.

If sap is left on the finish for too long it can permanently damage your paint so please try to remove it as soon as possible. Also, be especially careful if you are trying to remove sap from plastic mouldings or lights as they will scratch easier than the paint. Good luck and I hope this helps.