Removing Tar?

[cghbuilder86]

They have been doing some road work near where I live. They have been pouring tar and then rolling gravel on top of it. Why they are doing it like this I have no idea. It's kinda where the dirt road branches into the pavement. Anyways, it makes me so mad because I was driving home this evening, been at work since 4:00 am, and I get home to find that I have sticky tar splattered all over my truck below the door moulding. I had to work on it for an hour and a half. And that doesn't even include washing the truck. I used paint thinner because I didn't know of anything else and wanted to get on it while it was still soft. There was so much on it, it turned my cloth black and was leaving a brown sticky residue behind. It was the biggest pain. Then I had to spray it forever to hopefully make sure I got all the paint thinner off. From what I hear they may top the whole road and out here there is little traffic so it won't be blocked off. Probably have to deal with this for the next few weeks.

Anybody got and tips or a better way to remove tar? Can paint thinner hurt my finish even if it is washed off with plain water? Is there something better/less harmful?

[Wires]

They have been doing some road work near where I live. They have been pouring tar and then rolling gravel on top of it. Why they are doing it like this I have no idea. It's kinda where the dirt road branches into the pavement. Anyways, it makes me so mad because I was driving home this evening, been at work since 4:00 am, and I get home to find that I have sticky tar splattered all over my truck below the door moulding. I had to work on it for an hour and a half. And that doesn't even include washing the truck. I used paint thinner because I didn't know of anything else and wanted to get on it while it was still soft. There was so much on it, it turned my cloth black and was leaving a brown sticky residue behind. It was the biggest pain. Then I had to spray it forever to hopefully make sure I got all the paint thinner off. From what I hear they may top the whole road and out here there is little traffic so it won't be blocked off. Probably have to deal with this for the next few weeks.

Anybody got and tips or a better way to remove tar? Can paint thinner hurt my finish even if it is washed off with plain water? Is there something better/less harmful?

 

I've used Turtle Wax Bug and Tar remover. It works, but does require a bit of elbow grease.

 

I don't know about the paint thinner though.

[jblakeney]

WD-40, kerosene, diesel, and couple others kerosene works good but don't let it dry out.

 

Jbo

[redvett]

Mineral spirits works great and is cheap at HD or Lowes.

[cghbuilder86]

I may have to try that wd-40 and the turtle wax tar product.

Paint thinner pretty much is mineral spirits right?

[c4cruiser]

WD-40 will work as will mineral spirits. But any of these solvents will remove any wax you may have applied.

 

Once you get the tar off, wash the area with Dawn dishwashing soap. That will remove any of the residue from the solvents. After that, use a claybar over the entire area and re-apply a coat of wax.

[RyanbabZ71]

Du-Pont Prep-sol.

 

Safe for clearcoated painted. Only thing is it strips wax

[Mossyoakglock]

When I clayed my truck a while back I had some buildup on the lower panels and it took it all right off. It might work for tar, not sure though.

[thornmz71]

lighter fluid on a rag will remove it

[pm26]

Mineral spirits works great and is cheap at HD or Lowes.

 

That's what I use and it does not damage the paint.

[pm26]

I may have to try that wd-40 and the turtle wax tar product.

Paint thinner pretty much is mineral spirits right?

 

Usually, but I have no idea what you used. If you washed it with water afterward, hopefully it did not damage the paint.

[BlackZ71Silverado]

3M adhesive and wax remover works great. I had to use it on my wife's Equinox several times. Spray it on and rub it off, no more tar.

[KMGZ400]

I may have to try that wd-40 and the turtle wax tar product.

Paint thinner pretty much is mineral spirits right?

 

i use the turtle wax bug and tar remover and it does work pretty good but like others have said, it requires some elbow grease.

[gregrocks89]

never dull works great to

[zeven13]

They use the oily tar/gravel combination as a quick fix for a road that needs minor resurfacing. It will fill in the cracks and smooth out the bumps. The bad part is that they rely on traffic to "grind" this into the existing pavement after application.

 

I use "Bug Off" that I have found at local auto shops. I will usually follow a good cleaning with a quick layer of wax in the affected area.