Getting Tar off the Paint

[Musgofasta]

Hey Crew:

 

my mom drove her clean, WHITE yukon Denali XL over a repaved street, and now there's tar specks behind all four wheels. I've tried everything to get this crap off, short of sand paper! Wax, Sponge, Scouring Pad, Gum and Adhesive Remover, Paint Cleaner...NOTHING works so far. It looks real bad on the white paint. Any suggestions?

 

It's a lease that's up soon, so the stealership would have a ball getting more money out of my parents for this "wear and tear" item.

 

Any help here would be great

 

Thanks everybody,

Musgofasta

[snoman]

Hey Crew:

 

my mom drove her clean, WHITE yukon Denali XL over a repaved street, and now there's tar specks behind all four wheels.  I've tried everything to get this crap off, short of sand paper!  Wax, Sponge, Scouring Pad, Gum and Adhesive Remover, Paint Cleaner...NOTHING works so far.  It looks real bad on the white paint.  Any suggestions? 

 

It's a lease that's up soon, so the stealership would have a ball getting more money out of my parents for this "wear and tear" item. 

 

Any help here would be great

 

Thanks everybody,

Musgofasta 

 

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Plain old kerosene will do it everytime and not hurt the paint. I remember when I was a kid back in the 60's and my dad borrowed my grandfathers then new Jeep Wagoneer for a trip. We had to go down a freshly tarred and cindered road for several miles and the light blue paint job was more black than blue. A few hours with a jug of kerosene and it was good as new.

[Musgofasta]

Will try it. Thanks!

[kdm101]

Try WD-40, Deep Creep, or similar. I use Deep Creep on the exhaust tips as they get plastered with little bits of tar constantly. On occasion, I have used it on the paint. I have not had any problems with it harming the paint at all.

[RyanbabZ71]

Du Pont - PREP SOL

 

Drove through a construction site and my truck turned brown. Nasty film. Talked to a body shop guy and he suggested the stuff. Worked like a charm very safe too except it removes wax

[catmandoo]

WD-40 or gas. I cleaned up a hack off a mess with WD-40

[snoman]

WD-40 or gas. I cleaned up a hack off a mess with WD-40

 

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WD40 will work but kerosene will work better and cheaper too and it has a little more viscosity to it too to work with on the tar than WD40 does and evaporates slower a well. when you finish, take it to a car wash to remove the oil film left behind that will attract dirt.

[Guest chevydeerhunter]

Goof Off works great and won't take off paint. It's a good idea to wash and wax after you use it.

[snoman]

Goof Off works great and won't take off paint.  It's a good idea to wash and wax after you use it.

 

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The only proplen with Goof Off is that it has some other solvents in it too for other "goofs" and tar is oil based and a kerosene will dissolve it without any fuss and the least possible impact too in finish too. It may be safe but why use more solvent than you need?

[tryn2lrn]

Most auto parts store will have "bug and tar remover", used to detail cars and this stuff works great! Just wear some rubber gloves

[WALLY]

Ditto WD40 , easier to work with and smells much better than the rest.

[MountaineerTom]

Plain old lighter fluid. You can get it at Wal-Mart, where the cigarette's are. It may be the same as kerosene.

[99-2door]

From : www.howtocleananything.com

To remove road tar you need a solvent. Most commercial tar removers contain kerosene, mineral spirits or another petroleum distillate combined with lubricants to surround and buffer the road tar from your paint. Of the petroleum distillate products I've tried, Stoner Tarminator is my favorite. However, I prefer to use natural products where possible. Of the natural products I've found, Stoner XENIT, a strong citrus based cleaner, is king. XENIT removes heel marks from your doorsills, too

[SteveCZ]

Hmmmm, I'm surprised no one recommended the good ole' Clay Bar.... it will remomve it too... that might be worth a shot, if you are leery (sp?) of putting chemicals on your paint....

 

I had a nice overspray of Concrete Driveway Sealer (Thompsons Water Seal) on my truck from my father sealing the driveway. Yeah, I know... dumb....

 

But I tried EVERYTHING, and the ONLY thing that got it off was the clay bar.

 

I had to wax the truck after that cuz it pulled all the wax off, but that was ok, as long as I got the crap off the paint.

[snoman]

Hmmmm, I'm surprised no one recommended the good ole' Clay Bar.... it will remomve it too... that might be worth a shot, if you are leery (sp?) of putting chemicals on your paint....

 

I had a nice overspray of Concrete Driveway Sealer (Thompsons Water Seal) on my truck from my father sealing the driveway.  Yeah, I know... dumb....

 

But I tried EVERYTHING, and the ONLY thing that got it off was the clay bar.

 

I had to wax the truck after that cuz it pulled all the wax off, but that was ok, as long as I got the crap off the paint.

 

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Water seal would not likely come off with a petroleum based cleaner because if its makeup. It would take some effort with a specail cleaner unlike tar.