How To Remove Tar From Your Paint?

Justshootme84 · Jun 14, 2004

Fortunately I wasn't driving my Bronco, but my Chevy Z-71 now has road tar all over the sides and is like an inch thick on the rocker panels. I tried WD-40 today and that worked fair, just wondered if anyone had a good remedy for this. I came around a corner and there was the sign "fresh oil".

Thanks for the warning :angry:

walkdawg · Jun 14, 2004

I use hot water with soap and the soft scrubb stuff my wife gets fo the the counters and stuff like that in the house. It works great for me if it really hard to get off I get out the SOS steel wool pads and that usually get the stuff off. It puts little scratches but if you waxit after and buff it out you will never know. Hope this helps you.

FLYFSHIN · Jun 14, 2004

You wouldnt think it, but I've found the best tar/sap remover is Crisco. Park your rig outside in the hot hot TX sun for a few hours. Pull it in, smear crisco on it. Let it sit. Then rub the tar off using a rag with more Crisco. It suspends the tar you wipe off rather than smearing it, and keeps it from sticking to the paint again!

Shadow_D · Jun 15, 2004

Wow that Crisco idea seems to be better than anything I have tried. I've used Gas, Kero or Deisel.

Sorny · Jun 15, 2004

Gunk Engnine Cleaner is some of the best stuff for that. My friend has a 74 Vega with a chevy 350 running 350+ Hp and he had rubber all over his car from the drag races and from smoking off the tires

. So we used that stuff right on the paint and the rubber came off like nothing, and it didn't even hurt the paint at all. We did this like a year ago and to this date the paint is still perfect, so i insure you its ok. There was also tar on it to and it came off very easily.

Justshootme84 · Jun 16, 2004

Thanks for the replies!!! I will try all of the above and let you know the results. BTW, the tar is on top of and under a bunch of mud since it's really wet here. What a mess!!! I think I'll kill my grasss in the yard when I do it, but oh well..

cowboydan · Jun 16, 2004

gasline anifreeze works the best on clearcoats, you will need to wax the affected areas. i don't know bout using sos pads.... steel on paint???

hawk2100n · Jun 16, 2004

Gunk Engnine Cleaner is some of the best stuff for that.

Gunk is really good stuff for tar and other sticky things. I had sap all over my hood the other day and i used the wipes that have orange oil in them and they pulled it right off.

walkdawg · Jun 17, 2004

I only use the sos when i really need it and it does not scratch the pait any reall just enough you can see the lines where you went and then you just buff it out and its all shinny again.

Justshootme84 · Jun 20, 2004

I tried the Gunk Engine Cleaner today, and it worked fairly well!!! I took the truck to the local car wash and made a real mess, with alot of mud caked with tar. The Gunk dissolved alot of the tar, but I only had one can of it and ran empty, just on one side on the rocker panels. I need to do some more where the tar was really thick, but at least I didn't get messy like I did with the WD-40. I'm going to try some Crisco to see how good that works, or if you guys are pulling my leg!!! I'll post up a pic of what I'm working with:

tar and mud pic

Bronco_Blues · Jun 20, 2004

Silly Putty gets small amounts off.At least Ive heard.

Bronco_Blues · Jun 20, 2004

http://www.flitz.com/ off topic, but maybe a decent product for the haze off the headlights.

Justshootme84 · Jun 21, 2004

Thanks for that link, but those are brand new Eagle Eyes, just reflecting the flash. The old lights were clouded up really bad, though!

Sorny · Jun 21, 2004

Glad to hear that the Gunk worked for you. Know that 1 can was enough for us to do the engine and the body of the car, and the car had lots of rubber on it.

sweepersrgr8 · Jun 22, 2004

On the FLITZ link....just buff your headlight lens with polishing compound, and keep them waxed as you would your chrome...no more hazy headlights.

I can't take credit for this idea..it came from MM&FF, and it works.

Justshootme84 · Jun 22, 2004

Hey, Sorny, do you use the foaming Gunk or the regular spray? I just used the regular spray, and I could see the tar running as soon as I applied it. I think I have a can of the foaming cleaner, too, and wondered if that would be better. The tar on the door in that pic is about 1/2" thick and the GUNK cleaned it off with 3 tries. The tar is about 1" thick below that, and is still there under the mud. Should I let it soak for longer than a minute or two?

Sorny · Jun 22, 2004

I have never used the foam stuff so I have no idea how that stuff will work. But as for how long it should soak thats something you would probebly have to play with. I would think that the longer its on the better it would work.