Auto detailing...TREE SAP! ARGH!
 

I just bought a BMW 325i in Titanium Silver with 22k miles on the odo. I am assuming this car was bought at auction because the clock inside was 2 hours earlier than central time. Anyhow, the horizontal surfaces (hood, roof and trunk deck) all have very small black dots all over the paint. I am assuming this is very small areas of tree sap or some other contaminant. I would very much like to get this stuff off my paint.

I tried a clay bar, the paint was rough as hell and the bar took off maybe 10% of the dots but not nearly all. I then pulled out some rubbing compound I had and tried that. It works and removes the dots but man, it takes forever! I spent 10 minutes and maybe had a 6 inch square clean.

Is there anything else I can try to get this stuff off a little easier? I guess I could just sit there and use rubbing compound on each panel over time but I am hoping there is an easier way.

I tried to take pics but the camera won't pick up the dots. Yes, I know I am being anal.

You don't want to try to remove that mechanically (like by polishing, or *gasp* compounding!). You'll do more damage than good to the paint.

You need to remove it chemically, there are all sorts of tree sap removal products on the market. Just one example (there are many others):

Tar Remover | Tree Sap Remover & Asphalt Remover

I'd call a good automotive detail supplier and ask what they have. Your local auto supply stores probably have stuff, too.

Any bug and tar remover should work. Let it sit on the spots for a few minutes to soften them up. I would then follow up the treatment with the clay bar, polish, and then wax.

Also, if the little lady has any, Avon Skin-So-Soft does wonders on that sort of thing. We used to use it to remove the rubber from our burnouts that accumulated behind the tires.

I use a spray of alcohol, let it soak in. Then spray with WD-40, gently wipe off with microfiber.
Rule of thumb, use organic solvent for an organic stain (ie alcohol).

Prep sol.

Rub on, rub off.

Get it at any detailing supply shop.

I've used Goof Off to remove pine tree sap and it worked well. It also removes all wax, so I rewaxed it as soon as the sap was removed.

**Warning** If you do this right, it works flawlessly. If you do it wrong you are going to scratch the snot out of your paint. So if you've ever been referred to as a hairless monkey, as having all thumbs, or two left feet, please stop reading...

Take a fresh razor blade. Scrape it vigorously on the windshield. You are slightly rolling the edge of the blade. It's now directional meaning that the rolled edge should be pointing up away from the windshield. Keep it in the same direction while you work on the paint.

Work the blade nearly horizontal to the panel and scrape off the sap. If you do this with care you won't leave a mark on the paint at all and can usually do even a severely "sapped" car in an hour.

Follow up with a good polish and at least two coats of wax.

I put myself through college running a detail business and probably did this to at least 40 or 50 cars. Done right, it works perfectly. Don't even think about doing it wrong.

angela

Wow, that sounds a bit dangerous to me...I would not be comfortable taking a razor blade to my "new" car.

I did go out and try the clay bar again, I was pleased to see that it does take the stuff off, you just have to rub a little harder with it and reknead the clay from time to time. The paint just has so much crap on it that it loads the clay bar pretty quickly. I may end up claying the whole car twice just to get the paint clean. It amazes me how poorly people treat leased vehicles...oh well, I guess my new baby just needs some extra lovin...

I would go the chemical route first. Paint thinner or other products to dissolve the sap. As far as Goof-off, I would avoid this stuff. It is really aggressive and I use it only for dried latex paint on areas that are not painted, like a dried spot on the carpet or floor. I have seen this stuff melt and dissolve paint and plastics pretty easily.

Here, I pulled this directly off the goof-off website:

"CAUTION: Always test on inconspicuous area first. Damages many plastics, worn vinyl floors, some automotive paints, and some carpets. "

Prep Sol will remove the sap in seconds.

May not be sap. Do you park near mulch? If so, it is probably "artillery" fungus, I have seen whole houses covered with it.
Strange Brown Dots
http://www.nnjr-pca.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=3242&p=38998&hilit=mulch#p3899 8

Update!

I have a firm diagnosis on the black spots. It is not tree sap after all, it is "rail dust" or "industrial fallout". I have spent the entire day washing, claying, washing again, polishing and then waxing the car. Damn my arm hurts! Where is Mr. Miyagi when you need him.

Anyhow, I figure I got about 95% of the specks off with the clay bar, some of em took more rubbing than others. Those clay bars are truly amazing. When I have used them before it was on a fairly new finish so I wasn't that impressed. Today was removing 3 years of built up crap on the paint. Some of those areas felt like medium grit sandpaper when the clay first went over them!

Anyhow, I am now pretty happy with the finish on my car. Next wash I will probably clay it again and get the last few specks off.

Now the only issue is that there is a tick in the engine at idle. Just started today so I'm hoping it will go away. If not, it's under warranty!

Gratuitous pics:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1255823784.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1255823798.jpg

Beautiful car. I am impartial to BMW's. The clay is great for removing stubborn film but you may want to use some polishing compound to remove any surface scratches before you use a wax. By that time, your triceps should be able to handle it.;)

You could have done the same thing in 5 minutes with prep sol.

wait, are you saying he should have used prep sol?

I dunno man, you are saying prep sol will remove rail dust embedded in the clearcoat?

Anything on the surface miagi-son. Wipe on, wipe off.

Oh well, I thought you were saying it worked for tree sap. I figured this rail dust stuff was different.

I got a good tricep workout though!

Anyone ever tried prep sol to get rid of tree sap or rail dust?

Never have had the need to but I imagine it would. Pretty good **** that... I have a gallon of it too... :D

Peanut butter...

Hehehe.

All of the detailers that my old man has employed over the years at his dealership use(d) the stuff.

I have noticed ticking in several late model 325 / 328's. Some are pretty bad. I recall reading somewhere that the VANOS phasers get weak and no longer control the cam phasing perfectly, typically at idle.

Let us know what BMW says.

Another update. This one has me shaking my head a bit.

So I start the car this morning and it is still ticking. I did some research on bimmerfest.com and it seems many people have had this issue. It is something to do with the hydraulic lifters not getting enough lubrication while the engine is cold. It is a recurring problem that has frustrated many owners. The dealerships were doing a bleeding procedure because the line from BMW is that there is air in the oil and that is causing the tapping. It seems the bleeding procedure works for a few months and then the tapping is back. Some people have had their heads replaced by BMW. The good news is it doesn't seem to cause any excess wear on the engine and usually goes away once the engine is warm. Just this September BMW has put out newly designed lifters that fix the issue and are telling dealers to swap out the lifters for this issue.

So anyhow, armed with this knowledge I took the car out today to run errands. It tapped for about 3 minutes and then stopped tapping, just as predicted. While I am driving I notice this intermittent warning lamp on the dashboard. I had noticed it before after picking it up from the dealer but it was just a caution triangle with an exclamation mark in the middle. I figured that meant it was due for an inspection or something. I tried to look it up in the manual and couldn't find it. So the light is going off and on seemingly randomly during the drive. I stop the car and pull out the manual again. Go back over the warning signals and find it this time. It is the "add oil ASAP" light. WTF??? The oil level on these things is monitored by the computer so I turn over to the section where it tells you how to check the oil level. Sure enough, it is showing a full quart low. I drive over to OReilly's and buy two quarts of high grade Castrol synthetic. Put a quart in and check the oil level again...still low. Put the second quart in and oil level checks out ok.

How the hell can a BMW dealership change the oil on a car during a CPO process and fill it TWO QUARTS LOW??? I bet that's where the tapping was coming from, there just wasn't enough oil to lube the lifters until the engine was warm and oil pressure was up.

Engine purrs like a kitten now....we'll see how it does in the morning.

One thing is for sure, I am calling the pre-owned manager at Mortiz BMW in the morning and letting him know his CPO service SUCKS.

The good news is I love that friggin car!

If it was showing one quart low, it would not be a good idea to add two.

The problem is after I added the first quart the computer still read low but just not the +1 quart reading. Basically the oil meter goes (from lowest to highest) +1 quart, low, OK, and max. So if it is 5 quarts low, it will still keep saying +1 quart until it gets to "low". "OK" is actually the correct level.