Pine Tree Sap or Pitch

2017 Tacoma TRD Sport... owned for about 9 months. been in the woods and camping a few times but this weekend went to MacArthur Burney State Park in northern CA (beautiful falls bTW) and I must have parked under a tree riddled with holes or squirrels were eating pine cones and spitting out the sap onto my truck. Its everywhere... hood, roof, windows. Want to get it off, but also don't want to ruin my sweet Inferno paint. Did a search for sap and pitch but didn't really see anything of consequence. Advice for getting pine sap off the windows and paint safely and effectively? Thx in advance!

 

I'd take some 70% isopropyl alcohol and cut it with water. Two parts water, one part 70-ipa. See where that gets you. Don't let it dwell. Spray and immediately wipe with a wet microfiber towel. One panel at a time and rinse thoroughly after each panel.

Or you could try something like Car-pro eraser. I think I've heard that mineral spirits can be used, as well.

 

I used this to remove some nasty tar all over my lower quarter panels. It's supposed to work great on sap also.

 

I've used this to remove road tar, should be good for tree sap.

McKee's Tar Max

 

Road tar is easy but tree sap can be a bitch depending on the type of tree.

 

Thx... tried your first approach after a little more research showed that the alcohol works by itself and also, of all things, in the form of hand sanitizer! Sounds like full 70% shouldn't do the paint any harm, but I decided to try the middle ground... I made it a bit stronger than your mix and went two parts water to one part alcohol. It worked quite well. Probably helps the sap wasn't already hardened. Appreciate the help!

 

Strong concentrations of IPA will penetrate clear and wrinkle paint (if it sits). Just need to make sure it doesn't dwell. Whenever using ipa, immediately wipe off, rinse, and repeat as necessary. Risk vs reward. Use the lowest concentration needed to do the job.

 

If I just have a speck or two or three of sap, I'll just dab a towel with the 70% ipa out of the bottle, scrub the spot a little, and then immediately wipe with a wet (water) towel to be sure the alcohol is gone. Repeat as necessary. Quick ipa wipe, rinse, quick ipa wipe, rinse. Etc.

I use caution when telling people to use ipa outta the bottle because... well, there are idiots out there. If cleaning an entire panel or car, yeah best to mix a diluted bottle and take your time.

 

If you spray 70% and let it sit, it will do harm. Just be smart and you'll be fine.