How to get baked-in sap off?

I've tried turtlewax bug and tar and 70% isopropyl alcohol and I haven't had any luck yet.

Before I waste money on a clay bar or anything else I want to know the prognosis. Is my paint fucked? The spec is less than a week old, I have no idea how it got in that thick but it did.

It's on the scoop area where the hood graphic goes but I really do not want to resort to an ugly graphic to hide this.

 

If WD 40 doesn't do it............

Speaking of the sap itself. If the sap is gone, paint can still be discolored, and that's a different issue.

But this thread is not 3rd gen specific. You'll find the Detailing forum to have more info.

 

Well it's gone but not completely. If I run my finger over it I can just barely make out a raised surface.

 

I’ve got some sap in the same spot. A clay bar didn’t do much for me. I haven’t tried bug and tar remover yet.

 

Try some Goo-Gone. You'll probably have to let it soak in for awhile but it should take it off.

 

Is that safe to leave on? Are we talking minutes or hours?

 

If clay, iron x, tar remover or even a degreaser doesn’t work....your going to have to polish it out.

 

If it's stubborn sap I'd guess about 15 minutes. You'll have to keep dabbing it on if the sap is on a vertical side. Just be sure to wash the area off afterward.

 

Would this involve a power polishing tool or can I do this by hand with a kit?

 

A Polisher for harbor freight does the job fine no need for some 200-500 polisher.

Anything can be done by had, it just takes a lot of elbow grease.

 

Just to reiterate the power tool is a last result. Pretty sure YouTube has plenty of vids on it.

 

Money spent on a clay bar isn’t wasted. You should always have one around for things like this.

It looks like the sap may have stained the paint.

Use a clay bar, if that doesn’t work its time for some polish.

You may be able to do it by hand but machines are much easier and more fun. If its etching it will be very laborous to do by hand. Plus you don’t want to buff one tiny spot. Its ideal to evenly buff a whole panel, machines make this easier too.

 

So worst case scenario a professional detailer should be able to fix this? I was worried I'd have to get used to living with it.

 

A pro detailer can definitely fix.

You picked the worlds best color for issues like this. There is no clear coat on white so its easier to wet sand and buff because you don’t have as much worry about ruining the finish by screwing up the clear coat.

Always buy white vehicles lol

 

Update. Mothers Clay bar kit didnt do anything. I was too scared to try ultimate compound or polish by hand.

Sigh, I hate trees.

 

I wouldn’t be afraid to try by hand. As long as you clay the whole surface you will polish prior to polishing you aren’t going to hurt anything.
I just wouldn’t go straight for a compound, I’d go for like a scratch and swirl remover with a microfiber or orage foam pad.

It’s hard to screw up your finish polishing by hand, thats why you should get a machine. Many times by hand you can’t get anything done.

 

Is there any particular scratch remover you recommend? Scratch doctor?

 

Try a polishing compound first. If that doesn't get it then go to a rubbing compound. After the rubbing compound you'll want to go back to the polishing compound to get rid of any swirl marks the rubbing compound caused.

After that then clay bar the entire truck and wax.

 

If you want to go by hand try Stratch X 2.0 with a microfiber pad. Put some muscle in it and you may buff it out.

I don’t use gimmicky products like Scratch Dr.

You just need a polish and some microfiber pads.

Make sure you clay bar the whole panel you polish though.

 

It's on hood should I clay the whole thing or just a reasonably large area?

So clay then apply some scratch X with a circular pad and then polish dry with a microfiber? Do I need to do a full rinse after?