Sap, Ugg!

My ‘22 has been garaged almost its entire 11 month life span. I work from home so it doesn’t even have 3K on it yet. I let it sit out 1 damn week (we have more cars than garage spots) and there are marks I just can’t clean off. Thought it was bird poop but someone else said tree sap. I tried old fashioned soap and water, Goo Gone, Clay bar, nothing works. I’ll take it to a pro so this is more of a vent then a cry for help. The thing is, we’ve had 9 different cars (6 of them in the Toyota family) alternatively parked under the same trees over the last 17 years, and have NEVER had this issue. Is Toyota skimping on the paint quality/factory coatings on newer vehicles?

 

I live where tree sap is unavoidable. WD40 works great. If its thick it will take a couple of times spraying, let soak and wipe. Great for removing it from your hands too.

 

I suggest look into adding a ceramic coat. It’ll make cleaning this stuff (and I’m general) so much easier.

 

WD 40 or mineral spirits. Wet a cloth and let lay on it a bit for a soak. May take a few reps.

 

So I took it to the local dealers collision center. They can’t get the brown stains out. They say it’s through the clear coat and into the paint. How the hell can a 1-year old truck garaged for 11.5 months be this susceptible to a little tree gunk in just a matter of 1-2 weeks? My vehicles have been under these same trees for 17 years and everything always washes right off with a little elbow grease.

Am I nuts thinking this is an inferior finish on a new $40K+ vehicle. Never seen anything like this and we wash/wax all our cars regularly.

 

No, you aren't going insane. The paint on these trucks is very thin and soft, I am a bit obsessive with car care and I can honestly say that at this point the paint isn't worth more than a wax or sealant, ceramic coatings are expensive and require a good bit of maintenance to get the advertised longevity. So for me it is back to Klasse High Gloss Sealant Glaze. one day I may repaint the truck myself or pay to have it done, then vinyl wrapped. as others have said let the removal product soak the stain for a bit before agitating it, otherwise you will mar all the paint around the stain.

 

My cousin has a new F150 King rancher in a really nice white paint with a faint pearl to it. Same thing, he had some pine sap drip on the P/Us roof and a brand new painted to match topper. The discoloration went right through the ceramic wax and the clearcoat and slightly discolored the paint. He's a retired paint and body guy and still took it to one of the better respected shops in town who he knows and they said it's not coming out w/o painting the truck.

 

That’s what I was told after the collision center spent 2 hours working on it. The only thing to do is live with it or repaint it. Just grinds my gears that it has only been parked outside 2 weeks of its entire 1 year of life and is that susceptible to permanent damage. The same trees that have done ZERO damage to all my other cars over 17 years.

 

Hand sanitizer works wonders

 

Great tip! I've heard this from others. I'm gonna give it a shot soon

 

won't WD40 damage paint?

 

If you leave it on for a long time it might but just wash it off or use detail spray.

 

WD40 and Sanitizer has been said, but standard Bug, Tar and Bird Dropping formulas work too. I've also used 70% Isopropyl, same idea as sanitizer. Just make sure you wipe it off with a clean towel too. Remainder will flash. After all is done, get some protectant on there. I'm partial to ceramic, but for proper results be prepared for a lot of prep.