[Lisa62]

Help, please, if you have any suggestions for the removal of asphalt/tar from paint and wheel-wells!

Yesterday I was forced (by the 10 honking cars behind me) to drive through a patch of freshly-laid asphalt that was the consistency of a sticky riice-krispie treat. The heavy-duty F-series in front of me (1st to drive over the one-lane-wide swath of fresh, black, sticky asphalt about 4 inches deep) left horribly deep tire marks in the asphalt, and kicked up asphalt bits the size of popcorn all over my nose/hood.

When I saw that happen I thought "No WAY am I driving through that muck," but the angry mob of cars behind me who couldn't see the fresh lane of asphalt honked until I grudgingly piloted my lovely, clean S60 right into the nasty stuff. I had to...

The end result was that my car got covered with tar/asphalt-bits-the-size-of-popcorn, on the hood, A-pillars, door panels, wheel-wells, and the rear bumper. I got as much off as I could, with paper towels I keep in my trunk, at the next gas station. As soon as I got home, I used car-washing soap to get off as much as possible, and I was VERY careful not to smudge or smash the bits onto the paint, but there are some smudgy bits left over, and there are asphalt bits lodged in the little "cubby" at the bottom of the wheel well where the front bumper has an open space. It's packed SOLID with asphalt!

I grabbed some Meguier's Gold Class Bug/Tar Remover immediately at the local auto supply store, but found that it can only be used on painted surfaces that are "cool to the touch", so I won't get to apply it for another couple days, for various reasons. If you have any tips or hints, feel free to share.

Signed,
A very unhappy Swedespeed member who is filled with asphalt angst,

 

[Spearzy]

Well hopefully you can find a tree or garage to park under for an hour before application but I like to use turtle wax rubbing compound. Every spring I go around the whole car, any surface with it to take off brake dust rust. It says it will remove bugs and tar as well. If it can remove rust specs and leave a beautiful shine after I'd say go for it. If any thing I know of can remove nasty tar that may, although quite honestly I've never put it to that kind of test.

 

[xtremepsionic]

Don't worry, get a clay bar like Mcguiar's quick clay system. They remove dirt like that quite well.

However since you like your car so much, may I suggest you to use Zaino's polish system instead? They don't wear out like waxes and don't stick to dirt like waxes either. Also looks the shiniest too.

 

[Lisa62]

Thanks. I've never heard of the clay product, but I will look into it. I already have the bug/tar remover on hand, so I may start with that, and look for other products if it doesn't work (or doesn't work well enough). Also, thanks for the Zaino tip.

Yes, as "original" and avant garde as it looks, I'm not happy with the "speckled look". The black-n-silver my car currently sports, though "interesting", isn't nearly as beautiful as it's original (just-silver) hue. Ha ha.

 

[Spearzy]

Hahaha, yikes!
Hey did you get it all off yet? What worked?

 

[Lisa62]

Unfortunately, I haven't yet cleaned off those specks. (Cringe... siiiigh...) Sad, but true. I *did* run it through the touchless wash, because there are water restrictions here and I keep missing the days I'm allowed to use water--grrrr! Been incredibly busy...and you KNOW I'm busy if I let my bee-you-ti-ful S60 sit there for this long with that crap on it! I drive it shamefully...keeping my eyes lowered in traffic...so, SO ashamed to let my beauty live in this state of horrendous filth!!! (Tee hee.) But I hope to get to it (tar speck removal, wash, then wax/polish) in the next 2-3 days. I'll report back on how the Meguiar's product works for me, in case anybody cares.

 

[mpeng168]

actually, i would recommend that you use some bug and tar remover that is safe for automotive paint. it's usually in a car parts store next to the car wax section. it works really well esp if the tar is still soft.

i feel for you

 

[Lisa62]

Okay, FYI, the Meguiar's Gold Class Bug & Tar Remover worked -- but it took SEVERAL passes, and I still have some specks there. They're very tiny, but still there. Why didn't I scrub the h-e-double L out of them? Well, I did scrub nearly every one, and even reapplied the product for 2nd passes and 3rd passes on some flecks, but there were a few (especially on the horizontal surfaces) that simply wouldn't come off. I didn't want to rub right through my clearcoat, you know? Enough's enough!

That was yesteday. My hands were clenched like claws from all the scrubbing, and my upper arms were exhausted!!! Complain, complain, complain...but anyway, the tar & asphalt are off, for the most part. I saw the clay products there in the store (Mother's has one, as does Meguiar's), but figured I'd try the simple spray-bottle Meguiar's bug-n-tar remover, first.

I looked for Zaino and couldn't find it, but a cleaner wax caught my eye, Meguiar's Mirror Glaze "one-step" cleaner wax, that supposedly cleans, polishes, and protects all in one step. I thought "Hey, I want the paint "cleaned" a little more, kind of, and polishing makes it shiny, right? And protection sounds good." I bought it.

I got up at the crack o dawn today to apply it. I'll take the results over to my "waxing/polishing" thread, though. Thanks, again, for the tar/ashpalt removal tips, everyone. Much obliged.