How to remove tree sap from your car's paintwork

You’ve parked your car, come back to it and it’s covered in sometimes sticky, always visible little spots. Now look up. Are you parked under a tree? Then it’s a fair bet the stuff all over your car is what’s generically known as tree sap.

Chemically, it’s mostly sugar and water, but there is also some serious chemistry going on, because this stuff goes for wet and sticky to rock hard in just days. Either way, you need to act fast to avoid damage to your car’s paintwork.

The best way to avoid sap attack is to avoid parking anywhere near trees, particularly conifers which seem to be full of pine sap ready to gloop on to your car.

But if that’s not possible or the local insects have been roaming around today, then you might still find these blemishes on the car.

The problem is that sap can and will etch into the paint and damage either the colour of the paint or the clear-coat on cars with this paint technology.

Your car’s windows are vulnerable, too, but glass is much harder than paint and is less likely to be damaged. That said, it will still make a horrible mess the first time you turn the wipers on.

Believe it or not, the first step is to give the car a good wash. Whatever’s left after that is the stuff you then need to deal with.

If we’re talking actual tree sap remover, the most common product is acetone or, more familiarly, nail polish remover. Apply acetone to a cotton ball and then gently rub that on to the blobs of sap.

Acetone on car paint shouldn’t do any harm, but we’d always check on an inconspicuous part of the paintwork first just to be sure.

The acetone should gently dissolve the sap and it can be wiped away. A good rinse with water is the next step to get rid of any chemical residue.

Penetrating fluid or spray-lubricant is also offered up by some experts as a good sap remover. Google 'how to remove tree sap from car with WD-40' and you’ll soon find that the trade considers this a legitimate product to use.

Again, it shouldn’t harm car paint but is best applied directly to the sap blob via a cotton-ball or towel.

So, if that’s how to get tree sap off car paint, what about the other surfaces of a car? How to remove tree sap from car windshield glass is a bit easier because the glass is so much harder to damage than paint.

You can try the same chemicals as we’ve recommended for the paintwork or you can just tackle the blob of sap with a razor blade and scrape the glass clean. A follow up with a chemical cleaner will help get rid of any residue, though.

If you don’t like the idea of acetone or penetrating fluid on your paint, many car care companies market a range of sap removal products. Follow the instructions on the packaging and you should be in with a chance of a good result.

It's the same process as that for how to remove tree sap from car window glass; a car’s side windows may not be laminated like the windscreen, but any auto glass is harder than tree sap, so choose your own method.

Things get a bit more difficult if the sap has been there a long time. Now you need to know how to remove hardened tree sap from car paint, because as the sap heats and cools, sap can quickly become like concrete and is very hard to dissolve.

If that’s the case, the damage to the paint may already have been done, but you still need to make sure you don’t worsen that damage with your removal attempts.

Start with the gentle chemical approach and be prepared to take several attempts to soften the sap and get it to shift.

You will find parking the car in the sun on a warm day will help as the sap will naturally soften in these conditions.

Once the sap has been banished, a good wash with proper car detergent, a chamois off and then a nice thick coat of quality wax is the way to go.

As a bonus, the wax will help form a protective barrier between the car and any future sap that tries to attach itself to the paint.

But again, the best advice is to stay away from parking anywhere near a tree and if you do spot sap on your car, the sooner you get rid of it, the easier that job will be and the less chance you’ll have of ending up with damaged paint.