Removing Tree Sap/Seed Marks From Paintwork

[eric19371]

I thought I would give the old V50 a much overdue clean at the weekend and I have been unable to remove some marks left on the paintwork by leaves/seeds from trees that I have to park under. The car was given a decent wash with a snow foam pre-wash and a full hand wash but they won’t shift. I even gave it a going over with a clay bar but that did nothing to the marks (although it is lovely and smooth everywhere else now). Any ideas?

[Welton]

It sounds a bit like bird dropping damage which many people mistakenly believe is damage to the clear coat caused by 'acidic' droppings.

The real cause is an uneven expansion/contraction of the clear coat - anything left on the paint like a leaf or dropping could cause a temperature difference and mark the finish.

I've seen some heat pads made by AutoGlym (I think) which heat the clear coat and re-stabilise the area to even out the finish, or I think you can gently heat the area - but please do some research on this first!

[happy diver]

hot water and washing powder

[Brimfull]

Originally Posted by eric19371

I thought I would give the old V50 a much overdue clean at the weekend and I have been unable to remove some marks left on the paintwork by leaves/seeds from trees that I have to park under. The car was given a decent wash with a snow foam pre-wash and a full hand wash but they won’t shift. I even gave it a going over with a clay bar but that did nothing to the marks (although it is lovely and smooth everywhere else now). Any ideas?

You need a simple foam applicator, a clean microfibre towel and either Autoglym paint renovator or Meguairs Ultimate compound.

Put a pea size amount of product on the foam applicator and rub over the damaged area until the product becomes hazy.

Use the microfibre towel to remove the residue and the marks should be gone.

To help future prof apply a good quality wax to the car and remove any bird droppings/ tree sap etc as soon as you can. Leave it in situ and this will cause the damage to your clear coat that you now have.

A bottle of rapid-detailer and a microfibre cloth kept in the boot is handy to remove bird droppings etc as soon as it happens.

[andy_d]

Originally Posted by eric19371

I thought I would give the old V50 a much overdue clean at the weekend and I have been unable to remove some marks left on the paintwork by leaves/seeds from trees that I have to park under. The car was given a decent wash with a snow foam pre-wash and a full hand wash but they won’t shift. I even gave it a going over with a clay bar but that did nothing to the marks (although it is lovely and smooth everywhere else now). Any ideas?

snap some High res/close up and in focus pics of the "sap"
hammering it with "clay" probably wont shift it if its a Big blob, will wreck the paint around it tho


Diving in with ANY sort off abrasive * Autoglym paint renovator or Meguairs Ultimate compound and a foam pad, microfiber is a sure way to risk wrecking the paint.
Rubbing "detailing spray" with a microfiber cloth on bird bombs is also a good way to wreck the paintwork.


a Simple spray bottle with Plain water, a tissue , soak the bird bomb, place tissue over the top, Soak that > leave it to soften the bird bomb, after a few (depends on weather ) mins lift n bin the wet tissue,and KEEP spraying the bird bomb till it floats n slides off the car,
no Rubbing , no marring of the paint with the solids in the bird bomb, and cheap/effective



the tree sap.
you May find a Traffic film remover softens it Or a "tar and glue remover",,
idea is to Soften it then remove it , Not bash on in with abrasive compounds and risk the paintwork,,,

[Brimfull]

Originally Posted by andy_d

snap some High res/close up and in focus pics of the "sap"
hammering it with "clay" probably wont shift it if its a Big blob, will wreck the paint around it tho


Diving in with ANY sort off abrasive * Autoglym paint renovator or Meguairs Ultimate compound and a foam pad, microfiber is a sure way to risk wrecking the paint.
Rubbing "detailing spray" with a microfiber cloth on bird bombs is also a good way to wreck the paintwork.


a Simple spray bottle with Plain water, a tissue , soak the bird bomb, place tissue over the top, Soak that > leave it to soften the bird bomb, after a few (depends on weather ) mins lift n bin the wet tissue,and KEEP spraying the bird bomb till it floats n slides off the car,
no Rubbing , no marring of the paint with the solids in the bird bomb, and cheap/effective



the tree sap.
you May find a Traffic film remover softens it Or a "tar and glue remover",,
idea is to Soften it then remove it , Not bash on in with abrasive compounds and risk the paintwork,,,

The OP is asking how to remove the marks that have been imprinted into the clear coat after he has removed the actual tree sap.

The way to remove these marks in the clear coat is to use an abrasive compound, the likes of Auto-glym and Meguaires are of a very low cutting compound so these are hardy likely to cause any damage.

[andy_d]

Originally Posted by Brimfull

The OP is asking how to remove the marks that have been imprinted into the clear coat after he has removed the actual tree sap.

The way to remove these marks in the clear coat is to use an abrasive compound, the likes of Auto-glym and Meguaires are of a very low cutting compound so these are hardy likely to cause any damage.

oh dear oh dear
have you SEEN the marks?
if no then Why recommend something as "the only way" when you haven't seen it???

going in blind with ANY abrasive on clear coat - way to wreck it,

the so called "eggspurt" detailers who spout things like that ,, without SEEING the marks, are keeping bodyshops in work

same with the "QD/microfiber for bird bombs"....

[eric19371]

Thank you to everybody who has replied to the post so far and apologies for not posting pictures, quite daft actually because as they say, a picture can say a thousand words.

Focusing on the marks was rather hard as the camera refused to focus on them properly but hopefully you can make them out (anybody know how to use an iPhone camera properly?). The long marks were caused by seed pods that came off the trees and the circular mark was either leaves or bird droppings (I forget which).

[andy_d]

https://www.autoglym.com/products/preparation/reflow

have a Read of that, see IF that may solve the issues
Do read the info / advice/ FAQ and how to's