Hi Team, can anyone advise me of what product to use to get road tar off car paintwork TIA
12rider,
Apr 11, 11:32pm
WD40 works wonders - saturate a lint free rag & rub in a circular motion as you would if you were applying a coat of wax. The sooner you get to it the easier it will be to remove, if that isn't 100% successful then go to Repco or some place similar & get some Prep Sol (Preparatory Solvent), do as above with the exception that you will have to wash the affected area(s) with a good quality car wash immediately after as Prep Sol can sometimes mildly stain the clear coat, If this happens use a Pad Glaze or mild cutting compound to remove the staining. Cheers
daryl14,
Apr 11, 11:50pm
Petrol or Kerosene will work just as well, if you have them handy.
calista,
Apr 12, 12:24am
Mum always used butter on us - not sure what that would do to paintwork though.
dublo,
Apr 12, 12:30am
My choice would be kerosene, it is relatively inert and will dissolve tar but not any paint paint finishes which my cars have (acrylic lacquer on 1970s cars and clear coat on modern one). Apply with a small piece of cloth and work gently until the tar dissolves. It will leave a hazy coat behind when it dries but this will buff off with a clean cloth. Don't forget to apply wax to the affected areas afterwards!
tintop,
Apr 12, 1:49am
Prepsol
Will remove tar, and will not damage paint. Specially formulated to use on car paint finishes.
fordcrzy,
Apr 12, 3:32am
Turps
mgmad,
Apr 12, 4:15am
I use engine degreaser. Works pretty well as it dissolves the tar with minimal need for wiping etc = less chance of scratching.
aoc1,
Apr 12, 4:23am
I used babywipes and just tissue to wipe off worked well
tntc1500,
Apr 12, 4:35am
prepsol, go buy it form any car paint supplyer. cleans off everything off your clear coat that's what the professionals use. n its cheep
nesta129,
Apr 12, 5:19am
I find its easier to remove it on a hot day if the car been in the sun.Fastest way is,if you can,scratch the skin of the tar spot with your fingernail or a plastic scraper and it comes out a lot easier with a clean cloth dabbed in turpentine or thinner or presol without too much wiping at all.
thanks to everyone for your suggestions. great to know there's always contributors who are willing to help others out. awesome. keep up the good work team!
nicstab,
Apr 12, 8:38am
Engine degreaser i find works best
tintop,
Apr 12, 5:12pm
Mmm - would be very wary of using thinners.
Turps maybe, but with prepsol you know that it will be ok.
kazbanz,
Apr 12, 7:44pm
Tar is orrible stuff in that one little bubble of it spreads a long way. In my experience starting with engine degreaser is the best bet. and will shift 70% of road tar. For the other 30% I do use 2k thinners but don't recommend it. Prepsol will be a better product.
lookoutas,
Apr 12, 7:54pm
Prepsol or Wax & Grease remover are the best, and should be the only product used by a novice. If ya can't get Wax & Grease remover, try Grease & Wax remover. It doesn't even work backwards.
nesta129,
Apr 12, 11:33pm
I've done it all the time using thinners.When the tar is warm,its softer on the inside except for the top skin of it which is harder.Remove that and its sometimes only one or two quick wipes with a cloth-end dabbed in thinner and its gone.No hard rubbing like with prepsol etc. works quick and easy for me.
tintop,
Apr 13, 1:30am
Given that there is a wide variety of 'thinners' and paint systems, how can you be sure that the type that is used does not affect the paintwork ?
At least go to an unseen place on the car and try the 'thinners' of your guess on the paint with a clean white rag - unless you have a white car- in that case use a coloured rag. :)
Since the advent of natural gas, coal gas and its bye products including 'tar' is no longer available. The black spots will be bitumen. ( not that it makes a great deal of difference when to comes to removal) :)
grangies,
Apr 13, 2:02am
Tintop. Thinners of any variety will only affect single component air dry paint products, such as acrylic lacquers and alkyd enamels, which are virtually non existent on most of NZ's car fleet these days.
Rubbing car paint with any thinners is 99.9% safe.
tintop,
Apr 13, 2:14am
Ah! That 1 in 1000 chance huh ?
nesta129,
Apr 14, 12:44am
Thinners affect the paint if you rub it hard enough like a buffon! Which I don't and thats enough confidence for me to use it on all car paint-work.Works the same when the panelbeater and painter uses it,so I don't see it working any different with me as we use the same thinners from a Paint shop. Learnt that from experience prepping a car and having to remove the tar,its much easier and faster for me.The panelbeater and painter has no problem with it and I don't doubt they would know nothing of thinners to just buy any for the work.
louisen,
Apr 20, 5:34am
just an update. i ended up purchasing a turtle wax product from repco called bug and tar removal and it worked a treat
tamarillo,
Mar 4, 3:07am
Yeah! Just read post and was gonna say that's specific stuff for tar, and it really does work a treat! Put some wax on after as it will remove wax layer. Or if you haven't got one, buy some turtle wax!
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