Sap ! Any suggestions?

[Lambeth Cali]

I found sap down the side of the van. Annoyingly on the side with the sliding door, which sounds a bit creaky.

I’ve previously removed sap from the roof with hand sanitizer, a wooden spoon and cotton wool pads using a technique I saw on YouTube. Not that keen on doing that on the rear panel.




Any suggestions?

 

[KGCali]

I found sap down the side of the van. Annoyingly on the side with the sliding door, which sounds a bit creaky.

I’ve previously removed sap from the roof with hand sanitizer, a wooden spoon and cotton wool pads using a technique I saw on YouTube. Not that keen on doing that on the rear panel.

Any suggestions?

Isopropyl alcohol or Mineral spirit: Dampen a soft cloth with the above liquid. Gently rub the wet cloth to saturate the sap and the sap should slowly come off. After it's removed, wash the area well with water to remove any residue and apply a good wax.

 

[Hawthorn37]

Warm / hot water with standard car wash and sponge, and go over each panel a few times. Any last residues can be removed with AutoGlym Aqua Wax while still wet. I use Rapid Ceramic spray every 3 months or so and this reduces adhesion of dirt, bird poo and sap.

 

[Lambeth Cali]

Warm / hot water with standard car wash and sponge, and go over each panel a few times. Any last residues can be removed with AutoGlym Aqua Wax while still wet. I use Rapid Ceramic spray every 3 months or so and this reduces adhesion of dirt, bird poo and sap.

Yes I’ve just ordered some Autoglym Ceramic spray.

 

[Lambeth Cali]

Isopropyl alcohol or Mineral spirit: Dampen a soft cloth with the above liquid. Gently rub the wet cloth to saturate the sap and the sap should slowly come off. After it's removed, wash the area well with water to remove any residue and apply a good wax.

Yes that’s hand sanitizer isn’t it? Ordered some. Might do v warm water and jet wash tomorrow and then Isopropyl next week.
Very annoying as washed and waxed a couple of weeks ago. Sap is the worst.

 

[sidepod]

Evil stuff. Looks like silicone! I’ve tried everything including all of the above. Marginal success.

 

[Californication69]

Godamn it. I have sap all over my black bandit.
Can’t clean it off as currently on house arrest due to burst disc. It’ll have to stay on for Another 3 weeks then somehow removed.

 

[WelshGas]

I found sap down the side of the van. Annoyingly on the side with the sliding door, which sounds a bit creaky.

I’ve previously removed sap from the roof with hand sanitizer, a wooden spoon and cotton wool pads using a technique I saw on YouTube. Not that keen on doing that on the rear panel.

View attachment 109160

View attachment 109159
Any suggestions?

Common problem if surrounded by trees and mainly springtime. Sap is just a mixture of sugars and water, leaving the sugars behind when it dries. Washing with water and car shampoo and a microfiber mitten soon gets rid of it. Warm or cold according to your preference. If the vehicle is regularly waxed it won't do any harm.
I regularly ferment wine from sap collected from the silver birch trees we have.

 

[Lambeth Cali]

I put some hand sanitizer on at 7.30am and went and made coffee. At 8.15 I washed it with very warm water and car shampoo. I think most came off. Possibly helped that it was quite fresh sap.

 

[WelshGas]

I put some hand sanitizer on at 7.30am and went and made coffee. At 8.15 I washed it with very warm water and car shampoo. I think most came off. Possibly helped that it was quite fresh sap.

I think you would have the same effect without the Hand Sanitizer. The active ingredient would be the 25% water which would dissolve the sugars as the 70% alcohol would just evaporate . So just wetting and then washing would have the same effect.

 

[Perfectos]

A hack to remove oil Based contaminants from paint work, such as road tar, tree Sap etc :

Clean the vehicle normally using a quality wash (two bucket method) pre wash is desired, fully clean the vehicle as normal, paying particular attention to any contamination (try to remove it with the wash mitt or your finger nail, whilst the panel is wet).

dry the van as normal

Any remaining Tar / sap etc can be removed safely using liquid lighter fuel (light oil), apllied on a clean cotton or microfibre cloth , clean the area fully then apply a quality wax to reseal the paintwork.
edit : Do not use spray lighter fluid, use the liquid in a squeezy tin

 

[Hawthorn37]

The key is to wash it off as soon as possible. When sitting in the sun, the tree leaf sap becomes a tough resin, as the sap passes through pathways in the tree containing resin (sugars plus nitrogenous compounds and hormones). Different trees produce more or less leaf sap, and harder or stickier resin. Persistent washing with warm water and soap will work on hard tree sap, but it can take a while. Vinegar works on glass - but definitely not paintwork. Alcohol based cleaners are best for paint, then re-wax.

Tree cover on campsite has the advantage of shade, but disadvantages of leaf litter, bird poo and sap. In the UK we generally avoid pitching under a tree. Sap on a van is bad enough but on an awning it’s nearly impossible to remove.

 

[Lambeth Cali]

There’s very few non tree parking spots on my estate but I can usually grab one.
I got most of the sap off the van sides but the roof has a lot of tree detritus that wasn’t coming off with shampoo. I’ll have another go at that next week probably with the hand sanitizer which seems to soften stuff that’s hardened and reluctant to come off. I can then spray with the ceramic stuff that’s arriving today.

 

[Hawthorn37]

AG Rapid Detailer is good at removing stubborn stuff like tar spots, and surface grime. I use it before ceramic spray coating. Not used it specifically for sap but it should be useful.

 

[Algor]

I have found this stuff great to remove just about anything. Always follow the instructions as it is potent!

JUST THE TONIC TAR & GLUE REMOVER - Autobrite Direct

Fast-acting Tar and Glue remover that dissolves tar on contact. Just the Tonic is safe for removing glues, residues, and transport waxes.

autobritedirect.co.uk

 

[Doorbundle]

I've just this week used Halfords basic car wash/wax in warm water to clear tree sap from our Cali.
It works.
Will wash again & re-treat with Auto-Glym ceramic when it gets cooler and overcast.

 

[Dyddi]

Old timer's tips and wrinkles ....
Tree sap, even baked on under pine trees in Greece, is removed by British rain. Just not quickly.
Other national rains are available.

 

[Him&HerTravels]

I found sap down the side of the van. Annoyingly on the side with the sliding door, which sounds a bit creaky.

I’ve previously removed sap from the roof with hand sanitizer, a wooden spoon and cotton wool pads using a technique I saw on YouTube. Not that keen on doing that on the rear panel.

View attachment 109160

View attachment 109159
Any suggestions?

Holts Tar & General spot remover - brilliant stuff. Works on tar, sap and other sticky residues

 

[SusiBus]

Tried just water, didn't work. Then used Bug & Tar Remover, worked great.
Top Mark's Turtle.

 

[WelshGas]

Tried just water, didn't work. Then used Bug & Tar Remover, worked great.
Top Mark's Turtle.View attachment 109454

Aah, not Welsh Water.

 

[iamchucky]

Have the same issue with pine sap when go to France. I emailed Autoglym a few years back and they recommended their Intensive Tar Remover - it's worked for me.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0011539II/?tag=eliteelect-21

 

[Wildcamper]

Water works fine, lots of it depending on how dried the sap is.

 

[willwander]

Yes I’ve just ordered some Autoglym Ceramic spray.

Just watched this on one of my favourite YouTube channels, this guy knows his stuff.

He took a “ceramic car spay” and looked at the ‘ceramic particles” under a super powered microscope, his conclusion? Marketing Bullshit.

The ceramic part is not even ceramic, it’s basically silica i.e glass.

 

[Wildcamper]

Take a wet cloth, place it over the sap and leave for up to 1 hr - keep it wet. This softens the sap and it will wipe off. Also works with dried on bird poo.

 

[Lambeth Cali]

Just watched this on one of my favourite YouTube channels, this guy knows his stuff.

He took a “ceramic car spay” and looked at the ‘ceramic particles” under a super powered microscope, his conclusion? Marketing Bullshit.

The ceramic part is not even ceramic, it’s basically silica i.e glass.

I was expecting it to give a coating like the space shuttle.