Tree sap

[694doorbird]

Is it possible for tree sap to be on the car for so long that it gets baked in to the paint?

 

Son bought an '87 Jaguar XJ6 a couple months ago. Car lived its entire life in San Antinio, TX. He brought it over this weekend for a good cleaning. After taking the clay bar to what we figured is tree sap, it got smoother, but not gone. (I forgot to take pictures). Otherwise paint is in great shape and looks to be original to the car.

[Ricky Bobby]

You need a solvent like Tarminator to really dissolve any residue. WD40 would also help. Then clay.

 

However if it sat it the sun it may have etched holograms into the paint in which case you would need to compound and at worst case wet sand

[Dan@Adams]

Yep, it's absolutely possible that tree sap, acid rain, and bird bombs can etch and stain into the clear coat.

 

You could try isopropyl alcohol on it, but it will most likely need to be machine polished out, and possibly wetsanded as Jason mentions.

[694doorbird]

Thanks, I'll pass this along to him for the next time we work on it.

[Dan@Adams]

No problem! You could even try Revive Hand Polish with a Blue Hex Grip Applicator by hand at first, but if it doesn't remove the sap, you would most likely need to step up to machine polishing.