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**RaskyR1** · Dec 14, 2009, 02:31 PM

Re: Tree Sap Etch the clear?

Originally posted by danny325is View Post

Sorry I dont have pics at this time.

My brother in law brought over his 2003 Red/maroon Hyundai Elantra.

It appears that he has been parking under a tree and had got some really bad Sap on the paint, and it has been there for a while.

After removing the sap, it appears to have eteched dull spots in the clear and in some spots it has even compromised the paint.

The spots where the paint is compromised is too late, We will fix them with touch up for now.

As for the the dull spots. I started with a DA, Orange LC pad, and D151. This obviously did nothing for the dull spots.

I then moved up to a DeWalt Rotary, Wool pad, #4 Heavy cut cleaner at about ~1700 RPM. At first glance this seemed to work, but when you changed positions you still see the outline of the spot, but it looked 1000 times better.

At this time the Velcro on my baking plate failed.(been in storage for too long) and I was not able to try anything else.

I am considering the DeWalt with a w4000 pad with some 105, but I am hesitant because I am not sure how much clear is left (if any) on those spots.

Any Advice?

Well if the paint is already compromised in a few spots so you really don't have much to loose by going more aggressive. I say give the M105 a shot!

**Michael Stoops** · Dec 14, 2009, 02:45 PM

Re: Tree Sap Etch the clear?

This is a very unfortunate situation - we don't often see tree sap doing quite this much damage.

Since you've got areas that have been so badly affected that touch up paint is required, it would follow that you've got some areas that are probably close to that, in varying degrees. Without benefit of a paint thickness gauge it's tough to tell how much clear you may have removed thus far. Still, a pass with a wool pad and M105 shouldn't be considered overly aggressive, unless you know that you've repeatedly (and aggressively) gone after these areas with #4. Only your previous experience running that fleet maintenance and detail company can tell you that. Lacking the gauge, of course.

Sometimes you reach a point where you just have to live with things, unless you opt to repaint the panels completely. If that's the case, if you plan on repainting anyway, then you don't really have anything to lose by going at the marks pretty aggressively. Keep in mind, however, that if you do manage to remove them you may end up removing so much clear that you may see it fail in a few years, even though it looks great immediately following the correction. This is where a PTG is great to have - you can monitor your progress as you go and make an informed decision about whether to live with the defects or not.

Another approach, and one that shouldn't be entered into without experience, is D/A wet sanding. If your experience with the fleet company includes this process, it could really be a great choice. D/A wet sanding, when done with the right tools, can actually be less invasive than repeated aggressive passes with a wool pad on a rotary buffer. D/A wet sanding is less aggressive than hand sanding, leaves a very refined sanding scratch that can be buffed out pretty easily, and can quickly get through this sort of very stubborn defect. Even a foam backed 3000 grit finishing disc will cut through the defects quickly, without cutting excessively. These marks can generally then be pulled out with a foam cutting pad on a rotary with something like M105, then followed with M205 on a foam polishing pad.

Again, if you don't have experience with this process it's best to not learn on something you (or your brother in law) cares about!

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Tree Sap Etch the clear?

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