Difficult Road Grime - Need Suggestions

[Brad777]

I've done a bunch of detailing in the past, used many products and equipment, nothing has prepared me for the recent road grime I got on my own car. To give you a bit of background, I took my family and future daughter in law to Park City, I live just outside of Salt Lake City. Park City had something on their roads, guessing to melt or prevent ice. Anyhow, I've tried tar remover, alcohol, and other products with no success. I even tried boiling water, dipping a brush in it and scrubbing the area with soap.

The grime has left a rough texture, like tar, but seems like it's glued to the car with super glue. I cannot imagine it's tar as we are in cold season. FYI, it will come off by dragging a razor blade down over it with some lubricatioin. This leaves very light scratches that will certainly buff out or I wouldn't have tried it.



Hoping someone can suggest ideas on removing this, other than sanding.

Looking forward to your suggestions. Huge thanks in advance for anything you might add to this conversation.

-Brad

[Sleper]

I have encountered this and I use fall out remover and a composite clay sponge. I wash area fist. leave wet. spray fall out remover and use sponge. you can hear the grit. once done rewash, dry etc. good luck

[Nick Winn]

Thinking a more potent solvent here. Don't necessarily have a specific recommendation other than more of an auto body shop, automotive specific solvent. IPA is not too strong in general, typically requires some dwell time, and works for certain contaminants. Many over the counter auto parts store type "tar removers" are not strong, so depends on which tar remover you have tried.

An auto body supply store or automotive paint store should have something that would point you in the right direction real quick.

In general it is good to "neutralize" after using a professional automotive solvent by washing the area with car wash soap.

Hope this helps.

[Brenan Jiran]

It sounds like you’re dealing with a combination of de-icing chemicals and bonded road grime, which can be especially difficult to remove after they’ve dried onto the surface. Since traditional tar removers haven’t worked, try using a pre-wash foam or citrus degreaser, letting it sit for a few minutes before agitating with a microfiber mitt. If that still doesn’t fully break it down, a fine-grade clay bar or clay mitt with plenty of lubricant should help remove the remaining residue. This type of contamination is common in winter driving, but a ceramic coating or paint protection film would significantly reduce buildup by creating a slick surface that resists these harsh road treatments.