Having taken advantage of the nice weather today, I managed to get time (between shopping and watching the Spuds get all disappointed. Again) to was the Octavia and the Passat.

The Passat is now six years old in reflex silver and barring a couple of stone chips, was immaculate. Until what I found today. The mrs at some point the last two weeks driven through an area where 'surface dressing' has taken place and it is literally covered in speckles of tar. Its everywhere and the bug pad isn't shifting the majority of the spots (some have just smeared too) I simply cannot believe that bone-idle, skinflint councils seek to undertake this moronic practice just to pretend they've resurfaced a decent amount of road- i'm fearing that it has ruined the paintwork. Any ideas for the best way of removing the tar before I go and defecate in the local council's foyer?

Clay bar and detailing spray

tar remover, then as above, a good claying session.

As tar is fairly fresh, should in theory come off OK.

I used Bilt Hamber clay for the first time last week and would certainly recommend it. By far the most effective and easy to use clay I've had before. Plus it uses water as a lubricant so no expensive quick detailer required.

If they persist after that I'd recommend Autoglym's Intensive Tar Remover, great and potent stuff. Does what it says on the bottle, but I also used it for removing deposits from adhesive number plate foam pads. Took me ages, but I got rid of all the deposits.

Hope that helps.

I've found that meths is great at removing tar, applied with a microfibre cloth.

Cheers folks I wasn't certain if the time lapse would have given it too much time to go off as it were. Will give it a whirl and let you know. It really wracks me off that this practice occurs, they're throwing it down like mad around these parts and its becoming a nightmare.

AS Tardis, the king!

Tardis is awesome but the fumes aren't user friendly!

Methylated spirits or even white spirit. Brush cleaner, its all kind of the same and will all take off tar spots. It will not damage your paintwork if used and immediately removed. You may just need a decent wash and then polish afterwards. But im sure you like your car enough for that to be a pleasure any way. Modern paint is very robust to most things. The only thing it cannot cope with in the long term is acid of any description. Tar spots are a massive pain but can be removed with a bit of work. There are also some very good paint restoration people out there. I have used them before for industrial overspray rather than authorising extensive repainting of vehicles.

Tardis, petrol or WD40.

Any of them will break down and shift tar.

In this thread - http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/273386-tar-ferrous-contaminants-remove-with-red-diesel/ - redcar_reds came up with WD40. It worked for me, quickly, minimum fuss and effort and, unusually, nothing special to buy (I'd guess most of us have that stuff handy).

(Ha - grr666 got there first!)

Did the Yeti on Saturday, it was covered in tar spots.

Used Autoglym tar remover and worked fine. Shifted everything.

Have used Autoglym and poor boys, both work well. If you're going to clay make sure the car is clean first as if you pick up any grit you can scratch the car. Also some of the cheap clays just fall apart and get very sticky.

Tardis love the stuff spray on wipe off!

Whatever you use...make sure you rewax or reseal afterwards

WD40 doesn't seem to be shifting it too well so will pop some Autoglym in the trolley when i'm in Halfrauds on Friday, won't get my hands on the Passat properly until then anywho.

Once again thanks for the response

I use either linseed oil or more usually olive oil. Grab a few cotton wool ear cleaner things (what the hell are these called again?) And dip into the oil. Then spot touch each tar spot. Let soak and then they should clean off. They should almost burst and break down when you clean off.

I use either linseed oil or more usually olive oil. Grab a few cotton wool ear cleaner things (what the hell are these called again?) And dip into the oil. Then spot touch each tar spot. Let soak and then they should clean off. They should almost burst and break down when you clean off.

Cotton buds

AutoSmart Tardis or CarPro Tar-X for removing tar. Hitting straight with clay is a waste of clay and will inflict marring on the car.

So best practice is to give it a hit with a tar remover, leave to dwell for a couple of minutes (but do not allow to dry), agitate it gently with a cloth or brush and either reapply or rinse off thoroughly and see where you need to focus your attention on. Some spots may not be visible it certain lights or angles. So gently running your finget tips over the car is a good indication of where they are, then proceed from there. If you wish to use a clay after to make sure that all of the bits are in fact gone, use a good shampoo or clay lube for lubricating the panel, this will help reduce any marring and help the clay glide better with minimal effort.

Harder to see them on a black car like mine.

But they stand out like a sore thumb on our yellow Fiat.

AutoSmart Tardis or CarPro Tar-X for removing tar. Hitting straight with clay is a waste of clay and will inflict marring on the car.

So best practice is to give it a hit with a tar remover, leave to dwell for a couple of minutes (but do not allow to dry), agitate it gently with a cloth or brush and either reapply or rinse off thoroughly and see where you need to focus your attention on. Some spots may not be visible it certain lights or angles. So gently running your finget tips over the car is a good indication of where they are, then proceed from there. If you wish to use a clay after to make sure that all of the bits are in fact gone, use a good shampoo or clay lube for lubricating the panel, this will help reduce any marring and help the clay glide better with minimal effort.

Good advice, could also try valet pro dragons breath, haven't tried it but seen some pics of good results.

I use this along with there polish, wax, QD, ect ect

www.bilthamber.com