Hi everyone, I’ve had a stain about the size of a coin on my car’s bodywork for around a year now. It hasn’t come off during washes, and I suspect it might be old tree sap, glue, or something similar—probably something that fell from a tree or a balcony.
 

Anyway, I’m looking for a chemical solution that can effectively remove it without damaging my car’s paintwork, which is in Tulip Black, a highly delicate colour. Has anyone tried something that worked and can recommend it?
 

Thanks in advance!

Have you tried a machine polish first .

6 minutes ago, Mickvrs220 said:

Have you tried a machine polish first

 

I have some polish, but I haven’t tried using it because I’m afraid to rub, even with cotton wool. The stain is on the front hood, off to the side. I’m worried I might make a mess… I was hoping to apply something chemical that could dissolve it.
 

I think I’ve already tried using a warm/hot water compress in the past, but it didn’t work.

I would try polishing it out ,give the whole bonnet a polish or better still buy a good cutting compound ,or pop into a local body shop the guys there are usaully good with a polisher .

Always start with the gentlest solution or polish and certainly chemical first, if you get any result then repeat the application and see if more comes off, if so repeat and so on, if not move up a level from gentlest.  Sometimes you can get so far with removal and be sealing in the remainder (depending on what you use). 

 

You could have a look in and/or post in the Styling and Car Care forum where polishing lads and lasses frequent. - https://www.briskoda.net/forums/forum/8-styling-and-car-care/

 

If its been there for a year its likely to be something thats marked into the paint ,its not changed with washing the car for the last year ,can you actually feel something on the paint.

Always start with the least aggressive method first. Don’t try machine polishing until you’ve tried a few things first.
 

There’s a few products you can use - start with a decent panel wipe (basically used to get rid of any leftover oils/waxes after polishing, traditionally IPA); Garage Therapy Zero is a decent quality product. Next, look for Tar Remover type products (some may say Tar/Sap Remover; they’ll basically be an organic solvent of some type like toluene or xylene. Not in direct sunlight or on hot paintwork. Spray on, let it dwell (sit working), gentle agitation with a clean microfibre and then rinse off.

Don’t use petrol or Naphtha as it can melt the clearcoat and you may see some discolouration to it.

if chemicals don’t get it off, next would best be using a clay bar or clay towel. Keep it lubricated and gentle pressure, small circles moving about.

This will marr the paint so if you’re fussed about that, then a machine polish will be needed to tidy the clearcoat up.

 

Polishing will be the last resort - it’ll need to be decontaminated proper anyway to get the best results. Will take it off but I’d try the above first before moving on to manual removal. Also, if getting a polish, get a one step or a medium cut. Might as well have something with a bit of bite to it rather than getting a fine cut finishing polish and find it doesn’t touch it.

 

Let us know how you get on. 

Panel wipes ,clay bars sap removers ,decontamination ,all well and good if your into detailing ,the op doesnt sound like he his as he wont rub some polish on because he thinks he will make a mess ,if you scared to tackle it yourself let someone see to it ,but having a go at polishing your own car is not going to hurt .

First of all, thanks to everyone for the great suggestions.

 

I’ve just done a few tests with what I had in the garage, applying it directly to the stain:

• Repeatedly rinsed with warm water for several minutes to soften it.
• Tried cleaning the area with a microfibre cloth, but no luck.
• Then I used a Ma-Fra product called Waterless, essentially a car polish, but nothing. I applied it several times, but no result.
• After that, I tried an Arexons product for resin and insects. The packaging mentioned active foam. I let it sit for a minute, but again, no luck.

Now I’m heading out to take a photo or video of the stain so you can get a better idea of what we’re dealing with.

Soften what ,is there something on the paint or has something previously marked the paint  waterless isnt a polish its a poor way to clean a car if you not bothered about doing it right ,try some proper polish .

43 minutes ago, Mickvrs220 said:

Soften what

 

I’m just trying to explain myself as clearly as possible so you can understand exactly what I’ve tried. Come on, be patient with me 🙂

Here are the photos.

Ignore the halos around the stain—they’re just soap residues that I didn’t rinse off properly half an hour ago.
 

The stain is slightly rough, almost imperceptible. It practically has no thickness. When running a finger over it, you can only feel the transition from smooth (paint) to slightly rough, but there’s no significant thickness, just to be clear.

 

Looks like bird poo etching, will require some sort of polish to take the clear coat down to the lowest point and buffed then protected with ceramic coat or similar

28 minutes ago, Crucian said:

Looks like bird poo etching, will require some sort of polish to take the clear coat down to the lowest point and buffed then protected with ceramic coat or similar

I am patient with ya just needed more of an idea what the mark was 😁 now it does look like bird muck has etched into the top coat ,which is what i originally thought it may be ,as black is a terrible colour for showing this sort of thing ,so just my opinion of course but that needs properly polishing out ,if you dont feel confident take it to a local detailer or body shop who will mop the whole bonnet  it may need cutting with a fine wet and dry aswell
👍

Edited 9 February, 20251 yr by Mickvrs220

On 09/02/2025 at 10:58, Mickvrs220 said:

Panel wipes ,clay bars sap removers ,decontamination ,all well and good if your into detailing ,the op doesnt sound like he his as he wont rub some polish on because he thinks he will make a mess ,if you scared to tackle it yourself let someone see to it ,but having a go at polishing your own car is not going to hurt .

You read that OP asked for a chemical solution as well though didn’t you?
 

International Detailing Association methodology along with common sense approach is to start with the least aggressive method first.

 

As an aside, I don’t see the logic in criticising someone for answering a question for being too detailer-specific when having already suggested machine polishing. Jumping straight to that is much more likely to cause more damage to the paint than fix the, at that point, unknown issue.

@cloudres

 

That marking is effectively a bird bomb that has now gone into the clearcoat. 
 

It’s a couple of reasons, mainly the paint has got hot, the clearcoat softens and the stuff gets absorbed. Depending on how acidic it is, it can eat its way through waxes and into the clearcoat but it’s not some Hydrochloric Acid it’s sometimes made out to be.

 

If you’ve tried a handful of products, the last one being the main one that would have worked, then you’ll have to remove the contaminated clearcoat with polishing compound and most effectively with a machine polisher. In order to do that properly, you need to make sure the area is cleaned and decontaminated first to stop picking up contaminants with the polishing pad and causing further damage.

 

If you don’t have experience in doing all of that; then I would advise looking on IDA or PVD for nearby Detailers to deal with it for you. 
 

Removing clearcoat doesn’t require ceramic coating. It’s a hardy and long-lasting paint protection but it’s not tied to paint correction. There should still be plenty of clearcoat left (unless the paint has been polish lots before but a pro will check it with a paint depth gauge first). 
 

A ceramic coating (not a ceramic polish, not a hybrid ceramic wax, not a ceramic topper) will provide the best level of protection (aside from paint protection film) but it’s not bulletproof.

6 hours ago, travs said:

You read that OP asked for a chemical solution as well though didn’t you?
 

International Detailing Association methodology along with common sense approach is to start with the least aggressive method first.

 

As an aside, I don’t see the logic in criticising someone for answering a question for being too detailer-specific when having already suggested machine polishing. Jumping straight to that is much more likely to cause more damage to the paint than fix the, at that point, unknown issue.

I didnt critisize you ,you just went a long way to get where we are now ,it needs a polish ,the mark had been there over a year it wasnt coming off with a wipe on chemical ,and if done by someone who knows how as suggested a mc polish wont damage the paint .

31 minutes ago, Mickvrs220 said:

I didnt critisize you ,you just went a long way to get where we are now ,it needs a polish ,the mark had been there over a year it wasnt coming off with a wipe on chemical ,and if done by someone who knows how as suggested a mc polish wont damage the paint .

 

Ok you didn’t criticise but Inwas answering the points that OP thought it was on the paint, and at the time we didn’t have pictures of it.
And you didn’t ask if he’d had someone look at it - you asked “have you tried machine polishing it”. Which is still not the first thing to go for. We can only go on the info and words at the time. A year old suspected sap/glue could still be broken down and removed with the right products.
 

But I agree, since then, the picture identifies it immediately…in which case best practice is still to attempt to use chemicals as it’s the least aggressive method first. And like I say, you’ve got to use basically the same products to clean and decontaminate before getting a machine on it; and a detailer worth his salt will talk to the customer and ask rather than breaking out the Rupes.

 

We’re at the solution now and I absolutely agree that he should seek a pro to do a proper job on it to avoid any complications or further unintended damage.

Guys, I really appreciate this valuable exchange. I’m not in the field; for example, I’ve only just discovered that there’s a transparent layer over the paint. So, thank you for the information you’re sharing with me. To answer directly, I’ve never had my car polished. So, I assume the clear coat is still as good as new.

 

If I’ve understood correctly, there might be a chemical method to test before going to a body shop to ask about a solution? Because it would also be good to understand how much they’d charge. If they ask for €500… well, I might just leave it as it is. Also, I doubt anyone would polish just that one part—they’d probably use the opportunity to suggest polishing the whole car. A sort of “all or nothing” deal.

A local independant body shop or detailer will just do that paint correction for you if thats what you ask for ,wont cost an arm and a leg either .

I know it is fashionable but it is not the best colour for somewhere that gets a lot of sun (or even the UK (40.3c)) but you have it and it can be sorted.  I must admit I missed you are in Italy until I saw 500 Euros but in the UK anyone that does car paintwork without an expensive building and location to support might look at it and be able to do the work at short order and in a quick time for not too much cost.  You might have to ask around to find these chaps and I have no idea of how things are in Italy.

 

Good luck.

  

Edited 12 February, 20251 yr by nta16
missing word

https://the-ida.com/page/italy_chapter

 

This might give you an idea of who's around. You should be able to have just the spot done for pretty low cost - I used to charge c.£40 for spot polishes. Yes ideally you'd have the whole car done as it will look much better but, in my experience of people that I dealt with, that's just as much about being passionate about cars having perfect clearcoat than just trying to upsell (just google-image search before and after machine polishing images to see) but ultimately its your car so don't be pushed into anything you don't want to do. 

 

Thanks, everyone. I’d say we can wrap it up here for now. I’ll find a local body shop that specialises in detailing and see what they suggest, also to refresh the bodywork, as the car is now four years old, even though it has only 50,000 km. I’ll post an update here when I have more news.
 

Thanks again!