How can I remove road tar from paint

[redeye280z]

I've tried many products but the tar has hardened and nothing I 've tried has worked I need some good advice.

[911monty]

Have you tried WD-40? This is one of the few things that it is actually good for.

[particlewave]

Yep. I use the WD for this.

[rexcramer]

I have always had good results with Turtle Wax, Bug and Tar Remover. Keep it wet and let it soak in.

[boxxster]

I've used varsol with a lot of success. I'd imagine wd40 would work as well. They're both solvents.

[thstone]

Originally Posted by rexcramer

I have always had good results with Turtle Wax, Bug and Tar Remover. Keep it wet and let it soak in.

I use the same stuff. It works great.

[Retroman1969]

Originally Posted by rexcramer

I have always had good results with Turtle Wax, Bug and Tar Remover. Keep it wet and let it soak in.

That's what I've used for years as well. Always had good luck with it.
In the old days we used gasoline.

[Porsche9]

Original Bike Spirits Spray Cleaner & Polish. Use it on my bike and also works great for removing tar and other road grime. I swear by it.

Spray Cleaner & Polish - Original Bike Spirits

[JayG]

Try Meguiars Race Rubber Remover

[BoxsterSteve]

Good old fashioned varsol.

[redeye280z]

I've tried wd 40 , varsol, gas, kerosene,a couple of commercial bug and tar removal products and nothing has worked. The tar is really hardened and nothing seems to soften it up. I don't want to ruin the paint with I am at a loss.

[j.fro]

Warm it up with a hair dryer, then hit it with your favorite solvent.

[SKOOSH1970]

Claybar.....works every time and no danger of damaging the paint....WD40 is a good shout too.

[boxxster]

Originally Posted by redeye280z

I've tried wd 40 , varsol, gas, kerosene,a couple of commercial bug and tar removal products and nothing has worked. The tar is really hardened and nothing seems to soften it up. I don't want to ruin the paint with I am at a loss.

Varsol should work. I just removed a ton of tar from my wheels and back bumper with it. Here's what you do. Get an old rag and lightly soak it with a bit of varsol. Then use it to wet the affected area and let it sit for a couple minutes. After a couple minutes, gently rub the area with the damp rag using a gentle circular motion. The key is to keep the tar wet with varsol while gently rubbing at it with the rag. Keep the rag adequately saturated with varsol and gently rub at the tar until it comes off. This make take a few minutes of gentle rubbing but it should all come off. Varsol will not hurt your paint, although it's good practice to hose the area down and apply a nice coat of wax afterwards.

[Luckyed]

I always use a citrus based cleaner. It dissolves the tar and doesn't hurt the paint.
The one I personally use is sold primarily to professional roofing contractors, but it is very similar to Natural Orange or Fast Orange.....just a little stronger.

[Luv2Box]

Goo Gone is another citrus based solvent that I've used for years on tar, dried bugs, cone rash and everything else that ends up on the paint.

[PaulE]

Back in the good old days DuPont made something called "Prepsol" used by auto body shops for removing all wax, tar, etc. from panels prior to painting and sold by auto body paint supply stores. I think it was discontinued quite a while ago due to volatile organic compound issues - too bad because it worked really well. Nowadays if I have a lot of tar to remove, I use OOPS or Goof-Off, these smell similar to Prepsol to me and are available in paint stores, hardware stores, Home Depot, Lowes, etc. They are advertised as dried latex paint removers. With a soft cotton cloth, I have found them to both work fine for removing tar from autos without affecting paint.

[Gremlin]

Lighter fluid

[redeye280z]

After countless hours of trying and having tried countless products I am at a loss. I wasn't able to get any of the tar off didn't even manage to stain the rags being used. I have a friend who is a bodyman I will see what he uses in his shop to tackle this problem.

[PaulE]

That's weird that nothing has worked - are you sure it's tar and not some black paint that got splattered on your car? Let us know what you find out.