About a month ago I parked overnight under some kind of tree that was dropping some kind of nuts and associated gunk. (I don’t know what kind of tree, but it was in Massachusetts.) It left spots on the roof and top of the car trunk. A few weeks later, I went through the car wash, but the gunk stayed there. Today I bought some “Bug & Tar” remover (ironically, the brandname is Gunk, in a blue spray can) and tried to remove the spots, first with paper towels and then with a Dobie pad (and the “remover”).
Well, the stuff is still there. They look like weird little splotchy rust spots (although obviously they’re not actually rust).
What can I do to remove them without ruining the car? The car is only a couple of years old.
I’m having a very similar problem that I was going to start a thread about. I parked under a pine tree and got spots of pine tar all over my car. They wouldn’t come off when I washed my car so I scraped one off with my thumbnail and the paint came off with it! My car is only a year old and has less than 11,000 miles on it.
Talked to my buddy who is an auto detailer, he said that bug & tar is basically good for dissolving protein stains (bugs) but not so much sap. He recommends Goof Off, but like all solvents, try a little inside a fender well as I can’t tell if your vehicle has a factory finish or was refinished since new. You may have to let a cotton ball with Goof Off sit on the blots for a few minutes (do this in the shade) to soften the crud. Good luck.
AFAIK, one of the safest solvents you could try is Goo Gone. It comes in several varieties. It’s not expensive and you can find it at just about any store. I prefer the liquid in a bottle that you squeeze to dispense. (It is shown here on their website at the very top of the list) http://googone.com/products_gg.shtml
I love this stuff as it works wonders around the house. You can leave it soak for long periods of time without damaging the paint. I once left some tape stuck to the hood of my car too long, and the sun baked the adhesive on. Goo Gone took it right off with no problem. It only required patience and some elbow grease.