Car covered in tar...where to wash please?

[bamboozled]

Last night I had the great luck to suddenly find myself driving on a road that had just been doused in tar/oil/god knows what in prep for a new surface, I guess. Incredibly, the road had not been closed and in fact there was not even an indication of road work. I only realized what was going on when I came around a bend and ran up upon the workers and the tar truck. Ugh. The car now is a filthy mess, black streaks all over as well as a black "mist" of tar. The wheel wells are full of the stuff. Can anyone recommend a shop to have the car cleaned? It comes off with turpentine and the like but the amount of work involved is great and will take hours and hours. I'm a DIY guy but thinking about this job is depressing me. Perhaps there is a shop that specializes in this type of cleaning and has a better system than myself, a bottle of turps, and a kitchen roll. Anyone?

Thank you.

[JWRC]

DW40 works great.

[bamboozled]

Thank you for your reply. Yes I have read that. I think any oil based product works. The problem is there is so much of the tar and it doesn't just wipe off clean in one wipe. Rather, it starts to break down and then leaves a film of brown on the paint. You then have to keep changing rags and wiping again and again and more product until it is clean. Some of this stuff is so caked on and thick....I could chisel it off. If I didn't care about the paint underneath.

 

[kwonitoy]

In HomePro there's a kiosk that sells wax, sponges, car cleaning stuff.

There is a oil remover that's sold in a plastic squirt bottle, can't recall the name, works like magic.

I've done the same as you, bought a bottle of oil remover, spray it on and you'll see the oil start to run, let it sit for a couple of minutes and then wash it off.

[Bill97]

AP Plaza parking structure second level SE corner is car wash & polish place.  They get it clean.

[bamboozled]

That sounds promising.....a kiosk in Home Pro? Or do you mean right outside of Home Pro?

 

Thank u!

[bamboozled]

Thanks Bill. They might close the place in a hurry if they see me coming!

[4MyEgo]

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/bosch-gws-060-4-670w-4-i259884584-s400144937.html?exlaz=d_1:mm_150050845_51350205_2010350205::12:1498579383!58089999096!!!pla-890424186153!c!890424186153!400144937!124050737&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI263z3ZPl6gIVSA4rCh06tgyYEAYYAiABEgIyBPD_BwE

 

All jokes aside, a lot of elbow grease with some all purpose remover which can be purchased at Tesco

[bamboozled]

Ha! RIght! The car now is all set for a New England, salty road, winter. Great undercoating got for free! Ooops wrong state, wrong country, wrong continent. Well, who knows, could snow here...someday.

[NanLaew]

The OP better be prepared to buy a whole lot of the commercial, squirt bottle  stuff and use that on any contaminated painted surfaces. As for clearing the wheel arches and underpinnings, that's a full-on, pressure/steam wash with industrial-strength solvents while on a hoist. Time to seek out the (local) professionals!

Edited July 24, 2020 by NanLaew

[AndyAndyAndy]

This is kind of work I would not outsource. As you said, it takes a lot of time and you have to be careful. Because rushing it will damage paint underneath. If you let somebody local work on it I guarantee he will choose quickest and easiest way how to do it. ????

[ratcatcher]

9 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

All jokes aside, a lot of elbow grease with some all purpose remover which can be purchased at Tesco

OK, one more silly joke.  Go and buy 2 litres of gasoline. This dilutes the tar. Just spray it on, light a match and the gasoline will burn the tar off. Easy peasy.

[4MyEgo]

2 minutes ago, ratcatcher said:

OK, one more silly joke.  Go and buy 2 litres of gasoline. This dilutes the tar. Just spray it on, light a match and the gasoline will burn the tar off. Easy peasy.

[bamboozled]

I assume somewhere around CM there is a place that does indeed deal with this kind of cleaning but yeah, it would be an industrial type of cleaning. There might be a line of cars there....owing to the road work. It was a road off in the country so prob not a lot of traffic but will have mucked up any car or motorbike to drive on it. Damn near took down the motorbike in front of me. He, too, prob. assumed it was water at first.

[pineapple01]

Most Car Washes do it, happens all the time.

[VocalNeal]

Take out your phone. Log into Google Maps. Where is says "search nearby"  you enter "car wash". go to the nearest one and point out your problem. If they nod OK. If not go to the next one until...

[pineapple01]

Just now, VocalNeal said:

Take out your phone. Log into Google Maps. Where is says "search nearby"  you enter "car wash". go to the nearest one and point out your problem. If they nod OK. If not go to the next one until...

Thats a bit complex.

[VocalNeal]

9 minutes ago, pineapple01 said:

Thats a bit complex.

Bit early? It is not 2PM yet? ????

[rawhod]

I have the same problem from the new road surface near Don Chan.

No need to buy expensive products, just use benzine from your motorbike on a clean cotton rag. It doesn't damage your paint and with a few applications you can remove the tar completely.

[bamboozled]

I will need to buy more motorbikes and a new wardrobe. There's so much tar!

[pineapple01]

23 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

Bit early? It is not 2PM yet? ????

Dont Drink but it gets a reaction.????

[Bill97]

1 hour ago, bamboozled said:

Thanks Bill. They might close the place in a hurry if they see me coming!

Right do not go there.  They are nice people cleaning cars there for over 20 years, have cleaned hundreds like yours without damage but really do not need or want you for a customer.  Scrub it off yourself unless you have physical disability.

Edited July 24, 2020 by Bill97

[bamboozled]

I ended up cleaning it myself. I bought 5 bottles of turpentine, a gas mask, gloves, and a lot of paper towels and rags. I had to pull off all 4 tires to dig out the asphalt stuck up under the body and frame. It was a bit like a horror movie mopping up blood where it gets far worse before it gets better. That is, the turpentine dissolves it and then you smear it all over the car. It's still stuck on a lot of places but I've got the body and wheels cleaned up. In the light right now, the paint job looks pretty ok. Luckily, it's a 10 year old car and not fresh off the lot. If it happened in a new car, as I'm sure it does, that would really put one in a foul mood. Hopefully, it falls off the tires with a good drive. Thanks for all the help.

[Bill97]

44 minutes ago, bamboozled said:

the turpentine dissolves it and then you smear it all over the car.

Very sharp to smear it all over the car.  Did you smear it all over your motorcycle, bicycle and lawnmower too?