How to remove bitumen / tar from car?

[scorecard]

Yesterday son came back to his car (legally parked) to discover that there a large amount of bitumen / tar on the side of his car. It was cold (car had been there all day).

 

Son went to one of the bigger car care places here in chiang Mai, they insisted it cannot be removed.

 

Any suggestion how to remove bitumen / tar much appreciated.

 

Thanks.

[Denim]

First thing I would try is WD40. Spray area to be worked on then put some on acloth and slowly work on it. A plastic spatular ( NOT METAL )  will also help get under the bigger bits.

 

It will come off but it requires patience. .

[JBChiangRai]

My car detailer removes it for me.  You can probably by tar remover on lazada

[Dante99]

used to take it off my feet with kerosine so diesel  fuel would work

 

just soap and rinse when you are done

[rocketboy2]

Petrol or WD 40.

 

[brianthainess]

As said Diesel will soften/dilute it. But take care not to spread it. You may need to scrape it off with something like a lolly stick.

Edited August 30 by brianthainess

[lemonjelly]

Turpentine does it

[Jerzy Swirski]

The tar removers sold on Lazada are not effective.

As suggested above petrol works well as it contains a high percentage of toluene.

Neat toluene works better but is expensive.

You will need to get the car polished afterwards.

[steven100]

we use to use Kerosene ...  or I think Diesel will also do the job. 

 

but don't smoke while working ....   haha

[Dr. Zorg]

Petrol will do the trick.

[BKKBike09]

A chisel and rotary sander combo.

 

Otherwise a solvent as per above suggestions. A hairdryer on modest heat is good for softening, and an old credit card or the like works well as a scraper.

[retarius]

Use fine grade sand paper then have the local body shop respray for the affected area. 

[ronster]

WD-40 should do it and I think if if wasn't that I used then it was stuff called goo gone . Had it all over the interior of wheel arches and every bit came off after quite an easy clean with the stuff .

[IsaanT]

I had the same problem recently when I advertently drove over a "wet" road surface, only to realise that it was liquid tar sprayed on the road surface (there were no signs or warnings but when I went round a bend I then saw the road builders' vehicles).

PLEASE ignore any suggestions that abrasive methods work - the vehicle's paint will be damaged.  Use a solvent, as mentioned several times already, perhaps with gentle, non-abrasive scraping if you have large lumps.  I used WD-40 but the others suggested will work.  I didn't bother cleaning the wheel well arches - I regard it as extra protection.

Any protective surface on the paint will be removed by this process but the surface will not be damaged.  Polishing the paintwork afterwards is a good idea and will help to protect the paint and make it easier to clean subsequently.

Edited August 30 by IsaanT

[NVass]

Eucalyptus Oil will Shift it easily without damaging

the paint but it has a very strong smell. (Which I like). You can get it at most Pharmacys.

[Lacessit]

4 hours ago, lemonjelly said:

Turpentine does it

True. Mineral turpentine is probably the best choice, and least likely to damage paintwork.

 

 

[Irish star]

That’s why I bought a black truck lol

[steven100]

7 hours ago, BKKBike09 said:

A chisel and rotary sander combo.

 

Otherwise a solvent as per above suggestions. A hairdryer on modest heat is good for softening, and an old credit card or the like works well as a scraper.

but the chisel and rotary sander combo might damage the paint work or the actual car panels 

[JAS21]

1 hour ago, steven100 said:

but the chisel and rotary sander combo might damage the paint work or the actual car panels 

Good one Steven …

 

[BKKBike09]

13 hours ago, steven100 said:

but the chisel and rotary sander combo might damage the paint work or the actual car panels 

 

Do you not do humour? I can;'t believe anyone would really think that I was really suggesting that as the way to go but I guess I'm wrong!

 

I suppose that's why packets of peanuts have nut allergy warnings on them.

[Ralf001]

melt it off with a blow torch.

[steven100]

6 minutes ago, BKKBike09 said:

 

Do you not do humour? I can;'t believe anyone would really think that I was really suggesting that as the way to go but I guess I'm wrong!

 

I suppose that's why packets of peanuts have nut allergy warnings on them.

Do you not do humour?    my joking was in the serious reply  

[impulse]

Back when the Ixtoc platform in Mexico was throwing off tarballs that ended up on Texas beaches, we kept Johnson's Baby Oil in our cars to get the tar off our feet, the car body and the carpeting.   Very gentle, worked quite well and smelled good, too.  The generic name is "mineral oil", but that doesn't smell as good.  And you figure it's gotta be safe for use on skin if it's used for babies.

 

WD-40 will probably work as well (or better) on the car without damaging paint.  Just take your time, as opposed to rubbing real hard and risk damaging the paint.  It takes time for the solvents to work.

 

[scorecard]

Thanks.

[DavisH]

I've used wd40 before. And also to remove grime on the paint after it hadn't been washed for a month. But I kept a bucket of soapy water and immediately washed the surface after it was cleaned with the wd40. The paint was unharmed, but I would not leave wd40 on the paint for a long time. 

[xtrnuno41]

like said petrol. Thinner, nafta (sticker remover)

Almost any solvent made from petrol. It is however , how is paint effected?

Maybe this? 

https://meguiars.co.th/product/g10716-meguiar-s-gold-class-bug-38-tar-remover-16-oz/