bbjones

I've got a real puzzle at work. We don't have any covered parking, so I have to choose between:

1) Park in the hot california sun, put up the sun shade, and endure the UV, or...

2) Park under a tree, avoiding some of the sun, but getting pollen, sap, bird gifts, etc.

So far, I've been opting for the sun. What would you do?

and no, "3) get a job with covered parking" is not an option.

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2002 Acura TL Type-S Dark Emerald Pearl
1986 Pontiac Fiero SE V6
1994 Ford Explorer 4x4

edgalang

haha..I have the same thing. I choose the sun now since the tree sap is really hard to get off. As for the UV part, I got my windows tinted that is "supposedly" reject 98% of the UV rays. Plus, Honda's already come with green glass which rejects heat & some % of UV.

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2002 3.2 TL Type S with Navigation
Exterior: Aegean Blue Pearl
At 3% over invoice, who can complain?

Guest

Speaking of tree saps...does anyone know what's the best way to clean it?

I also park away from the trees, but for some reason I always see streaks of tree sap on my car.

Ming

Nick

Scope out the spots and pick one 'close' to some of the taller trees, but not under them. In this manner, you can have your car in the shade for up to half of the day based on the path of the sun overhead. By all means, stay out from under those trees!

mikester

Check out your parking lot for good areas. I have the same problem at work. I park right next to the building on the east side. In the morning it gets the sun (so if I go out to lunch, it's pretty toasty) but the building shades it all afternoon. By the time I leave to go home, the car is pretty cool because it has been in the shade for a couple hours.

Next time you leave from work, check around to see what spots are getting shade from nearby buildings, trees, Ford Excursions, etc. and start parking there.

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Mr.T

Mr.T

Use the car cover if you really car about your car that much I personally wouldn't use it except for at night but I was my car like once a month and use the leather protections hehe.

Mr.T

StanMan

i agree...car cover!

get a cheap one if you are gonna park under the trees, or get a good one if you intend on parking in the sun (and using often).

EricL

Turpentine was suggested by my buddy and detailer (once I got the Zaino off).

Alchohol was suggested by Sal Zaino. I got wacked by a ton of little blobs of sap. I thought that they were a bunch of water drips from a nasty encounter with some gardeners (side of car looked like Cheech-and-Chong's hemp-mobile [grass, leaves, and waterspots -- thank you Z6]). Boy, was I suprised, when I used some Z6, and found that one spot had burned in on the roof rail. I'll spare you the rest of the details, but the sap finally got pulled out with a combination of turpentine and alchohol. (I also had to use some 3M compound on the "burned" spot, but it is now perfect.)

The Alchohol removes Zaino (that's for people that use it), the turpentine is for pulling sap out of a clear coat.

If the damage is severe, your in for some nasty work, but it is fixable. When in doubt, talk to a pro for some advice.

Once you remove the stuff, please put back the protective coating right away.

Finally, the biggest mistake I made was to not follow my own advice -- always clean up messes right away. I though they were water mist spots, and waited a few days -- I paid dearly. The faster you can get at the stuff, the less pain there is.


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Guest

Eric, thanks for the advise. Since I haven't waxed my car yet (it's only a month old), I've been using watered down "Goo Away". It's probably not the best way. I'll try what you've suggested next time.

Ming

bricot

MSL,
For tree sap try mineral spirits or denatured alcohol. If it has been on the car for awhile you may need to use a light duty buffing compound to get rid of the hardened outer surface and then hit it with the spirits or alcohol

SinnedTL

WD-40, make sure you wash and wax the spot after cleaning it...

imax

I live in South Florida, east coast, and have NO covered parking available to me. I originally purchased rear deck covers from CoverKing, two piece for either side of the center sub-woofer enclosure. I am using the same rear deck covers I used in my '99 3.2TL as they fit the same and match in color. They have faded some but that just means they are doing their job. As for the front windshield I use a windsield screen and that works just fine. In previous cars I have tinted the side windows, not the rear, but as yet have not done the TL-S. I have stopped tinting my rear window as I have had defrosters ruined when, or if, the tint should bubble or have problems. Please don't tell me that if the job is done right it should not peel or bubble; that is no guarantee and when you tint you make a choice and I have made mine. Besides, I find my rear visibility much improved for night driving having no tint on the rear window. My last three cars have had NO rear window tint and I do fine without it.



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'02 Acura TL-S
Satin Silver/Ebony, w/out NAV