Okay, to make a long story short, here's the scoop:

I bought a new TL type S..(black on black with ground and rear spoilers...beautiful) recently (4 months ago) and about two months ago noticed some strange stuff dribbled onto the car's front fender and hood (Let's call it 'Goop').

Anyhoo....said Goop would not come off with soap and water or by intense rubbing. It resembles a clear, resin-like material.

Now, I bought a paint protection package (from David McDavia in Plano, Texas) with the car that explicitly covers things like acid rain, bird droppings and tree sap (which is what I believe it to be). The dealership tell sme that they cannot get it off because they don't believe it's tree sap. The company that offered the paint protection says the same thing. Both tell me to call my insurance.

Fast forward to last week - they had me thinking "hey, maybe it WAS glue and some freak glue truck drive by splattered it on me on the highway".

So I go out to my car two days ago and lo and behold....three new "Goop" splotches on my hood. This time they're bigger and more noticeable than before. I'm thinking "Gotta be tree sap"....no way in hell I can drive past a rogue glue truck twice in dallas....

So I go BACK to the dealership and paint protection company. This time they don't even bother to investigate the second claim and say "It's not tree sap" right over the phone! (Helluva diagnostic team they have over there, apparantly)


My point is that 1) now I'm pissed off I bought this fairly expensive ($500) paint package for just this type of thing...and now 2) I'm getting screwed over when it comes time to actually file a claim.

Question: What can I do to prove it IS / ISN'T tree sap or glue?

Is there some reagent test I can do? I could probably scrape enough off the car to send somewhere...but I don't want to pay for expensive lab tests.

p.s. the car dealership said that they would have to sand and repaint the entire front end of my car at a cost of $1400 bucks.

Any help appreciated! I was hoping that after I can prove it IS sap, I can go to small claims and make them pay for it....

and to make matters worse....ANOTHER glop of this stuff appeared last week....

I know what you're thinking "are you parking under any sap-ridden trees or chemical waterfalls"....nope. parked in open.

Which has me thinking...could it be clear coat bubbling up?

HELP!!

I'll send pics to any experts...any and all help much appreciated.. I love my black TLS...and this just sucks being only 6 months into it...

 

sounds like sap, try WD-40, just a little, it won't harm your paint. and stop parking under trees

 

I have the GOOP also on my passenger door. I tried everything and I couldnt get it out. I will try the WD-40. It wont harm the paint, right.

 

Not sure about WD40, but I am sure you will let us know.

Back to the post, you should read the material that came with the "paint protection warrantee" and see what the stipulations are. They may be just blowing you off in hopes that you will just leae them alone. I don't care how much the warrantee is it's a matter of principle. You paid for it so you should benefit from it. Good luck!

 

BE CAREFUL!!!!!! IF YOU USE WD-40 MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A SOAKING WET RAG WITH YOU .... AS SOON AS YOU APPLY THE WD-40 WIPE IT ALL OFF IMMEDIATELY!!!!!!!!!

GOOD LUCK!

 

It won't harm the paint, but it will pull off the wax. You'll need to rewax the area when done.

Good Luck
eCo
_

 

Try Wd-40, Terpantine (wipe it off immediately, and rewax the area) or Goo Gone.

As for the Protection Package... see if you can get a refund. The only extra item I'd get from a dealer is an extended warranty. Everything else is just crap and pure profit for the dealer.....

 

If you do park under a tree...what kind of tree is it? Also...if you suspect sap...place something on the ground under that tree to see if you can collect any of of the droppings to prove to the dealer it is sap. Also, go to any automotive store...they should have something that is safe to remove sap from a car.

 

Have you tried a Bug and tar remover? Blue Coral has a pretty good blue gel.

 

I had sap problems earlier this spring(and thus quit parking under that big pine).

I also have an '03 blk/blk TL. First off, the quicker you get it off, the easier it comes off! Don't let it sit while you're waiting to go to the dealer. Get it off!!!

I used "Automotive Goo-Gone" and it works pretty good, if you use it right away. You're going to have to CAREFULLY scrape away the bulk of the sap blob and then use the goo-gone for the remainder. You can't even tell on my paint job that sap was ever there!

Have you waxed your car yet? This ought to make it easier to get the sap off.

 

Meguiars has a great tree sap and tar remover. Safe for clear coat and non abrasive. By all means first use products formulated for automotive car paint before any caustic chemicals like Terpintine!

I find that straight car wash gel on relativly fresh tree sap/and other crap works very well too.

 

thats why a cheapo car cover is worth the money