Road tar on car bumper
Tar is that black sticky oil-based substance that smears the lower sections of your car such as behind the wheel wells, and the lower parts of the side doors. In extreme situations, you can find it splashed on the fenders, hood, bumper, grill, headlights and even your vehicle windows.
What?s the source of this tar? Road tar (also called asphalt or bitumen) is used as a glue or binder to make asphalt concrete that is used in road construction. Thus when you drive on a new bitumen road or a newly recarpeted roadway, then your vehicle?s traction lifts up the tar particles and splashes them on these parts. You may even cruise past roadwork equipment and they splash tar onto your vehicle.
Since tar is oil based, its cleaning is different from bugs and tree sap removal. Though it doesn?t rigidly harden on your car finish, it doesn?t come out well with ordinary auto wash soap. The best tar remover for cars is solvent-based in order to emulsify the oil and wash it off.
How to get tar off your car
There are two methods, use of a tar remover and household solutions
(i) Use of a road tar remover spray
For this, you need a bucket, the tar remover for cars, car wash soap, microfiber mitt or towel, and car wax.
Step 1: Wet the terry cloth, sponge or mitt with the tar remover. If the tar is too hardened, you can spot clean, whereby you spray the tar remover onto the target point.
Step 2: Wipe the wet cloth over the tar spots in circular motions. The bitumen softens and will easily run off with when you apply light pressure. Once the cloth is dirty on one side, turn it over and use the reverse side.
Step 3: Repeat step 2 with another clean towel until all the spots are removed.
Step 4: Wash your vehicle with a solution of the car wash soap in a bucket, foam cannon or pressure washer. Wash from top to bottom and rinse again from top to bottom.
Step 5: Check if there any residual tar spots. If they are, then you may want to repeat step 1?3, spot cleaning this time.
Step 6: Wax your car to condition the paint and give it a radiant shine.
(ii) Use of household solutions
For this, you need a bucket, microfiber towel, cloth or pad, a household stain remover such as WD-40 or peanut butter, and finally soap for washing car and wax.
Step 1: If you are using WD-40, spray it on the target spots and allow it to cure and soak the tar for at least 30 seconds. You can also spray it on the towel or pad and wipe the tar spots.
If you are using peanut butter, make sure it the smooth and natural type, not the crunchy ones filled with additives. Apply the butter to the microfiber cloth and use it to apply on the tar stain. Allow them to react for 30 seconds or so before washing.
Step 2: Use a second soft cloth to wipe clean the butter-tar mixture.
Repeat this until you can?t see any more tar spots.
Step 3: Wash and wax your car
