Tree sap on my tank... help!


M

mtheartist

New Member
So I parked under a tree this week and noticed yellow stains on my tank. No big deal I thought, I'll just wash it no problem. Boy was I wrong. I tried goo gone and alcohol to no avail. :mad: The problem is that my bike's paint is a matte white. The dealer calls it a satin finish. If any of you have experienced this I need your help. I cannot use any of the obvious cleaners because of the type of finish and it does not have a clear coat. So much for having a unique finish...
 

Attachments

D

Deathdiesel

New Member
Didnt know our bikes had a satin finish available...If the two methods above didnt, work Id take it to a proffesional. Anything else may just marr the satin finish.

Do you know for sure the bike was new when you bought it? We may be looking at an aftermarket paintjob here.

Btw when I mean professional, I mean detailing/paint proffesional, not some dealership, or shop who will just do the exact same thing you tried, and get stumped and try something too coarse.

Last thing to try before proffessional, would be claybar it. Then idk, wet sand or rubbing compound, but you gotta be carefull with that stuff, especially with special finishes.
 
M

mtheartist

New Member
Deathdiesel said:
Didnt know our bikes had a satin finish available...If the two methods above didnt, work Id take it to a proffesional. Anything else may just marr the satin finish.

Do you know for sure the bike was new when you bought it? We may be looking at an aftermarket paintjob here.

Btw when I mean professional, I mean detailing/paint proffesional, not some dealership, or shop who will just do the exact same thing you tried, and get stumped and try something too coarse.

Last thing to try before proffessional, would be claybar it. Then idk, wet sand or rubbing compound, but you gotta be carefull with that stuff, especially with special finishes.
Click to expand...
It's actually my on my new Ninja, the 2013 model I got came with a matte finish. I just have bad luck w/tanks. My 6r had tank damage when I bought it as well. But yeah, I don't know what to do...
 
B

bloodypulp

New Member
Had sap on my white truck but also has clear coat. But used zippo lighter fluid. U may want to try on spot that doesn't show as much. But it does remove sap
 
X

xleeb0y13x

New Member
So I've been using a carnauba wax cleaner for wiping down my bike every few days but it also works really well taking anything sticky off. Ill grab the name as soon as I get home. Stuff took the remains of my defective tank pad off no problem.



Sent using Jedi mind tricks!
 
B

blkbrd

Elite Member
P

Pinarello Rider

New Member
mtheartist said:
So I parked under a tree this week and noticed yellow stains on my tank. No big deal I thought, I'll just wash it no problem. Boy was I wrong. I tried goo gone and alcohol to no avail. :mad: The problem is that my bike's paint is a matte white. The dealer calls it a satin finish. If any of you have experienced this I need your help. I cannot use any of the obvious cleaners because of the type of finish and it does not have a clear coat. So much for having a unique finish...
Click to expand...
Any idea what kind of tree you parked under?

I used to work at a car wash and pine sap will come off with Goo-gone, ammonia, rubbing alcohol, and peanut butter. Seriously!

I have seen other tree saps that were stranger. We used an acidic cleaner for some, and and alkaline for others - just depends. The citrus cleaners would remove the wax, so we advised a wax be applied immediately after.

Make sure you don't use any elbow grease - tree sap requires a chemical reaction to lift, not friction. Whatever you use, make sure you are only applying enough pressure to continuosly apply a new "coat" of cleaner to the stain. Anything more than that and you'll mar the finish. Take your time, and be patient.

Good luck!
 
W

WTP07

New Member
Tree sap removal

Electronic freezing spray (any electronic repair store should sell this) and a plastic razor blade works great.

Key word in that sentence was "plastic" do NOT use a regular metal blade...

Freeze the snot out of it, then pick away with the blade carefully....if it starts to get gooey again, hit it with the spray until it is hard again.

Good luck!
 
M

mtheartist

New Member
Pinarello Rider said:
Any idea what kind of tree you parked under?
Click to expand...
Have no idea what kind of tree but def not a pine. Here's the thing, the oily wax part came off with the wash. It left behind the yellow stain you see on the pics. I know they're a bit dark but up close they look like mustard stains.

At this point a chemical reaction is what I need. I tried a few diff cleaners but all they do is make the finish shiny around the stain and the spot stays. The problem is the finish on a matte paint job is porous. Meaning no clear coat and any stain will anchor itself deep in the pores. Sort of like permanent marker on your finger tip. Doesn't really come off the first wash.

At this point I'm not gonna let it bother me and I may just bite the bullet and hope that the sun will fade it out and wash off after a few washes.

Thanks to everyone for all the tips!
 

M

mtheartist

New Member
Just an update...

For those of you who may have been reading my post. I just wanted to let you all know that as I had suspected, the sun actually faded out the stains from my bike's tank and it looks as good as when I rode it off the dealer. If in the future any of you decide to do a matte/satin paint job on your bikes be advised that tree sap will definitely stain. However, don't make the mistake I made by trying different kinds of cleaners made for regular paint jobs with a clear coat. I scratched the paint by simply rubbing one of the stains with alcohol and a cotton ball and goo gone made the spot shiny and damaged the paint. Also, make sure you buy a special cleaner made for matte paint jobs. If you use regular detergents, they may actually ruin the finish. The same goes for cars. Thanks for reading.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


Top