My poor E...I just noticed today that there is tree sap on the side of my E, how do I get it off??? One of my friends told me that Goo Gone would work, but I dont wanna risk it taking off paint when m E is only a few months old. Hellllpppp!!!

I would start out on the mild side with a regular hand wash with a good shampoo.
If that doesn't do it, try a bug and tar remover. OTC products like Stoners Tarminator and Turtle Wax Remover work well. Expect these to also remove any wax you have applied.
If that doesn't work, try Isopropal alcohol. I usually start with a 50/50 ISO/water solution in a mister and follow with a soft microfiber towel to remove.
If that doesn't remove it all, there are some other things to try, but hopefully one of the above should work, especially if the sap is fresh.
Good luck. Don't forget to follow up with a quality wax or sealant.

I had some tree sap on my hood a few weeks ago- used the high pressure washer at the DIY car wash, elbow grease, and finger nails. It came off after a couple of washes without damaging the paint.... good luck!

I used Turtle wax bug and tar remover recently on some tree sap and it worked pretty well. Still took a bit of work but not much.

-Trevor

thanks guys i really appreciate it! i'm gonna go out and buy some supplies...not really how i wanted my saturday to be, but i guess its better than destroying my paint job

ok, i went out and baught some bug and tar remover, sap came right off! Unfortunately...there is still an outline of where the sap was...is this b/c the sap got to the clear coat? what is this outline of the sap that wont come off???

If you have clay, try that first. Clay magic is an OTC product that you can pick up at Autozone. If it doesn't work, it is still good to clay your car at least once a year.
If you have a paint cleaner or cleaner wax, try that. Klasse All in One might work.
You also try Scratch X. I hv never used this product, but it can be found locally.
If that doesn't work, I would use an abrasive polish via Porter Cable 7336. The PC with a 4" pad and polish should work. If you don't have a PC see if someone in your area does or seek out a good detailer.
Hope it works out and stay away from trees.

AHH just got through washing all the love bugs and dirt off my E and what do I find on the roof of my E some kind of tree sap that looks like sombody went all over the roof and made brown spots with an ink pen so now I'm off to go get tar and bug remover. Can anyone tell me what the hell it is.

I park my car in a driveway with 2 huge Elm Trees overhead. They both drip sap like you wouldn't believe. First, I believe that some trees drip more damaging sap than others. I recall a post some time ago where somoenes paint was damaged by the sap from some specific type of tree. Don't recall what that was though.

In general, my understanding would be not to worry. Wash your car regularly to avoid long term damage. I just use the Mr. Clean car wash system on my car when I do a wash. Biggest benefit is that you aren't washing the car with dirty wash water as you go along. Start with a few clean wash rags or sponges so you can start fresh if one gets really dirty. With my Element, I wash it frequently enough that I just follow the instructions with a standard, rinse, soap and wipe with a sponge or soft washing towel, rinse and de-ionized filtered spray. I go section by section around the car and can wash my Element in about 15 or 20 minutes. It seems to take the sap and regular dirt off real easy.

If especially dirty, as has been the case with a few very neglected cars I have washed, I will spray the whole car down with water then follow with the soap and just let it sit to dissolve through the grime. Then, let it sit as I go section by section washing per the instructions. Then when the whole car is done, rinse well again and follow with the de-ionized spray mist.

Note that the pressure of the filtered rinse is not that strong and you will need to be very thorough and take your time to rinse all the regular water off the car and out of the cracks and all. Start from the top of the car and work down, rinsing away all the dirty or unfiltered wash and rinse water away. Spray or cover the car as if you were spray painting it. Cover ever crevace or seam in between windows and doors... Then, the car should dry spotless. Or, reasonably spotless.

However, I woulndn't count on the spot free part of the Mr. Clean system. I have had mixed results with it and it isn't that hard to dry your car anyways. I use one of those thin drying towels. The ones that are like a big thin sponge. I dry up as much as I can, then ring out the water frequently. In the end the car looks great. Throw the drying towel in the wash from time to time to keep it clean and grit free. Don't dry it, Just wring it out as much as you can, roll it up and put it back in it's container.

http://www.theabsorber.com/home.html

If nothing else, I have found that the Mr. Clean system is very effective for washing. I have washed a few cars that sat for almost a year without a wash. With tree sap, road salt, dirt and dust from nearby construction stuck to the sap, etc. that had all accumulated over about 8 months. By doing the method mentioned above, they all came out, almost, totally clean. Might have benefited some more from some scrubbing of a vinyl top on one and some scrubbing in joints between bumpers and fenders or under the hood and gutter around the trunk....

Which brings up, there is no substitute for a good throurough hand cleaning with attention to inside the doors, under the hood and between joints with a soft tooth brush etc., inside the wheel wells.....

Also, it helps a lot to keep your car waxed or sealed with some of the other polymer finiishes or waxes. I have been using Klasse but others swear by Zaino and some others. After having my Element for a year and not being able to polish my car last fall due to an early hit by winter, Washed the car thoroughly with the Mr. Clean. Then, I started with the Klasse All in One, (Red Bottle), and polished up the car good. All in One will remove some of the oxydation that builds up and will help bring out your finish. It was amazing the glittering and glistening of color that came out of my SOP Element when I finished that. Then after that, I put on about 3 coats of the Sealer Glaze (Silver Bottle), over the entire car. I did that in the spring when I did the first hand washing after winter. Then it has just been regular washes with the Mr. Clean. As we approach fall, I will do another good washing and will apply a few more coats of the Sealer Glaze. It is said that the protection from Klasse and probably Zaino and others, is about 6 months. So, start the spring with a good coat when weather permits and reapply again in the fall before it gets too cold out.

During the winter, around here at least, you don't need to worry about the tree sap once the trees go dormant but, due to Road Salt and such, I hit the car wash every few weeks if possible.

By washing the car regularly and making sure you have a good heavy coat of Polymer protection on the car, you shouldn't have to worry that much about the tree sap and other grime that might build on the car. Just don't let it sit there forever. Get out and clean as often as you can.

Thanks for the sugestions It's not as bad as I thought kinda over reacted went about a month with out washing it due to strange conditions before I moved out here to plano there was a lot of road construction going on where I was living wheather couldn't make it's mind up, and plenty of other excuses I think I was parking it under a sweetgum so there is no telling went and got some tar and bug remover and plan on spending tomorrow putting plenty of elbow grease and time getting it off and rewashing it and waxing it which is what I was going to do untill I found all the sap and thanks again for the advice

There is still an outline of where the sap was...is this b/c the sap got to the clear coat? what is this outline of the sap that wont come off???

Thats correct. What you are experiencing is known as 'etching' of the clear coat. If you are lucky, the etch is only on the very surface and a good cleaner/wax will take care of it. If that doesn't fix things, you will need to buy some scratchX polish and work out the mark.