Road tar that is. How do you remove it from the panels. I mean it is bad. I got it off the paint by breaking my arm with white compound but the panels are a bitch. :cry:
I tried goo gone which got a little off but there is still alot on the car. I have a heavy commute everyday and I'll probably get it again so I want to make it less of a arm breaker. Any suggestions??

I would not use compound on Tar either on the paint or the plastic.

Well it is the light compound. I used it only on the paint. It is only lightly abrasive. I've used it before but it sucks to use. I waxed it as soon as I removed it.

Yuck! Tar is awful! :(

That GooGone didn't work is not a good sign at all.

On paint I have had a fair bit of luck with with a paper towel moistened (not soaked!) with paint thinner. This is fairly safe with modern finishes, just don't wet the surface too much. Having another towel soaked with water to wipe right after wouldn't be a bad idea. You may cringe at this idea, but it's got to have less potential for finish damage than rubbing compound. :shock:

Now if it were me I'd also try this very gingerly on the plastic cladding. I can't speak for the Element yet, but on my Escape it seemed to tolerate the same treatment without discoloring the plastic; I do suspect the plastic is the same variant of ABS if not very similar. If you want to try it, obviously find a hidden spot first before committing to it.

I'd take it to your dealer and let them get the tar off for you if it isn't too big of a hassle to drive over there! They should know what to use to clean it and if they botch it, they can pay for it!

always works for me. :wink:

Honda spray cleaner/polish worked for me.
(with a ton of elbow grease of course)

That's the problem. I want something that uses less "elbow grease". I'm going to try bug & tar remover.

Turpentine works great for removing road tar.

But won't that damage the paint and the plastic Bill?

Thanks for the recommendation

I used it with good results. I washed it off with soap and water as soon as the tar was removed. It is oil based.

I've used WD-40 successfully in the past. Since we have a few cans laying around the house it's always my first choice for "yuck" removal.

But, as suggested above, if it works, wash the area with soap and water immediately.

Someone at my job made that suggestion also.

Thanks for all the great ideas and help people!

Just had a brain fa*t. Gasoline works great for diluting tar. I have spillied gas on my rear plastic panel below the gas filler pipe with no adverse effects to the panel (clading)

kerosene works good too. also a heavy duty adheaseve remover. Thats what I use I spray it on and just watch it run off the car

I'll have to second the WD-40 issue. When I lived in Alaska, we were always getting "crud" stuck to the sides of the cars and in winter its not easy to remove. WD 40 worked pretty good. You could also check with your local auto detail shop for suggestions if you think they are a better authority.


Amy

With an emediate soap and water rinse, Terpinetine or gasoline are my choices but some people have no business using gasoline because of the safety factor. Not to mention spontanious combustion of old rags left sitting somewhere.
For the record the exterior gray paneling is polypropaline plastic. Not ABS or cycalac.

Be careful with the solvents - use them outdoors in a well ventilated area. DO NOT USE INDOORS ANYWHERE NEAR AN OPEN FLAME, ESPECIALLY PROPANE HEATERS. My cousin was badly burned - I don't want to see anyone hurt.

So what worked best at removing the tar? I used to use Coca Cola on my old car.

I posted this somewhere else regarding bugs to see if anyone had any information on the safety or effectiveness of this on them. Maybe with this subject being more on topic with TAR someone else might notice the suggestion and might have other information. I used WD40 once on my car (not an element) to get little ribbons of tar off. It worked great. No rubbing at all. I sprayed the sides after washing the car and noticing the tar. Wiped right off. OF course, I had to wash it again afterwards to get the WD40 off. Wasn't a problem on a fully painted car. I had asked before regarding, specifically, if using WD40 would harm the plastic or composite panels? Maybe others will see this and add some more info. Like I said then, Worked great on my older car but I would be really reluctant to use it on something NEW unless I got some confirmation of it's safety and effectiveness. Besides, my old car is all metal and there are rubber type or plastic covers, PAINTED, over the bumpers. Nothing like the unpainted black or grey panels and covers like on the Element and other import cars.

The only foriegn car that I have ever had to maintain was an old Toyota Cressida. I remember how then there were certain parts and trim that you werent supposed to get wax on. I would think, to some extent, the Element fits right in here. Also, I wouldn't use it on glass, IE., the bugs, but would it harm glass? Just in case someone were to get some overspray on or something. Incidentally I am thinking of buying an EXS model. How would something like wax or WD40 effect those panels compared to the DX LX panels which I think are unfinished opposed to the EX which is a metalic looking finish.

WmAS1960 (Bill)

Try using "waterless hand cleaner" to remove tar. Any brand. It requires a bit of careful rubbing, using a soft cloth, turning the cloth frequently, and probably repeating it a few times if the tar has really hardened. Anything you use to remove the tar will also remove the wax, so after it's all cleaned use a good Cleaner/Wax or one of the many waxes argued about on these threads.

Goo-Gone works best, and non toxic and smells like orange.

well folks,right before winter I used HONDA PANEL PROTECTANT on the my E's panels.Followed the instructions to the letter.A couple days later,it looked as though someone spray painted my panels with dirty water and road spray.After washing it numerous times with no luck in removing it,I took a more agressive approach.I have tried acetone,mineral spirits,turpentine,Dawn lquid dish soap,rubber erasers,WD-40,and just last night,vegetable oil on a toothbrush and scrubbed the oil into the panels.The vegatable oil seems to have helped the most,though I can still see what looks like a "dirty smear" beneath the vegetable oil.So your panels will hold up to these chemicals,but I ALWAYS cleaned the panels after I used the chemicals.
I always used the 303 protector in the past but wanted to make sure the panels didn't get scratched from road debris and sand over the winter so used the Honda spray.So try several of the choices the guys threw out there,just clean it up afterward. CMAX