skidder Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 (edited) HI All, Just wondered if anyone could advise the best course of action please. Unfortunately I've been out of work for the last two weeks or so and my 350 has been sat under a tree without major movement. I took it through a hand car wash today but there is no way the paintwork is looking like it should. It needs a serious polish. Now I have a choice. Either pay £65 pound for it 'professionally' polished or possibly buy my own polisher and product? As I have some time I thought it might be easier to buy a electric polisher and product? Any advice much appreciated. Cheers, Chris Edited October 3, 2016 by skidder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 £65 is not going to get your car professionally polished, certainly not to any standard I'd be happy calling professional at any rate. Have you got rid of all the sap yet? That's your first hurdle, and it's a relatively easy thing to do with a clay bar and lubricant. Once you've done that, you can start worrying improving the look of the paint, but one thing at a time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr v6 Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 Start off with a fine grade good branded clay bar, not a £3 Chinese one. If you find it's not moving it as well as you'd like you'll need to step up to a medium grade. The higher the grade you go the more chance of you inflicting paint marring, then you'll need a 'professional' (not a £65 one) machine polish to get it out & back to the level of correction you'd like. Usually when I do machine polishing for someone I start earlyish & work right through with no breaks to get the job done. It all depends on what level of perfection you want. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidder Posted October 3, 2016 Author Share Posted October 3, 2016 £65 is not going to get your car professionally polished, certainly not to any standard I'd be happy calling professional at any rate. Have you got rid of all the sap yet? That's your first hurdle, and it's a relatively easy thing to do with a clay bar and lubricant. Once you've done that, you can start worrying improving the look of the paint, but one thing at a time. Hi Ekona, Cheers for the advice. Firstly the sap looks gone but I have a rough feel to the black paint and it does not look good close up.. Can you direct me to a link for the best clay bar and lubricant please and i will spend the whole day at least trying to sort this?I can then go from there? Thanks guys for the quick responses. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 Start with some tar remover. Then some fallout remover. Then get yourself a clay cloth and go to town (break it in on the windows first though!). All can be purchased from http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk and with the change you can get yourself some Poorboys Blackhole. You'll struggle to get everything you need to DIY it, let alone a professional job, for £65. For reference, this is what I'd be looking at to even consider DIY and even then it lacks the prep for polishing too; http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/pb-soft-paint-polishing-kit-cat1.html. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HEADPHONES Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 I'll second tar remover as the first line of attack. Years ago my uncle rang me for advice on tree sap on a brand new car left under a tree over the summer holidays. "It's so stubborn even t-cut has only managed to remove a small patch on the bonnet after an hours har graft!" Alas the tar remover melted it away effortlessly revealing a nasty dull patch in the middle of the bonnet Why do so many people decide to "experiment" with products bang in the middle of the bonnet 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidder Posted October 3, 2016 Author Share Posted October 3, 2016 Start with some tar remover. Then some fallout remover. Then get yourself a clay cloth and go to town (break it in on the windows first though!). All can be purchased from http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk and with the change you can get yourself some Poorboys Blackhole. You'll struggle to get everything you need to DIY it, let alone a professional job, for £65. For reference, this is what I'd be looking at to even consider DIY and even then it lacks the prep for polishing too; http://www.polishedb...g-kit-cat1.html. OK thanks everyone. It looks like the best course of action is to start with some 'tar remover' and some 'fallout remover' and a clay cloth? Once received I'll spend the day doing this and go from there? Maybe start with a small patch I guess. Any more feedback appreciated otherwise I shall crack on with this once received. Cheers everyone Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HEADPHONES Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 If your car has a recent coat of wax/sealant and you find yourself having to park under a tree in the summer on the odd occasion.......fear not.....no need for a full on assault. If you wash it quite soon after ie not 2 months like my uncle you can often get it off just with a nice warm shampoo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidder Posted October 3, 2016 Author Share Posted October 3, 2016 If your car has a recent coat of wax/sealant and you find yourself having to park under a tree in the summer on the odd occasion.......fear not.....no need for a full on assault. If you wash it quite soon after ie not 2 months like my uncle you can often get it off just with a nice warm shampoo Cheers Headphones As i say I took it to the local Romamian car wash but the paintwork is rubbish after cleaning. They didn't look to cheerful when I drove in lol..A friend of mine knows them well and there was no way it was coming off..I even got my own cloth and 'shampoo' from them and attempted myself.It definitely was not coming off.. I've been here loads of times before and I know I should wash it myself but normally I go there and get a semi decent result... And no my car does not have a recent wax/sealant unfortunately... In the meantime I've parked it down the road. Looks like I need a full on assault? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glrnet Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Bradders- Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 (edited) Start off with a fine grade good branded clay bar, not a £3 Chinese one. If you find it's not moving it as well as you'd like you'll need to step up to a medium grade. The higher the grade you go the more chance of you inflicting paint marring, then you'll need a 'professional' (not a £65 one) machine polish to get it out & back to the level of correction you'd like. Usually when I do machine polishing for someone I start earlyish & work right through with no breaks to get the job done. It all depends on what level of perfection you want. Even the guys at meguairs said all the clay bars come from the same factory cheap or not, they're all from the same place lol. Edited October 4, 2016 by -Bradders- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ebized Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 If your car has a recent coat of wax/sealant and you find yourself having to park under a tree in the summer on the odd occasion.......fear not.....no need for a full on assault. If you wash it quite soon after ie not 2 months like my uncle you can often get it off just with a nice warm shampoo Cheers Headphones As i say I took it to the local Romamian car wash but the paintwork is rubbish after cleaning. They didn't look to cheerful when I drove in lol..A friend of mine knows them well and there was no way it was coming off..I even got my own cloth and 'shampoo' from them and attempted myself.It definitely was not coming off.. I've been here loads of times before and I know I should wash it myself but normally I go there and get a semi decent result... And no my car does not have a recent wax/sealant unfortunately... In the meantime I've parked it down the road. Looks like I need a full on assault? If you are in the Surrey/Kent area, why not give your Zed a real treat: http://www.350z-uk.c...ces-and-offers/ Bear in mind those prices may have changed, but even if you just check out a few of his details you can see what can be achieved (either with Ed or another good detailer near to you) - if you are serious about aa "full on assault". 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samsniss350z Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 Hey Chris, thank God Autumn is here and the leaves have pretty much fallen and the tree sap with it. My other half moved just before summer and here was me thinking "what a picturesque looking street with all of these mature overhanging trees creating a tunnel like effect". My thoughts had changed totally come morning when i found my Zed absolutely covered in sap so i had her running in and out of the house filling buckets of warm soapy water to wash it off. Luckily it didn't do any damage but in the next two weeks i had prepared some hard standing in the back garden in preparation for protection against the sun and that bloody tree sap. I feel for you Chris, i really do. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikevv Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 I have a tree right next to my driveway - I have nicknamed it Satanwood - Car was covered in sap and leaves in like 3 days, admittedly bad of me but I didn't wash the car for 2 and a half weeks ( moving house ) and just the average rain got most of it off. My mum has a tree at work that likes to spray sap EVERYWHERE, and that usually washes off no hassle. Just use some lukewarm water and a gentle approach first, should be enough. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 ahhh, the joys of parking under a tree... literally every morning a bird craps on my bonnet, sure the tree is lovely but i'm going to take an axe to it soon. my poor track car gets parked under a tree and partly in a bush, and doesn't move for a month at a time - every time I come to it its like unearthing a ancient artefact! luckily silver hides a lot of sins, but my next car is most likely to be black, which will be a nightmare to keep clean. hopefully the leaves will have all fallen before any hard frosts... last year there were a few occasions when I was driving to work with fallen leaves frozen fast to the bonnet! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ed divine Posted December 16, 2016 Share Posted December 16, 2016 Any updates on this Chris? As per usual the advice on here is spot on with clay, tar removers and also fallout removers. I had this in recently, owner tried everything to remove it, freshly painted then left under a tree. I tried chemical decontamination to no avail and clay didn't touch it. I ended up wet sanding it as it had etched into the freshly painted panel but still removed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted December 16, 2016 Share Posted December 16, 2016 Good skills there, I wince when I see wet sanding, clearly though if you know what you are doing its a great result! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ed divine Posted December 16, 2016 Share Posted December 16, 2016 Yeah didnt show the during shots as most cringe! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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