How to remove dried tar from your car

Tar or asphalt is a gummy and oil-based substance primarily used in road construction among other uses such as waterproofing some fluid containers. When you drive on new asphalt made roads or old road ways with potholes, your car tires lift up the tar particles. The particles end up streaking the lower vehicle parts such as the doors, fenders, the bumper and grill, and so on.

The gummy tar dries and hardens onto the car paint and the ordinary car wash soap won’t help to remove it. Additionally, its oily nature needs a tar remover, specially made to loosen the oil.

Tar removal

You have two options; you can either use a commercial tar remover or a number of household solutions.

1. Using a commercial tar remover

You will need to fetch a bucket, the best tar remover for cars, microfiber towel, or pad, car wash soap and wax.

For lighter cleaning whereby the bitumen spots have not rigidly baked into the auto finish, just add a capful or two of the remover into a bucket of the normal car wash soap solution. Wash the target areas as you normally clean the car.

If the tar spots are too rigid, you may want to spot clean them, whereby you spray the target area with the remover from a spray bottle.

Wipe off the now loose tar with a clean microfiber cloth.

Household solutions

Household solutions to stubborn tar stains include peanut butter and WD-40.

Peanut butter: make sure the butter is soft without crumbs and apply a couple of dabs to the microfiber pad. Use the pad to gently rub the tar spots. Allow it react for 30 sec before wiping off.

WD-40; spray the WD-40 onto the tar stains and leave it to cure again for 30 sec. Wipe the WD-40-tar mixture with a clean cloth.