- Joined
- 8 July 2002
- Messages
- 2,493
Some time ago my black NSX was parked for some days under maple trees.
The car became covered with fine droplets that became hard with the heat from the sun.
They resisted removal from soap and water, clay, bug and tar remover, and WD 40.
I could pop some of them off with a fingernail but there were thousands of them.
My eldest son is a chemist and I asked him about removing the droplets.
His said the fine droplets are actually waste from aphids living off the sap in the leaves of the trees.
The waste has a high sugar content which when hardened resists dissolving in water.
He suggested methyl alcohol would dissolve the hardered sugars.
A soft cloth and a bottle of methanol and like magic the fine spots dissolved and are gone.
Time consuming to be sure and all the wax is removed but after a year and a half I have paint that is smooth again
Jim
The car became covered with fine droplets that became hard with the heat from the sun.
They resisted removal from soap and water, clay, bug and tar remover, and WD 40.
I could pop some of them off with a fingernail but there were thousands of them.
My eldest son is a chemist and I asked him about removing the droplets.
His said the fine droplets are actually waste from aphids living off the sap in the leaves of the trees.
The waste has a high sugar content which when hardened resists dissolving in water.
He suggested methyl alcohol would dissolve the hardered sugars.
A soft cloth and a bottle of methanol and like magic the fine spots dissolved and are gone.
Time consuming to be sure and all the wax is removed but after a year and a half I have paint that is smooth again
Jim
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