Removing bitumen stains from a car body

Bitumen stains on a car's paintwork are a real problem that needs to be dealt with in a timely manner. The body becomes especially actively contaminated with resin with the onset of warm weather, when road workers begin their favorite “pothole repair”.

It’s good if the spots are small and they flew off their own wheels. The example in the photo shows a more severe case. The car was left near the hole. The road workers filled it with tar and left. According to the law of meanness, it was during this period of time that another car rushed past and landed its wheel straight into a fresh tar puddle. There were stains on the doors, sills, fender, windows and a little on the roof...

What and how to remove bitumen stains?

The cheapest, most accessible and completely safe means for effectively combating tar on a car body is kerosene. You can buy it in construction stores. It is usually found in bottles among solvents. By the way, they can also be used to remove bitumen contaminants. But solvents are more expensive than kerosene.

As an alternative, car enthusiasts use other means that happen to be at hand in the garage.We are talking about gasoline, diesel fuel and, of course, WD-40 (or similar). All these liquids also do an excellent job with resin, but, again, they cost more than kerosene.
In addition to the solution for dissolving bitumen stains, you will also need car shampoo. Traces of kerosene will need to be washed off, but ordinary water will not cope with this. To protect the paintwork in the future, it is recommended to treat the body with special wax.
For cleaning you will also need a piece of thick foam rubber, clean rags and a kerosene container.

The process of removing bitumen stains begins with the fact that they must be generously moistened with the product that has been chosen. Rubbing hard with a rag won't help. The main task is to dissolve the hardened resin.
After wetting, stains should be easily wiped off with a rag soaked in kerosene. It is not advisable to rub vigorously, as there is a risk of dulling the varnish layer.

If some stain does not give in, it is better to return to it in a few seconds, when it has dissolved better.
After these activities, take a clean rag and use it to wipe dry all remaining tar and kerosene. The treated area is carefully inspected. If some spots are missed, the process is repeated.

After removing bitumen contaminants, you must thoroughly wash the car body. A standard car shampoo can handle greasy traces of kerosene without any problems.

Advice for car enthusiasts

On the described topic, many car owners will find the following simple recommendations useful:

• Bitumen stains should be removed promptly. The longer the resin sits on the paintwork, the more difficult it is to remove.
  
• Do not rub bitumen stains vigorously.The key to success lies in dissolution, not mechanical action.
  
• Do not rush to buy a “special” product for removing bitumen stains from a car store. Its effectiveness is comparable to kerosene, and the price can be ten times higher.
  
• To protect your paintwork in the future, use wax regularly. Resin, dirt, dust, and bird droppings stick to them worse.
  
• Do not attempt to clean the resin with overly aggressive solvents. This may damage the paintwork.

Results

In general, removing bitumen stains is a fairly simple task that does not require a lot of time, effort and money. The most important thing is not to put this event off for too long.