How to get tar off car without damaging the paint

By the time people realize that there is road tar stuck to the car it’s too late for an easy clean. The tires get stuck with sticky tar from road work, and it hits the car and sticks to it. It can get everywhere! We have even seen it on car roofs and tail gates of SUV’s, however that happens.

When tar hardens, it fuses with the car paint. Once this has happened, tar removal can become tricky and risk having a breakthrough event into the car paint during removal. Even if you find the tar quickly, it is still a messy material that sticks to everything when you try to remove it.

How to get tar off a car while it's still gooey

Some people said isopropyl alcohol can remove sticky tar, but we found it doesn’t work very well. When we used this method, the tar would often spread and leave marks on the car instead of removing it. It picked up some tar as we could see it in the microfiber cloth.

Cleaning the car with a car wash soap before using a tar remover product to wipe away the tar. Read our article to learn more about washing a car. If stains remain then use a clay bar rub to remove the tar spots from the painted surface. You can follow this article about how to clay bar rub a car to learn more about that process.

How to remove tar from car when it's old & hard

After clay barring the affected area completely, use a solvent to remove the tar from the paint job. If you don’t like paint thinner, buy a tar removal product and follow the instructions to be safe.

If the tar has hardened, then I suggest paint thinner to further and clean microfiber cloth to soften the remaining tar so that it can wipe off more easily. Work in a well-ventilated area because you are going to use a lot of solvent.

You don’t need to use elbow grease, just make sure to fold the cloth evenly and keep it flat while you swipe. Do not wrap the cloth around your finger and scrub into the tar spots. Press only as firmly as needed to clean the tar spots.

Some paint jobs can handle placing the solvent soaked cloth on the tar to let it sit. You can do this for 30 seconds at a time to help loosen the tar’s bond to the car.

Never use paint thinner in the direct sunlight or on a heated clear coat and always thoroughly wash any area where paint thinner was used.

When to wet sand

Remove all except the toughest tar spots on the painted surface before wet sanding. This will ensure minimum shaving of the protective clear coat that surrounds the tar spot. Skipping paint thinner when sanding a tar blob will remove much more of the coating beneath that you want to protect. We have written an article about wet sanding that will show you how we approach wet sanding.

How to prevent tar spots on a car

You can use many coats of wax on your car, but it won’t stop tar spots from sticking to it. If you really want to prevent tar from damaging your car, then avoid road construction and finished road work whenever possible. If you don’t want to wait for tar remover delivery, you can buy one at most auto parts stores.