Yellow contaminant: Tree sap?
 

Hey guys,

I'm sure I've posted this before but never got a definitive answer.

Around my area, and surely other parts of the GVRD there seems to be this mysterious yellow stringy type crap that keeps showing up on my car. I don't have the convenience of parking in a garage so my car is always exposed to this yellow shit. I have no idea what it is or where it comes from.

I don't have any pictures at the moment but I'll try my best to describe what it looks like, and what forms of it I've seen:

• I've seen faint drops of it, almost as if someone took a tiny eye dropper and dropped a few beads on my hood
  
• I've seen yellow stringy bits (sometimes darker yellowy orange) that can be up to 1/2" long, probably no thicker than 2x 0.5mm lead refills. Sidenote: If it's ever on my windshield and I pick at it with my fingernail, it flakes away pretty easily.

If anybody knows what I'm talking about, what is this crap and is it dangerous to our modern clearcoats?
I try my best to get rid of it all, but the minute I wipe it off, there's more somewhere else on the car.

If nobody has any idea what I'm talking about, I'll try to snap a pic or two when it occurs again.

911fanatic feel free to share your wisdom

your car got blessed :jizz:

Ah, I knew I forgot something.

SERIOUS RESPONSES ONLY PLEASE.

Just trying to figure out if I'm fighting a losing battle, or if I really dont need to worry about letting this crap sit until it gets a weekly wash

It's definitely something produced from the tree. Every time I go park at my friend's house on his street lined with trees I get that stuff, it's like a fine sticky mist residue all over the car and actually takes quite a lot of work to remove.

It's happened to me before. A simple car wash should take care of it. Unless it's baked on for months, then that's going to take some work to clean off.

I would recommend waxing your car after it's washed. Now, when stuff lands on my car, I use a water hose to spray it down and loose dirt or even bird poo just slides right off.

Yeah the car has already been waxed and will continue to receive protection, but I'm curious if this stuff will/can actually damage paint if not wiped off in a couple days, and if anybody has experienced any paint deterioration/discoloration at all from it.

When the weather is nicer I always inspect the car to see if more of this shit is present and it usually is there depending on where I'm parked.

I guess my overall question is in nicer weather, am I safe to let it slide in between washes. Obviously bird shit I get rid of asap with a microfibre and QD.

Thought I'd try to show exactly what I've been talking about, apologies for the crappy picture. All I had on me at the time as my ipod and the lighting wasn't the best.
The droplet on the left usually tends to wipe off easily with some QD + microfibre. The stringy bit on the right sometimes is somewhat sticky and takes a few wipes to remove completely, other times its a little more solidified and wipes off quickly.

Typically I'll moisten my microfibre and spray a dot of QD and let it soak for a bit then just dab at it to minimize scratching/etching.
Usually spraying it with a hose doesn't seem to help at all.

This stuff is really quite frustrating because it keeps showing up, and I don't want to keep checking on my car every 2 hours :(

What is QD? I usually wash my car once a week, at least once every two weeks but it does get annoying. It will infused onto your car and harden if you don't get it off (happened to my friends car since he didn't care to wash it off) but I don't know how long it took (was a long time though).

Best to continue washing it off every week...

QD stands for quick detailer

I've never had any of this stuff bond to the paint (so far) because I always have a couple coats of wax or sealant on there.

My question for anyone that's had experience with this crap is, is it strong enough to get through the protective barrier if left for a couple days or is it generally pretty harmless? At this point I don't really have a solid idea of what it is or where exactly it originates from, I just know that no matter how much time I spend cleaning it off, it'll come back right away.:rukidding:

I wondered for the longest time why I always get that crap, literally, from employee parking and only recently found out it is bee poop. We have a couple of active honeybee hives on top of the shop and those little buggers always defecate away from their hives.

They come off easily if you tend to them quickly but after a few days they can become pretty stubborn.

^^^ we get it at my shop too. We always knew it was insect poop but didn't know till now it's from bees! From my experience it will discolor and is noticeable on light colored cars. (White/silver/etc) waxing helps a bit but it won't deter it from seeping through and discolor under the clear coat. Wash/wipe off asap! I get it too.

Thanks guys. Its really frustrating because it seems like any half decent day we get my car will be covered in it. I can't even enjoy a clean car for a day because of this crap. It hasn't really been a problem up until the past couple of years though :confused:

^^^ Ditto, I've had it show up during a wash! :rukidding:

Yep, same!

Thankfully when it's fresh it just washes away with ease. The worst is when it shows up right before you're about to wax a panel. :rukidding:

Any contaminant on the paint can/will cause damage given enough time and the right conditions.
Personally, I carry a few MF and some QD in the car in the event of a bad spot or something. I'm fortunate that I can part in a garage when at home and there is little near my work that causes any issues for me.

I do the same as well and have been ever since I started detailing my own cars. It's just a huge hassle to constantly be battling with this yellow crap every time it's sunny.