parked the van under a tree and it rained lastnight. all the gubbins from the tree got washed off with the rain and has dried out on the van leaving it with sticky pearls everywhere.

will a standard car wash deal with it or do i have to get active/wet to get rid of the sap?

I had a lot of success using a “special” sap sponge that I picked up from Halfords (I think).

It is basically a normal sponge wrapped in a light netting that gives just enough abrasion to lift sap without scratching your paintwork.

Edit: actually it was B&Q. A “Bug and Tar Remover sponge”:

http://www.diy.com/nav/fix/car-maintenance-car-accessories/cleaning-products/car_exterior_cleaning/-specificproducttype-bug___tar_remover/Kent-Bug-and-Tar-Remover-11377688?skuId=11888394

Claybar, if you can be arsed.

A good hand polish will get rid of most of it though.

Failing that GT85 on the sap spots then wash the car

Any detergent that’s agggresive enough to get rid of tree sap without a bit of rubbing / polishing will proably damage your paint. You local “£5 magic sponge” place will use traffic film remover. Its very good at getting dirt off quickly but doesn’t do your paint any good

You could try a tar remover (Tardis etc) or a citrus pre-wash (Valet pro is pretty good) and then a normal wash.
Have a look on detailing world, there’ll be loads of info on there.

WD40 works a treat, but try it somewhere inconspicuous first – never had a problem myself though.

Claybar – they are like black magic.

Stuff like Bliltmamber can be had from eBay fairly cheaply and only needs water as a lube. Halfords do a Meguairs clay bar kit that includes a lube. It’ll also get rid of any other crap on your car like tar spots.

Hot water and turtle wax soap does the trick for me.

Another vote for WD40 here. I use it to get rid of tar slung from tyres and works a treat. As above try on a small area first. I always make sure to add some wax to the areas i have WD40’d to protect paintwork again

Claybar, wd/gt85 or a degreaser will do. Was the car work the offending sticky bits rinse and the wax it which will make the inevitabke next time a bit easier to clean.

dI’d be wry of any specificly powerfull cleaning agent as said it cwn do the paint a nuber if left for to long (especially in strong sunlight). Make sure you do the whole car/van ij one go.. jot the half arsed “worst bits” job I did years ago leaving me a polkadot gallant and requireing me to do it all again anyway- all in the name of being lazy!

hmmm…. thing is it’s a LWB T5 and it’s covered in crap. Only had it since Monday and it already looks like i’ve not washed it for months.

and i’ve not got enough time to rub down the whole motor today as we’Re leaving for our hols tomorrow.

an automatic car wash won’t do the trick, then?

toffee wheel is worth a go

Befriend a wasp and train it to eat the stuff. They seem to have a penchant for it around these parts…