POO GONE
Master mechanic cleaning hack will save your car from ‘bird crap & tree sap’ – drivers are using $10 product all wrong
A home mechanic shows his viewers how to effectively use a popular product
A HOME mechanic has revealed a product he always has in his car to protect the paint, and it can even remove hardened tree sap in an hour.
Almost everyone has heard of the product, but only savvy people know how to use it.
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Scotty Kilmer is one of the most popular automotive experts on YouTube(@scottykilmer).
He regularly shares DIY videos, educational mechanic videos, industry news coverage, and product reviews.
In a video uploaded back in 2018, he covered one of his favorite products he uses to keep the paint protected from corrosive substances: Goo Gone.
He loves the product so much, he noted to his 6.2 million subscribers that he always carries a bottle with him in the trunk accompanied by microfiber towels to use with it.
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"I always keep a bottle of this stuff in my wife's trunk," he said.
"I don't want to mess up the paint on this Lexus."
Goo Gone can remove various types of "goo" like hardened bird droppings, tree sap, paint, asphalt, sticker residue, and brake dust.
The secret is citrus oil, which is hard on goo but easy on a vehicle's clear coat.
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Many stores with an automotive section like Walmart, Target, or even some Safeways, sell a 16 oz bottle for $10.99.
Kilmer said he likes to use it to remove bird droppings from his Toyota Highlander, which is important to remove as bird feces are not paint-friendly.
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"Of course, you want to clean [the bird poop] as fast as possible," said Kilmer.
"Because the bird crap contains a lot of acid, and it gets real hard and it bakes on your paint. It will actually eat holes in it, so you want to do it as soon as you see it, whenever possible."
To further protect the paint, Kilmer says it's imperative to use soft towels to wipe away the product, not abrasive materials like paper towels or napkins.
"[Paper towels] can actually put micro scratches on your paint," he said.
His first trick has to do with the environment: he never uses the product in direct sunlight, since it reduces the effectiveness of the product.
Therefore, he says it's important to get the car out of the sun, by parking it under a tree or in the garage to use the product.
Then he lets the Goo Gone soak on the "goo" for a few minutes before wiping it away with a clean towel.
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The ease of removal of tree sap made him a huge believer in the product.
"What really sold me on the Goo Gone in the first place is my Lexus and this Chinese tree of life it's parked under," he said.
Tree sap is notoriously difficult to remove due to its viscosity and stickiness, which makes it incredibly risky for automotive paint.
If left on the paint for too long, it can remove some of the clear coat protecting the paint underneath, exposing paint to the elements and destroying it over time.
"It's a beautiful tree and you don't want to cut it down and it's healthy, but the thing puts out a ton of sap," he continued.
"And it was all over the car and it got almost as hard as amber - almost as hard as a rock - and I couldn't figure out how to get it off."
How often should you clean your car?
Professionals recommend an interval that may be surprising when cleaning your car,
Depending on where you live and what your typical day looks like, the suggested interval for cleaning a vehicle is every two weeks.
"Regularly washing your car removes everyday contaminants like tar, road debris, and bird droppings that can ruin your car’s paint job over time," wrote Progressive.
"But there’s no one right answer to this question — it depends on factors like your lifestyle, the climate where you live, and how you store your vehicle when you’re not driving it."
However, if applying a fresh coat of wax after every cleaning session or if the vehicle is parked in a garage, cleaning may not have to be done as regularly.
"Waxing your car creates a barrier between your clear coat – the layer on top of the paint – and outside elements, so it won’t be able to absorb and affect the exterior of your car," the site continued.
Source: Progressive Auto Insurance
Notably harder than removing the bird feces, it was still easy to remove with time.
"I just let it sit there for half an hour and I started to rub, then tiny pieces would come off little by little," he said.
"But after about 45 minutes of gentle rubbing, it all came off."
It even worked to remove fresh paint from the side of his car while on a trip.
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He'd used the bottle he keeps in his car and was able to remove paint in minutes, preserving the paint on his Toyota Yaris.
"If you keep a bottle with you and clean it as soon as you can, your paint will be protected."