Winter had just ended with its problems in the form of corrosive reagents from the roads, and motorists were able to breathe a sigh of relief, when another, no less serious problem appeared on the horizon. These are poplars, and not even the tree itself, but its buds.
Unlike pollen of various flowers, debris, and insects, dark resinous stains from poplar buds are very difficult to remove from the surface of the body. Many people are interested in the question of how to wash poplar buds from a car.
Today there are a lot of different chemical cleaning products for cars, but not always a car enthusiast can purchase these products. In this case, you can use folk recipes.
The danger of poplar buds
If these same buds get on the surface of the body, they will leave brown spots, which are very difficult to remove. The resin that is inside the kidney very quickly eats into the paintwork and methodically destroys it.
It is very important that the car can avoid contact with this rather aggressive plant. Otherwise, the owner will have to think about how to wash poplar buds from the car. Several methods and solutions are proposed to get rid of this spring scourge and eliminate any contact with this “garbage”.
How to avoid “poplar aggression”
The best and most popular way to avoid any problems caused by these same kidneys is to completely eliminate the possibility of them getting on the body. When choosing a parking spot, you should avoid those under these trees. You can park a car under others - only poplar leaves stains. But this is in an ideal situation.
Also, to avoid stains, it is recommended to use car covers.
Polyethylene is suitable for this outdoors. They can cover the roof and hood. The edges can be pressed against the door and hood.
To minimize the damage, so that you don’t have to think about how to clean poplar buds from your car later, it is recommended to cover the surface of the body with long-acting polishes. This product creates a thin film that will protect the surface for three months.
These products are made on the basis of Teflon, nanoparticles, and liquid glass. In addition, these products will also help protect the body from minor scratches and car paint fading in the sun.
Another popular method of protection is gluing a special film. If it is done well, then this will preserve the quality of the coating for several years from physical and chemical exposure.
Note: test review of automotive resin cleaners
Just as in the case of gasoline additives for cleaning injector nozzles, quite a few auto chemical manufacturers have rolled out their anti-bitumen products to the market. There are representatives of both well-known foreign companies and domestic teams.
The magazine "Behind the Wheel" tested products from various manufacturers. The essence of the test procedure was to evaluate the effect after using the drug in full accordance with the instructions. Resin cleaners from the following companies took part in the “race”:
- Liqui Moly (Germany – 475 rubles/400 ml).
- Kangaroo (Korea – 330 rubles/400 ml).
- Grass (Russia – 255 rubles/500 ml).
- Doctor Wax (USA – 690 rubles/475 ml).
- Autoprofi (Russia – 170 rubles/500 ml).
- Astrohim (Russian Federation – 150 rubles/500 ml).
- Sonax (Germany – 460 rubles/300 ml).
- Pingo (Germany – 520 rubles/400 ml).
- Texon (Russia – 140 rubles/520 ml).
Conventionally, products are divided into two groups: fast-acting (Astrochem, Liqui Moly, Kangaru, Avtoprofi, Sonax, Pingo), requiring long exposure (Grass, Tekson).
Theoretically, the following is expected: the former do not drain, concentrating the entire volume on the affected area, the latter dissolve stains more effectively, but require more consumption. Practice confirms this. When choosing, it is important to consider the smell. The procedure for interacting with the drug is often slow, so the aroma should not be strong
Everything is aimed at not causing discomfort to the operator, especially in the heat. The mixture from Astrohim most accurately satisfies these conditions.
Almost all compositions cope with the task with dignity. However, there are still favorites - Texon and Astrohim. At a minimal price, they fulfill their purpose as transparently as possible. Let Tekson complete the task with a significant amount of time (withstand at least 5-10 minutes), but he washes off poplar resin and road petrochemicals the first time.
How to clear kidney stains?
If it was not possible to avoid the problem and the buds have already reached the surface, then you should start removing them. This process must be started as early as possible, otherwise the resin will stain the paintwork. And then you will have to think not about how to wash the poplar buds from the car, but about the cost of repainting the car body.
Kidney damage is very critical for light-colored cars. These stains will be very noticeable on the body.
The easiest way is to clean it at a car wash. Often, professional cleaners know a good and effective way to combat this problem. But again, this is in an ideal situation.
But if the question is about how to wash poplar buds from a car at home, then the car owner will have to visit the auto cosmetics department. Typically, stores offer specialized cleaning products to combat the most serious stains and various types of dirt. When choosing such products, you should immediately make sure that, along with a huge number of stains, they also remove organic tar and grease stains. If the product is specially designed for poplar buds, then it is worth purchasing it.
What you should not buy are imported products from European manufacturers. Residents of Europe do not face such a problem, but the Russians are familiar with it firsthand. Domestic products are quite effective and successfully cope with this problem, and they are inexpensive.
How to remove it from different surfaces of the car?
If resin gets on open parts of the car, for example, on the body or roof, on the trunk or on the glass, it is not difficult to get rid of it.
Algorithm of actions:
- the car must be rinsed with clean water to remove dust and road dirt;
- soak a soft cloth in hot water and go over the stains;
- those resin traces that are not washed off with soapy water are treated with improvised means or specialized compounds.
Resin on fender flaps, arches and sills spoils their appearance, so you can’t ignore it. To clean these parts, you will need to remove them. Once they are detached, they are soaked in a hot soapy solution for 10-15 minutes.
Those stains that could not be washed off with water are rubbed with detergent solutions. You can use both improvised means and specialized chemicals.
Special active foam: effectively remove kidney stains
Probably, many car enthusiasts have high-pressure devices in their garage or private home and these people wash their cars themselves. There is a special preparation, an additive to the main shampoo, which effectively copes with traces of any insects and poplar buds. The product is sold in any auto stores.
Among the obvious advantages of this composition for combating kidney disease is the complete absence of any damage to the paintwork of the body. Also, using the composition will not cause difficulties and is ideal for use at home. With a high-pressure washer and this product, you won’t have to think twice about removing traces of poplar buds from your car. It's reliable, simple and effective. But not everyone has such a sink. For those who don’t have it, you’ll have to look for folk recipes.
"White Spirit"
This popular product works much more gently than household aggressive liquids.
It will not damage the paint and copes well with bitumen stains. But there is an opinion that “White spirit” still copes with kidney stains, and does it well. If you don’t want to go to the store for specialized auto chemicals or have nothing to wash poplar buds from your car, then this is the best way. You can safely use it without fear for the body coating.
Is it possible to do without expensive Liqui Moly and use homemade cleaners?
In fact, in order to remove poplar resin from a car, some folk remedies are sometimes used. You can find them not in special car dealerships, but in department stores or even at home. These include all products containing White Spirit. We have already written above about some special cleaners, but others will also work, although their effectiveness will be much lower, and you will have to spend quite a lot of effort. But you don’t have to worry about any damage.
The same can be said about nail polish remover. It is very, very important that it be without acetone, which does not spare the car’s fiberglass. Sometimes a simple and well-known Cola can be used for washing, but only if the resin stains are very fresh. Instead of the original Cola, you can use another soda with this name.
Some household solvents, for example solvent or 64b, also help to clean the car body. True, be sure to expect that they will remove the paint from the car along with the wood resin if you leave them for at least a few extra seconds, so using this method more than a couple of times is highly not recommended.
An interesting and inexpensive way
Here is another rather interesting method for those who do not know how to wash poplar buds from a car.
For this you need a construction hairdryer, although you can get by with a household one.
So, the stain should be warmed up, then it should be carefully wiped off with a cotton swab dipped in ammonia. Next, you need to quickly wipe the area. It is best to wash it with soapy water.
A few important rules
If a car enthusiast has already figured out how to wash poplar buds from a car and has chosen the best option for this, it is necessary to follow several basic rules. They will help not harm the body coating.
So, you should not start the cleaning procedure in direct sunlight. It is better to do this in a garage if the sticky stain was not removed immediately for some reason. Next, do not scrub the stain with zeal.
This can damage the paintwork. You need to work slowly and effortlessly. If alcohol is chosen as the main cleaning agent, then to be safe, it is better to dilute it with water.
Before starting work on the surface, you should wash the body with water and some detergent. This will degrease the area. Also, the procedure should be repeated after removing the stain.
And the last thing that can be said about this. It is best not to park cars under these trees. But if there is no other option and is not foreseen, then antibacterial wipes will help. They can quickly and effectively get rid of these problems. And if the stains are old, then now you know how to wash poplar buds from your car quickly and effectively.
So, we figured out how to deal with this problem.
Drug "Antitopol"
These formulations are ideally formulated for tasks such as removing poplar bud stains.
They are fighting this problem as effectively as possible. They work and are popular, but the result will be if the stain is less than a year old. Nothing can deal with one-year-old spots.
Important: do not delay removal and do not try to wipe off the resin mechanically - this will only damage the paintwork.