After doing 1800 miles up in Scotland my exhaust is covered in tar spots anybody got any good tips for removing them? cheers Rich
I seem to remember my mother removing road tar from my skinned knees and elbows with butter!! And it worked!! Or try WD40 or GT85 with a micro fibre cloth. Good luck...
Was it done on a newly built/just being laid road? Were the contractors there? If so get a claim in to them for a professional detailer to do the job for you. I had this issue 2 years ago on a road being laid in Ashton under lyne and though the contractor was based in Birmingham I managed to get it sorted and the bike properly cleaned in 3 weeks. Cost to them was something like £450 if I remember correctly.
That’s some tarmac laying contract if they’ve relaid 1800 miles of road, can’t even repair small potholes round here... Here is the product we use at work as prep before wrapping vans and cars, stinks mind but works quickly on those little annoying tar spots removes glue residue too. https://www.surechemicals.co.uk/industrial-products/cleaning-degreasing-industrial/tar-remover I would think that the Autoglym will have an odour added to it as these products generally do these days usually a Citrus odour to make it smell less chemical.
that's the Barnett Formula in action! I'd second trying WD40 or equivalent, perhaps White Spirit, T-Cut if used gently, or even Swarfega (seems to be hard to get at present - stuck in Suez Canal perhaps); I don't think the modern orange-based grainy Swarfega would be a risk, again if used gently, because the grains are only corn meal.
This stuff eats tar for lunch. Unbelievably powerful and fast working. https://gyeonquartz.com/product/tar/
WD 40 works a treat. I know from experience after getting covered in the stuff in Morocco (bike not me). A quick squirt, leave a few seconds for it to do its stuff and gently wipe.
Ah other's have said, lots of tar and glue removers on the market. I've used Valet Pro, Gyeon and Autosmart. For a one off use I'd go for the small 500ml of the Gyeon stuff. No need for brillo pads or elbow grease or anything like that. The tar spots bond to the surface so these products literally dissolve them, you'll see them starting to run/bleed after a couple of mins (do it in the shade) and then you simply wipe off. Do this on a clean dry bike, but worth cleaning again after or a quick layer of snow foam if you have it to ensure you remove all remaining residue