How to Remove Tar & Rust Spots from Paintwork Using a Clay Bar

Properly Cleaning Paintwork is a Four Step Process…

It may even look as bad as this and feel like sandpaper…  (click to see closeup)

If your car is a few years old, run a wet, soapy hand over the paintwork, especially below the door bump strips….. it’s almost certain your paintwork will feel rough, even if you wash and polish it regularly. A clay bar treatment will fix all of that, (if you’ve never heard of  clay bars before, look at the clay bars over at amazon.co.uk and read the reviews) … OK, ready? Then lets get started…

Tar, tiny metal particles and other debris become embedded in your paintwork as you drive around, leaving it feeling rough. It also gets dirty quicker as the grime collects on the rough surface.

The tiny rusty looking spots are from metal particles on the road that become embedded in your (relatively) soft paintwork, eventually going rusty and staining the surrounding paintwork. Often you can’t even see the tiny metal particle; just the tiny (1mm to 2mm) rusty spot it produces. This is called ‘rail dust’ and these tiny metal particles come from industry, building work, engineering, exhausts and brake systems etc on cars, trucks, trains etc. Bear in mind these tiny rust spots are different from rusty spots that are a result of the metal panel going rusty (after a stone chip say) which are generally much larger, 3mm to 5mm in diameter.

Tar obviously is very sticky and gets thrown up from warm asphalt surfaces onto your cars paintwork in the summertime. Both tar and rust spots are difficult to remove because regular washing and polishing has little effect, but not to worry, clay bar to the rescue…

Four Easy Steps for Shiny Paintwork…

Step One: Wash the car to get rid of dust and grit.

Wash the car as you would normally. This is to remove any dust or grit particles that would otherwise scratch your cars paintwork during the following steps (google the ‘two bucket method’ if you’re serious about this…).

After washing. The paintwork is still coated with spots of tar and rust, but free of grit.

Step Two: Use a tar remover on larger areas of tar.

Grab a small clean rag and douse it in tar remover, work your way around the affected areas (usually the bottom half of the car), wiping away the tar. Regularly soak the rag with the tar removing chemical and re-fold  the rag (to a clean part) frequently to avoid wiping tarry residue all over your paint. If you drop the rag, throw it away or the grit it picks up will scratch your car when you re-use it. (I used Autoglyms intensive tar remover this time).

You should know that the clay bar technique used in the next step will also remove tar, but I find it tends to clog up the clay bar, so its best to remove it first (unless there is just a few spots).

After using the tar remover you are just left with the rust spots.

Step Three: Use a Clay bar and ‘Clay the Car’! 

If you need one, see links at bottom of post or click here >to jump down to them right away!

Remove rusty spots using a clay bar. Sure I know there are things like rust spot remover etc. But the absolutely best way is to use a clay bar for an incredible glass smooth finish. I kid you not when I say that, *drum roll please*… clay bars will blow you away. It’s not often a product exceeds your expectations, but clay bars will, (and to think I’d never heard of them!). How such an awesome product manages to stay ‘under the radar’ is a constant mystery to me.

You should use the ‘proper’ lubricant, but to be honest once the bottle that comes with your first kit is empty, just refill it with warm water and some soft dishwashing liquid. Simply knead the clay into a little patty shape, spray it with the lubricant and some more directly onto the paint work and gently rub the clay bar all over the surface. It doesn’t matter which direction you use as clay bars are not abrasive, just keep the surface and the clay bar well sprayed with the lube/ soapy water, if the clay ‘sticks’ you need to use more lubricant. After each panel fold the clay over a couple of times to start over with a clean part. Rinse away the residue once you’re finished and dry it off with a cloth or leather.

I know you’re touching the paintwork……….it’s incredibly mind bogglingly smooth isn’t it?

Step Four: Re-applying a protective polish and wax.

All that cleaning and rubbing takes you back to pure paint, completely removing any polish or wax you had on the paintwork. To finish off and protect your newly silky smooth paintwork you’ll need to apply a good polish and even a wax if you’re feeling up to it.

Shiny and smooth again with no tar or rust spots!

Thats it. Done. One very shiny car that keeps cleaner for longer (smooth paintwork holds less muck!). Let me know in the comments how you get on with the clay bar, I admit to being absolutely bowled over the first time I used one. It’s not very often a product exceeds all expectations these days! Don’t forget you’ll only need warm water to clean the car (unless it’s very muddy), and keep that lovely polish for longer.

Here is the car afterwards…

The water just rolls of paint when it’s this clean.

Twelve year old Honda CRV looking as good as new after the clay bar treatment.

Don’t forget the above Honda CRV is over 12 years old; powerful testament to the power of the Clay Bar in getting the paintwork 100% clean leaving nothing for dust and road grime to hang or hold onto. Magic! 

Stay well

By Ian Anderson

Links for the places I’ve bought clay bars:

I buy mine directly from China and have had no problems with quality… Clay bars from aliexpress.com but delivery does take up to a month (China’s a long way away lol!)

However you might need it quicker, so try either Clay bars at amazon.co.uk… or the amazon.com clay bar selection
Getting your clay bars from ebay.co.uk is best in a hurry I’d say… (or ebay.com for the US etc.).

If you buy from the above links you’ll be contributin’ towards a cup of coffee for me (at no cost to your good self), so ta for that 🙂