Home : Handyman and DIY : Car care : Remove tar splatters

Tar splatters, Tar marks on your car remove them with ease

A few drops of lighter fluid on a soft cloth will remove tar splatters from you car paintwork. Remember to wax the area afterwards.

WD40 lubricating oil is also great for removing tar splatters from your car. In fact it is great for removing tar from most things. The beauty of using it to remove tar from your car is you do not need to wax afterwards

Visitors comments

Using WD40 on tar spots Comments By: WD40 Believer on 2004-07-26 Using WD40 to remove tar spots on our car was quite effective, and did not do any damage to the paint. We gave the car a good wash following the WD40 application; did not leave any residue on the car.   Removed excellent tip Comments By: Graham on 2008-03-26 One application of WD40 on a small lump of tar, a little gentle rubbing and its gone. No damage to the paintwork   WD40 for removing tar stains from motor car Comments By: Marian on 2008-07-07 This was a brilliant tip.The car got coveed in tar and all we did was spray with the WD 40, wash it off and it was perfect.   thought there was no solution Comments By: janet on 2008-07-26 wd40 worked fantastic. heavy tar was on white car mostly on the lower sides but splatters all over. cleaned up great and quick.   WD40 works a charm! Comments By: Anon on 2008-09-04 as soon as i sprayed it on the tar began to run, simply wipe it off with a clean cloth, spot on cheers!   wd40 works Comments By: cameroonlady on 2008-11-16 After i read wd40 removed tar without a problem, i tried it and it worked.   10/10 Comments By: Nick on 2008-11-24 Worked a treat - saved me £5 on 'Tar Remover' - Happy Days   WD40 is amazing! Comments By: Craig on 2008-11-27 I had so much tar on my car due to roadworks i have to drive through every day. Nearly the whole panel was covered. WD40 worked a treat!!   Use Any Paste Car Wax Comments By: Herb Booker on 2009-03-19 Any paste car wax, even the cheapest will remove tar rather easily. Just put a dab on the end of a rag and rub it in, then wipe off.   works brilliantly Comments By: Civicboy on 2009-05-28 great tip-works well and no hard work needed   saved the day Comments By: Patricia Muir on 2009-07-04 what a fantastic tip saved me a trip to halfords to look for tar remover thanks from a very gratful pensioner   I was amazed Comments By: v thompson on 2009-07-19 I thought my works van was just badly splattered with mud. I was in a bit of a panic when i realised it was tar. I used WD40. What a relief. It came off no problem   Excellent idea Comments By: Parcel on 2009-11-09 Excellent idea, melts before ur eyes. Simply wipe off with a cloth or paper towel. Brill! For more stubborn deposits, spray on and leave to soften, then gently wipe off.   AWESOME TOP TIP Comments By: CRAIG JONES WXM on 2010-01-26 DIDNT BELIEVE IT TILL I TRIED.   Removing heavy tar from paintwork Comments By: Pauline on 2010-04-04 Only realised last week that I had heavy, thick tar on my car from going through a freshly tarred road (i.e. just completed minutes before and not beaconed off.) Today is easter sunday so just about all shops closed. Tried everything I had in the house using similar things to what recommended above. Nothing seemed to work, didn't try the petrol though. Eventually I took out some citronella oil I just happened to have in the house, sprayed it on, left for about 3 minutes, went back and started scrubbing off with a gentle scrubbing brush. Worked like a dream. (It's not something that you would normally have lying around but I had bought it to put on an area where a cat had been spraying. It worked like a dream for that too.   Great tip! Comments By: Mari, Scotland on 2010-04-18 Just been cleaning my campervan, and found immovable tar stain on it...Your tip worked a treat—took the tar off straight away. Thank you! :)   good but.. Comments By: Danny rooney on 2010-07-23 it is good but i tried wd40 on my car and the misses tried petrol on a cloth and i think that that works better   wd40 Comments By: l duff on 2010-08-15 thank you so much my 2 month old car got covered in tar due to road works did not wont to use petrol as i thought it would also remove the protective film . it now looks as. GOOD AS NEW   WD40 never ceaces to amaze me!! Comments By: James Greene on 2011-01-17 I have always used WD40 for virtually everything... however it was the last thing i expected to use on tar!! Whoever invented this magical concoction should be very proud!!! x x x x :)   wd 40 amazing stuff Comments By: mark on 2011-02-06 wd40 works a treat for millions of things google its uses on the www best by far for removing tar   FAN_TAS_TIC Comments By: MercMan on 2011-03-23 I am always suspicious of these tips, but this worked amazingly thanks for the best bit of advice in a loooooong time. What else can WD40 do???? I told the Vicar about WD40 and he said “Well I put some holy water on a woman’s belly and she past a baby” And I said “Well I put some WD40 on my dog’s testicals and he passed a MOTORBIKE”.   Impressive Comments By: Paul on 2011-05-04 Just tried it after reading the comments here, removed about a dozen small tar deposits in less than 10 minutes work. The back of the can actually recommends it for removing tar as well! Left no damage to the paintwork - nice.   great Comments By: Meon Monk on 2011-08-06 Used WD40 and it worked beautifully. Bought ASDA`s own brand at half the price and it was just as effective.   WD40 Comments By: Sue on 2011-08-11 Fantastic and alot cheaper than buying a tar remover from Halfords etc. Used it on my MX5 and it worked a treat was amazed Â