What's good for removing tar?
Ands
Posts: 1,437
I went out in the wet yesterday so was expecting to come home a bit muddy from the lanes....but when I went to clean my bike, I realised that there was a lot of tar on it. The bike has mostly cleaned up OK (a few sticky smears left). The worst bit is my white saddle, which is now a browny shade of white.
What is the best thing to remove tar?
Also, probably a daft question, but seeing as I didn't ride on any newly surfaced roads, where could it have come from? Is old, displaced/broken up surfacing sticky too?
What is the best thing to remove tar?
Also, probably a daft question, but seeing as I didn't ride on any newly surfaced roads, where could it have come from? Is old, displaced/broken up surfacing sticky too?
0
Comments
-
there's plenty of tar removal stuff for cars which I can't see doing a lot of damage to bikes. Alternatively white spirit should work. you might like to try a little hidden area of the bottom of your saddle first, but white spirit is pretty innocuous stuff
In terms of where it came from, newly filled potholes perhaps? Quite impressed you could get tar on the saddle. Or did you sit on the road? Given how cold and wet it is I can't see it likely that there's a lot of chance of tar going walkabout. Anyhoo, good luck in getting it off."The only absolute statement is that everything is relative" - anon0 -
HonestAl wrote:Quite impressed you could get tar on the saddle. Or did you sit on the road?
Thanks for the tip. Will try a bit of white spirit on it.0 -
Autoglym tar remover is great stuff.
You can buy it in Halfords.0 -
WD40 works very well.0
-
If it's red tar then rub it with white tarExpertly coached by http://www.vitessecyclecoaching.co.uk/
http://vineristi.wordpress.com - the blog for Viner owners and lovers!0 -
The answer is petrol. Buy a small tin of lighter fluid from your local grocer. (About £1.30)Use a hankie or a light cotton rag. Comes away in seconds with no rubbing. Also does a great job on your rims - stops squealing when rubber hits metal.
http://www.houseofswan.com/SwanRequisites.aspx0 -
My legs are pretty good at removing tar from the road. Ruddy painful though. :shock:0
-
I removed a whole load of tar from the underside of the downtube on one of my bikes. At hoppers suggestion, Pledge worked a treat!0
-
Margarine - honest.0
-
Baby Wipes appear to shift all manner of things.Cycling weakly0
-
Percy Veere wrote:Margarine - honest.
Or butter - it's what my mum always said. Might make the saddle slippery or leave grease stains instead though!0 -
Baby wipes or lighter fuel.Pegoretti
Colnago
Cervelo
Campagnolo0 -
GT85 worked for me for removing tar.Brian B.0
-
Percy Veere wrote:Margarine - honest.
+1 for removing from skin. But it'd probably stain a saddle.Ben
Bikes: Donhou DSS4 Custom | Condor Italia RC | Gios Megalite | Dolan Preffisio | Giant Bowery '76
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ben_h_ppcc/
Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/143173475@N05/0 -
Thanks for all the suggestions.
I used turps as I couldn't find any white spirit and it seems to have done the trick. (I probably should have done it outside and not in the kitchen (complaints about the smell) and I think I've made a big mistake in doing it 20 mins before I get on it rather than waiting until I next washed it. . :oops: . )0