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Asphalt Sealer On Car Paint.

25K views 30 replies 17 participants last post by  Mdirrigation 
#1 · (Edited)
I finished a drive and dumped a few gallons of unused coal tar sealer in the grass well away from the house and the driveway. The property owner said it wouldnt hurt to dump it there but we didnt consider the neighborhood cats. And it appears a cat walked through the sealer and climbed onto his car hood. The sealer had been on the vehicle for several days before the property owner realized what happened.

Any ideas what might work to soften the sealer up so it can be removed from the car hood. Right now we have a pieces of cotton t-shirt material soaked with turtle wax brand bug"n"tar remover laying over the tracks.
 
#5 ·
I agree with Marc, coal tar sealant on grass? It will definitely kill the grass, unless its not pure and cut down with water.

As for the paint, you definitely don't want to rub it to much otherwise you will be spreading it all over the car.
 
#6 ·
first, why would you dump any oil based products on the ground?

Second. take it to a car detail shop and let a professional handle it. the time you spend dealing with it is costing you money since you aren't making any revenue.
First of all i dumped probably two or three gallons of coal tar sealer on the ground and coal tar sealer is not a oil based product. There is no such thing as a oil based asphalt sealer. Second of all the property owner said "go ahead and dump it over there in that back corner section of the yard" so i did what the property owner told me to do.
 
#7 ·
First of all i dumped probably two or three gallons of coal tar sealer on the ground and coal tar sealer is not a oil based product. There is no such thing as a oil based asphalt sealer. Second of all the property owner said "go ahead and dump it over there in that back corner section of the yard" so i did what the property owner told me to do.
Fresh diesel will take it off, plus it won't hurt the paint. Get some on a rag and let it set for a bit to soften, then clean it off.
 
#9 ·
Sealers that say on the label that they contain petroleum distillates or coal tar are considered hazardous and should be disposed of as part of a hazardous waste collection program. Be aware that many driveway sealers may be latex based but may still contain petroleum distillates or coal tar.

The customers look to us as we are the professionals, we know the rules, and we know the do's and don'ts of our particular expertise.

If a customer told you it was ok to dig near a neighborhood telephone junction box and he "knew" where the wires. would you do it, or would you call in a locate?
 
#10 ·
Go to a pavement supply place, and they have stuff in a spray bottle, that will work like magic. The name escapes me now, but will look on the truck later. It is expensive, but I would not run without it.
 
#11 ·
Go to a pavement supply place, and they have stuff in a spray bottle, that will work like magic. The name escapes me now, but will look on the truck later. It is expensive, but I would not run without it.
Ya we had some stuff before I also don't remember the name, not sure if its the same as what your talking about, the liquid was orange and it was totally safe and natural.

Also i'm not sure about paint thinner, its very strong... Try baby oil, it get's rid of the tar on my hands, try it out.
 
#12 · (Edited)
Sealers that say on the label that they contain petroleum distillates or coal tar are considered hazardous and should be disposed of as part of a hazardous waste collection program. Be aware that many driveway sealers may be latex based but may still contain petroleum distillates or coal tar.
FISRT OF ALL WHAT IS CALLED A COAL TAR ASPHALT SEALER DOES NOT CONTAIN PETRO CHEMICALS - IT IS NOT OIL BASED. ALSO IT IS NEITHER WATER BASED NOR LATEX BASED - IT IS AN EMULSION.

If you still choose not to believe me then i will challenge you to do this. Take a quart of motor oil or gasoline or diesel fuel or whtever else you may wish to use and pour a spot about the size of silver dollar out on some pavement. Do this once a day for a week and then take a screw driver and gouge the oil spot then gouge the pavent several inches out and away from the oil spot. You will see the oil / gas / diesel has softened the pavement and caused it to deteriorate.
Asphalt sealer companies are in the business of selling a product that seals and protects pavement from oil and gasoline they are not in the business of selling a product that deliberately contains chemicals that destroys pavement. And i as a individual who is in the business of selling a product that protects pavement why am i going to apply something that ruins it.

The whole idea of sealing pavement is to lock the pre-existing oils into the pavement so the pavement remains semi-pliable and less prone to cracking and surface deterioration. Then there is the purpose of keeping concentrated amounts of foreign motor oils and gasoline from penetrating the surface of the pavement. If coal tar sealer was oil based it would be more prone to attracting oils and gass rather than repelling them.

The customers look to us as we are the professionals, we know the rules, and we know the do's and don'ts of our particular expertise.

If a customer told you it was ok to dig near a neighborhood telephone junction box and he "knew" where the wires. would you do it, or would you call in a locate?
The guy i did the sealing for was not a customer he is fishing and beer drinking buddy ive know since high school therefore it doesnt matter where two drunk guys dump two or three gallons of sealer just as long as its on one of those drunk guys property and not someone elses property. The only thing we are concerned with is getting the mess off his wifes mercedes convertible before she sees it there.

And no i dont get drunk and go out sealing driveways. We sealed the drive then started drinking and then several hours later we decided what to do with the extra sealer.
 
#13 ·
BB Ok so its not a petro chemical ITS STILL HAZARDOUS read the label on how it says to dispose of the excess....I'm sure "dump in bubba's back yard after a six pack" is the first line on the label.

Just think if you have left it in the can and disposed of it properly, and the merc would not have coal tar emulsion cat prints all over the hood...
 
#14 ·
I have a 575 gallon sealcoating tank & sealer got on it. I looked for & tryed everything out there. Until i got luck & found some stuff at Sherwin Williams the paint store, I forgot the name of it but i call it "M.E.K."

I had my tank custome made & painted at an auto body shop with car paint (orange) & it took it off with out harming the paint. It did take some elbow grease & time but it got on there pretty thick.

Now i tryed to remove sealer off my air compressor that is a Jenny and it Blue but the M.E.K. did not work on that...

So you can try but im not sure if it will work on anything else.

The next thing i was told that works pretty good is McDonalds old french fri grease. & they give it to you for free!...
 
#16 ·
We used some common Turtle Wax Bug and Tar Remover and it took the sealer off just fine. We laid small pieces of folded cotton t-shirt material over the sealer spots and soaked them in the big and tar remover and covered them with pieces of plastic wrap so they wouldnt dry out. Fourty eight hours later the sealer came right off.
 
#17 ·
FISRT OF ALL WHAT IS CALLED A COAL TAR ASPHALT SEALER DOES NOT CONTAIN PETRO CHEMICALS - IT IS NOT OIL BASED. ALSO IT IS NEITHER WATER BASED NOR LATEX BASED - IT IS AN EMULSION.
Actually coal tar sealer and asphalt emulsion sealer are two completely separate products for seal coating asphalt surfaces. Even though they both generally use 30 - 35% water they probably should not be mixed together.

Back to cleaning sealer off, even though I have no idea what type of sealer you actually used I find that emulsion tends to clean off much easier than coal tar sealer.
As 2001FZ1 mentioned WD-40 works very well for removing both products with out damage to the paint as well as a product called Super Citrus.
 
#20 ·
All i did was cut some pieces of cotton t-shirt up lay them on a hood and spray turtle wax bug'n'tar remover on them and lay sandwich baggies on top of the material and come back later and wipe it off.

But i do get your point. Time tied up in doing un-necessary things means lost money and ill agree with you 100% about the 36 to 48 hours.

Lost Time = Lost Money.
 
#21 ·
I know this is an old post, but just for those that want to know. We get splatter of coal tar sealer all over our spray truck and a rag with some gas or diesel will take it right off, even when dried.
 
#23 ·
Hopefully this guy isn't still dumping hazmats on the ground. Pretty damn irresponsible and then post it here and try to defend it.
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State and local government sub-contractors do it all the time, is it legal, No, but who's gonna stop it???

We get that stuff on vehicles all the time, the best thing i found was Dollar store gas treatment, pour it on a rag and wipe away, car wash after that....
 
#24 ·
Coal tar emulsion is not a HAZMAT , if it were you would need a cdl with a hazmat endorsement to carry more than 1000 lbs . But the oil based sealer ( called gilsonite around here ) could be considered a hazmat depending on the composition . I dont have the time or inclination to find out since we use coal tar only . But it would be intresting if someone would find out .
 
#25 ·
Coal-tar-based sealcoats are a major source of cancer-causing contaminants that can pollute air, soil, water and wildlife, posing a significant health risk to humans who may breathe, drink or eat them in fish and other food.

Coal-tar is formed when coal is coked, a process to prepare coal for use as a fuel. Coal-tar base sealants contain high levels of a class of chemicals known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). A mix of different types of PAHs are found in the sealant.

The long-lived PAHs widely pollute the environment, wildlife and people. These highly dangerous chemicals are expected to cause cancer in people.

As the black, shiny sealcoats wear away over time, small, dusty particles form. The specks can contain PAHs and other chemicals found in the sealants.

Wind and water disperse the particles into the surrounding environment. Wind carries the contaminated dust almost everywhere -- into the water, onto other pavements or onto land used for gardens or crops. Potentially, the dust, if very fine, could be breathed in by animals and people.

The dust is also washed off the surfaces into local lakes, streams and other waterways by rain and snow melt. The stormwater runoff can contain high levels of PAHs. Some researchers suggest that coal-tar based sealcoats are a major source of PAH pollution in streams. Often, high levels of PAHs are found in the sediments of the lakes and streams accepting the stormwater runoff.

This pollution poses an environmental health risk for the organisms that live in the waterways, including fish that may be eaten by humans. A study of sealcoats in runoff in Austin, Texas, has linked adverse effects in humans and animals to sealcoat dust runoff.

Coal-tar based sealcoats contain very high levels of PAHs -- up to 30 percent by weight. PAHs are known to cause an array of health effects and pose a significant threat to wildlife and humans.

Sealcoats are not stable. The coatings break down over time, forming dust that moves the PAHs from the paved surfaces to surrounding areas, including soil, water and air...


Coal-Tar is ILLEGAL here due to it's hazardous qualities...
and you're DUMPING GALLONS OF IT IN THE GRASS??
You're destroying our home(Earth) with your negligence.
 
#26 ·
Coal-tar-based sealcoats are a major source of cancer-causing contaminants that can pollute air, soil, water and wildlife, posing a significant health risk to humans who may breathe, drink or eat them in fish and other food.

Coal-tar is formed when coal is coked, a process to prepare coal for use as a fuel. Coal-tar base sealants contain high levels of a class of chemicals known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). A mix of different types of PAHs are found in the sealant.

The long-lived PAHs widely pollute the environment, wildlife and people. These highly dangerous chemicals are expected to cause cancer in people.

As the black, shiny sealcoats wear away over time, small, dusty particles form. The specks can contain PAHs and other chemicals found in the sealants.

Wind and water disperse the particles into the surrounding environment. Wind carries the contaminated dust almost everywhere -- into the water, onto other pavements or onto land used for gardens or crops. Potentially, the dust, if very fine, could be breathed in by animals and people.

The dust is also washed off the surfaces into local lakes, streams and other waterways by rain and snow melt. The stormwater runoff can contain high levels of PAHs. Some researchers suggest that coal-tar based sealcoats are a major source of PAH pollution in streams. Often, high levels of PAHs are found in the sediments of the lakes and streams accepting the stormwater runoff.

This pollution poses an environmental health risk for the organisms that live in the waterways, including fish that may be eaten by humans. A study of sealcoats in runoff in Austin, Texas, has linked adverse effects in humans and animals to sealcoat dust runoff.

Coal-tar based sealcoats contain very high levels of PAHs -- up to 30 percent by weight. PAHs are known to cause an array of health effects and pose a significant threat to wildlife and humans.

Sealcoats are not stable. The coatings break down over time, forming dust that moves the PAHs from the paved surfaces to surrounding areas, including soil, water and air...

Coal-Tar is ILLEGAL here due to it's hazardous qualities...
and you're DUMPING GALLONS OF IT IN THE GRASS??
You're destroying our home(Earth) with your negligence.
Agree, you need to drive around Austin and stop one day at these big road projects, it will surprise you what some of these contractors do when no one is watching...its all about the dollar.....
 
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