I'm All Sappy

[Little Weasel]

I got a good deal of sap drips from an oak tree onto my tarp this weekend. What is good to use that will not hurt my MacCat?

[tight-wad]

Don't have the answer to your question, but, methinks, its ok, don't do anything. Maybe put some baby powder on it to keep it from sticking?

[lori]

Tecnu was originally formulated to dissolve sap - it was just serendipity that led to the realization that it worked on poison ivy/oak. I have heard rubbing alcohol, hand sanitizer, margarine, or mayo work as well.

[psyculman]

The commercial product GooGone, or a orange citrus based cleaner works.

[Little Weasel]

Thanks guys. I give some of those a try and see what works.

[BillyBob58]

If I am remembering this correctly, some of those wipes for cleaning yourself work pretty good. Can't think of what they are called. They come in little plastic resealable packages from WM and other places. The first trip wher I used a hammock, I got sticky sap all over my hands, and thankfully they took it right off. I can't remember if I had to actually use it on my gear.

[TiredFeet]

Rubbing Alcohol or mineral spirits works really well on pine sap. I imagine the oak sap would be about the same. Those hand wipes that BB58 mentioned probably have alcohol in them. I don't think a quick swipe with either the alcohol or mineral spirits would affect the silicone in the tarp.

[Hector]

> I don't think a quick swipe with either the alcohol or mineral spirits
> would affect the silicone in the tarp.

And if it did, you could always refresh the silicone impregnation with some of that spray silicone stuff. The main thing would be not to use anything that would hurt the nylon itself, I'd guess. And to clean it early before it hardens!

[riverkeeper]

I use denatured alcohol to get sap out of tree huggers and seat of my hiking shorts.

[Hornet]

IF oak sap be anything like the sap from a maple tree it can be very sticky but should dissolve with just good old water. Now if its like a pine tree sap the best I have found is the rubbing alcohol and the heat from the wifes hair dryer. The heat makes it softer and seams to dissolve better with the alcohol.