how do I get tar out?

[Baydog51]

Try a can of Bug & Tar Remover from the auto parts store.

 

[bottle_head9]

I had a bottle with thick ink.Try soaking it with nail polish remover. Put foil or plastic over the top so it doesn`t evaporate too fast.Let it sit overnite and it should start to loosen it.You have to break it up with a stick or dowel.I think I used rubbing alcohol also.Patience is Key.Good luck.

 

[ombudsman]

ORIGINAL: bottle_head9

I had a bottle with thick ink.Try soaking it with nail polish remover. Put foil or plastic over the top so it doesn`t evaporate too fast.Let it sit overnite and it should start to loosen it.You have to break it up with a stick or dowel.I think I used rubbing alcohol also.Patience is Key.Good luck.

Nail polish uses acetone for the solvent. Better and cheaper to just use acetone. Acetone disolves most plastic, so I'd use foil. And yes, acetone does evaporate very quickly.
Dave

 

[cadburys]

I have used gasoline before and it worked great!

Ant

 

[Oldtimer]

WD-40 will disolve tar and asphalt.

Muratic acid will melt about anything too, but be careful.

 

[blade]

I've found Plate Maratex to be the best cleaner for tar,pine sap, dried paint etc..

 

[medbotls]

Hello. If water softens it, then don't bother with any petroleum based solvents...remember the old saying, like dissolves like. Because water softens it, it's not tar. I've had very good luck with the ammonia washing solution you can get at the grocery store, and its cheap. You do need patience though. Fill the bottle with the ammonia solution, put a cover of some type on it, and let it sit for a week...or two...or three. Check on it and stir occasionally, as you may need to change the solution as it dissolves the gunk.

 

[capsoda]

Yep, like Richard said...WD40 will get it out. It will also get tar, bugs, glue and water spots of your car without hurting your paint.

 

[Plumbata]

For ancient tar, I have used Carbo-Sol (Trichloroethylene) with great success. I had a small glue cauldron with a wrought handle that had lots of tar, as well as an ancient end of a broken paintbrush stuck in the bottom. I heated it to melt what I could, scraped that out, then swirled some carbosol in there and the transformation was amazing. Within seconds the tar was gone, including the hardened 100 year old tar near the top edge of the cauldron, leaving a clean metal surface behind. No scrubbing necessary; mere contact was enough to dissolve it almost instantly. Carbo-Sol may be hard to find now due to environmental restrictions, but if you can obtain it it would be the best.

No solvent I have used before works through hydrocarbons with such speed and efficacy.

2nd suggestion would be Acetone, Gasoline, or other volitile mineral spirits.

 

[cornish bottles]

as previously mentioned, I use petrol too.

it is quite excellent at dissolving tar.