Pine Sap Cleanup

[NextEndeavor]

Had to drop another white pine today due to that darn Mountain Pine Beetle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_pine_beetle. This one was 35 ft tall with 24 inch diameter base. The poor thing thought it was a deciduous tree last fall when all its neighbors turned brown, this one did too. I have two others about the same size oozing sap from all the beetle wounds but so far, still green. Unfortunately, I also lost over 30 Scott Pines last fall/winter for the same reason and three Blue Spruce. Very serious problem in Colorado and the Black Hills areas of South Dakota. I doubt this southern Iowa county will have any pines in another 5 years.
So purpose of this post: Today I got that gooey pine sap all over the handles of my two Stihl saws. Is there anything that will remove it without damaging the saw? Don't really care about the gloves. The sap that's stuck all over my hands will have to wear off because soap only put a dent in the mess.
I've got plenty of free (right out of my own yard) pine and do fine in the shoulder season with it. The stuff makes a great smelling campfire too this time of year.

 

[StihlHead]

Not a big problem. Grand fir is the worst for gushing sap, but pines are not far behind for sapping up your saw.

Paint thinner will get it off with some work. I use turpentine to get the sap off and it is better/faster than paint thinner. Terps is naturally distilled from tree sap and it will dissolve it and not take the paint off of Stihl saws. You can also use gasoline, as the saws are made to be gas resistant. Xylol/xylene will also do the trick and take it off faster, but that can dull the finish on the paint. Similar to lacquer thinner, which will take the sap off really fast but likely take some of the paint with it and fade the plastic.

My pines here are also oozing sap, and likely have the bark beetles. They are Japanese pines, and seem to be doing OK for the time being, but I expect they will croak at some point. The beetles are worldwide and killing off the entire global Boreal forests, as well as the great western pine stands in North America.

 

[thewoodlands]

Had to drop another white pine today due to that darn Mountain Pine Beetle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_pine_beetle. This one was 35 ft tall with 24 inch diameter base. The poor thing thought it was a deciduous tree last fall when all its neighbors turned brown, this one did too. I have two others about the same size oozing sap from all the beetle wounds but so far, still green. Unfortunately, I also lost over 30 Scott Pines last fall/winter for the same reason and three Blue Spruce. Very serious problem in Colorado and the Black Hills areas of South Dakota. I doubt this southern Iowa county will have any pines in another 5 years.
So purpose of this post: Today I got that gooey pine sap all over the handles of my two Stihl saws. Is there anything that will remove it without damaging the saw? Don't really care about the gloves. The sap that's stuck all over my hands will have to wear off because soap only put a dent in the mess.
I've got plenty of free (right out of my own yard) pine and do fine in the shoulder season with it. The stuff makes a great smelling campfire too this time of year.

Veggy Oil or Canola Oil for your hands (takes it off instantly) or the saw, eco friendly too, I use it all the time.

 

[ScotO]

Backwoods Savage uses mayonnaise.....and he swears by it! I used some last year and, amazingly, it worked on the little bit of sap I had on my forearms.......

 

[PapaDave]

Dennis says Miracle Whip works, although I haven't tried it.
Vaseline works, as does mineral oil.
I prefer to not use too many solvents if I can help it.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

All my wood cutting tools have a thick layer of pitch on them. I've never bothered cleaning any of it off as dirt quickly sticks to it and makes it non-sticky. But if I were going to clean it off I'd use mineral spirits or gasoline.

 

[NextEndeavor]

Wow, thanks for all the ideas!

 

[clemsonfor]

Gas paint thinner mineral spirits. Lots of stuff will take it off

 

[bogydave]

WD-40 works too.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Yup, Miracle Whip, WD-40, canola oil, veggie oil does the trick easily. Much better than gas or solvents.

 

[Hills Hoard]

WD-40 works too.

wd-40....suprised me the first i tried it....works well....I now have a can in my big tub of tools, lube and fuel that i use for the saws...