cleaning mando

i played at a farmers market the other day, and we sat under this tree, and i took out my banjo and did some duets with my banjo player, and left my mando sitting in my banjo case opened under the tree... apparently the tree dripped sap onto my mando!
its a weber hyalite, without a gloss finish. i tried a little wet paper towel and that didnt seem to do very much... it just looks like some spots on the mando, so its not to bad whatever, but its definatly not cool!!! i dont know what kind of cleaner might be ok to use on that kind of a finish so i figured id ask here
any tips appreciated... and never put your mando in a banjo case, its a bad omen i think

[tope]

WD-40 might do the trick, I'd try naptha second. Test naptha on an inconspicuous spot but it should be ok.

[sunburst]

I'd try the smallest bit of detergent in water first if water alone didn't do the trick.

[neal]

Just a note here, what is it with the tree sap this year? #2 years nothing, now I'm afraid to leave anything on my deck, including my mando. # Anyone know something I don't?

In Wisconsin, if that makes any diff

[fatt-dad]

I used lighter fluid on one of my Ibanez mandolins and it worked great!

Be careful though.

fatt-dad

[Keith Newell]

Try butter.
Keith

[s1m0n]

1. What is the finish on your mandolin?
2. What kind of tree was it?

You need a substance which is a solvant for the latter but not the former.
The range of possibilities are too diverse to give a answer.

[douglas2cats]

You might want to try that stuff called 'Goo Gone'. It's made from some type of citrus extract & should be pretty benign as far as possibly reacting with the mando finish.

[Bob DeVellis]

Naptha ( Ronsonol lighter fluid, or at lesser concentrations, charcoal lighter fluid) should do fine. I've used it to clean both varnish and lacquer finishes with no problems. But definitely check in an inconspicuous place first. It may leave a slightly hazy film at first, but that will wipe off. A good test spot is on the treble side. where it would be on your leg if you were playing sitting down. That area isn't very conspicuous. But I'd be very surprised if you had any problem.

thanks everyone

[neal]

Just found out the it's not sap that's falling on my deck, the tree guys told us it's aphid droppings, should come off with water.

[jim simpson]

I used to live near several tulip poplar trees. They would drip sap on our cars and it was a constant battle to keep them clean.

[pdlstl]

Pecan trees are very bad too.

[Steve Williams]

I recently used mayonaise to remove major Armorall spots (overspray from cleaning a nearby instrument case...didn't discover it for hours) from the satin finish of my A-9. It worked after several guitar and violin cleaners didn't.

[Mark Normand]

ha, just yesterday evening I had a pine tree taken down, the helpers asked me if they could use a faucet to clean their hands with gasoline, their boss overheard and bellowed, "you can't use gas, gotta use diesel or kerosene!" You could try that...(I sure wouldn't!!). I can't get rid of the thought of kneeling near the faucet cleaning my sappy mando with diesel ! LOL