Reviewed: Dodo Juice Tarmalade

**Todd@RUPES** · 12-05-2011, 06:30 PM

Dodo Juice Tarmalade: Tar, Glue, and Rubber Remover.

Dodo Juice Tarmalade is a mild citrus cleaner which promises to gently clean adhesive residue, rubber, and road tar from painted surfaces by promising a long, active dwell time.

Tarmalade is packaged in 200 ml jar with a twist lid. It has citrus scent with a touch of chemical and has a pudding like consistency.

First test: Adhesive.

The first test was to remove some stubborn adhesive from Dodo Challenger wheels. This car was delivered brand new for a detail and still had delivery stickers on the wheel face.

Obvious product placement shot.

The pudding like consistency makes it easy to apply and gives it the ability to dwell on the surface, allowing the citrus based cleaners to gradually and safely remove residue.

Tarmalade can be applied with a foam applicator or (for more cleaning power) a microfiber towel.

Tarmalade works over time. Attempting to remove before 3 minutes of dwell time resulted in leaving a small amount of residue behind. With 5 minutes of dwell time the residue came off completely.

Test Two: Road tar and rubber residue.

The second test was going to put this `gentle` cleaner to the test. A badly soiled work van which likely hadn`t been rockstars wore leopard pants and leather shoulder pads.

The bottom of the van was covered in road tar. The tar had likely been there for a long time as it was rock hard and firmly attached/bonded to the paint. I was thinking a chisel might be needed.

I loaded a `throw-away` microfiber towel with Dodo Juice Tarmalade.

Then I worked an ample amount of product into each stain across the paint using firm pressure.

I checked the progress often. After approximately 4 minutes the residue began to soften. I added slightly more residue to the microfiber and continued to work it into the area.

After approximately 10 minutes the tar had become extremely runny and soft. I used the microfiber towel to remove the residue.

The result was completely clean paint!

Conclusion: Dodo Juice Tarmalade is a mild cleaner that requires a longer dwell time then most powerful bug, tar, and adhesive removers. What you loose in time efficiency you gain by limiting the strength of the chemicals used against the paint. If you are a professional detailer this product is not likely going to fit in a hectic work flow. However if you are enthusiast who wants to care for your car in the most gentle way, Dodo Juice Tarmalade is a product that should find space on your shelf.

**Old Pirate** · 12-05-2011, 06:42 PM

Thanks for the write up Todd, a must for folks looking into something milder then those strong chemicals out there.

**Crossfire** · 12-05-2011, 07:14 PM

How does this compare to Tar-X?

**TroyScherer** · 12-05-2011, 07:48 PM

Excellent review Todd. As an enthusiast I have often thought of picking up some Tarmalade as I want to use the least aggressive / messy method.

**Bunky** · 12-05-2011, 07:57 PM

Interesting review. I wonder if it would work better on sensitive surfaces like plastics.

**Todd@RUPES** · 12-05-2011, 11:11 PM

Originally Posted by Crossfire

How does this compare to Tar-X?

While both products do the same thing it is kind of like apples-to-oranges.

Tar-X is initially more aggressive but doesn`t have near as long of an active dwell time. Also Car Pro cautions against letting Tar-X dry on the paint.

Both are excellent products but quite different in application and usage.

**oldcracker** · 12-05-2011, 11:15 PM

wow thanks for the review!

**ca.detailchick** · 12-05-2011, 11:24 PM

I like the way it looks

!

**AutopiaTech** · 12-06-2011, 08:18 AM

Great review, thanks for sharing.

**wendell jarvis** · 12-06-2011, 08:22 AM

Awesome review

**Addicted2Bling** · 12-06-2011, 08:49 AM

Great Review, I`ll be sure to pick up more dodo products when I become a rich detailer

**Flannigan** · 12-06-2011, 08:55 AM

Great review Todd. I have one question. When working on the heavy tar on the rockers, did you have to constantly work in the tarmalade to get these results, or did you just work it in once, let it dwell, then work it in again, and let it dwell? I could see this being a great product to let dwell while getting other things done on a car. come back and the tar is all but gone! I`m gonna have to give this a try!

**Todd@RUPES** · 12-06-2011, 09:09 AM

Originally Posted by Flannigan

Great review Todd. I have one question. When working on the heavy tar on the rockers, did you have to constantly work in the tarmalade to get these results, or did you just work it in once, let it dwell, then work it in again, and let it dwell? I could see this being a great product to let dwell while getting other things done on a car. come back and the tar is all but gone! I`m gonna have to give this a try!

Kind of both...

I worked it in at first, but the tar was so hard/brittle it really didn`t go anywhere. After a couple of minutes the tar began to soften, so I added a little more product and worked it in. The top layer of the tar moved around a bit and the agitation seemed to speed things up nicely.

**Jokeman** · 12-06-2011, 10:39 AM

Interesting looking stuff. I bet it smells better than the normal tar removers used in a high production environment.

**Rocket** · 12-06-2011, 11:15 AM

Nice review Todd. I was wondering how this stuff worked. I really like the consistency of it too I think it because it can sit in the spot and dwell longer. Plus it won`t run to areas you don`t want.