Front end covered in bugs

I

imported_perry

New member
I just got back from PA for a job interview... On I-70, just west of Dayton, OH, I drove through an incredible amount of bugs for a short period. I must have had 40 of em hit my windshield within a 1.5 mile stretch.



When I got home, I looked the car over and the entire front bumper is covered in bugs. Looks similar to the winter time after I've driven through snow and salt covered streets, but worse. Nasty. I was about to to go the quarter wash, but I'm going back out on the interstate (not that same stretch, but still open interstate) tomorrow morning so I figured it would just get dirty again.



When I get back tomorrow afternoon, I think I'll need about a case of Bug & Tar remover to get all the bugs off. Hood, bumpers, side mirrors, leading edge of roof and fenders -- they'll all need a good cleaning. Heh. I'll be stopping at Sam's Club for some cheap MF's, so they'll be put to use right away!



How should I approach this? Quarter wash to try to spray em off, take the car home and use bug & tar remover to do the real tough spots? Don't bother with quarter wash? Clay afterwards to make sure it's really clean, or would the bug remover do a good job?
 
As a suggestion, for hard to remove bugs, place a towel or old t-shirt over the area, soak it with water, and let it sit for a bit. The bugs should be easier to remove once they are soft.
 
I would work on removing the bug guts as soon as you possibly can. You dont want the acids from the bug guts to potentialy permanently etch your paint. Hose as much of the guts off as you can as your first step.If you're going to get clay as well, I would try claying them off first to avoid using a lot of harsh chemical spray product on the paint. If you have to use the spray take your time and try to use it as sparingly as possible. Good luck!
 
id try to hose it off first, which wont get much off, but will help somewhat, then id recommend the 1Z bug/tar remover (safe for wax/wont strip)... works really good... follow the directions for it.. (sit for 3 minutes, then was with good car shampoo). but im guessin you'll have a hard time finding that at a local store... one of the customers cars that i do, has a son who uses this stuff made by turtle wax (that name makes me cringe) which is a green aersol can, and its for bugs/tar... he swears it works good, and i witnessed him use it on a white ram, and it does acutally get the bugs out, so maybe u could give that a try...
 
I find it best to avoid the bug and tar remover. In the shade, soak the area down. Wait a few minutes till the soften then just take your hand or a microfibre cloth and rub very gently with a constant flow of water from the hose to get most of the big lumps off. Then wash with car soap and a wash mit. Works for me as long as you don't let the bugs bake on for too long.
 
Hmm.. Thanks for the advice. I suppose I shouldn't have been so lazy and gone to the quarter wash, but what can ya do. I was tired after a 3 hour interview and almost 6 hour drive home.



So plain ole soap is preffered over the B&T remover. Huh. I'll give the soap a try first and see what I can do. I have a can of Gunk brand (I think) B&T spray, hopefully that will take care of whatever the hose and MF won't take care of.



Probably end up doing SECP/EX-P/S100 this weekend. Car's about to roll 100,000 miles so it deserves some good treatment :)



Going to the chat in a few minutes, Bill :up
 
pressure wash it first..spray with bug and tar remover..pressure wash again..spray again and scrub with a soft pad pressure wash again..if needed clay
 
Huy said:
As a suggestion, for hard to remove bugs, place a towel or old t-shirt over the area, soak it with water, and let it sit for a bit. The bugs should be easier to remove once they are soft.
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^^^ thats what I do, then with the nozzle off the hose and a gentle stream of water aggitated the leftovers with a MF in the water stream * gently* . I'm not high on the B&T removers .. One thing I found recently .. Do a layer of Wolfgang sealant on the nose/mirrors the day prior to a road trip .. WG stays slippery for a couple days and the bugs wash off easy.
 
Yeah I'm hoping we can get some US distributors for that stuff. I'm tempted to get it from Australia directly.
 
I would let it soak as advised with a rag or t-shirt, and a thickened soap/water solution. I have used that theory with great success while removing cement splatter with vinegar....The hit it with exuberance with a product of similiar nature.....
 

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I have used the pad aka Patrick just illustrated for part of my bug removal regimen. This MF soft scubbie really removes these bug residue very gently using only a good pre-rinse (pressure washer best) and normal car shampoo. Removes bugs without harming finish. I always clay afterwards for the microscopic stuff. :wavey

:xyxthumbs MF soft scrubbie. :xyxthumbs
 
as a prevention is better than cure method, if you know you are off on a long journey... ..put some cling film around the front end, and simmply peel off at the end of the journey, works a treat.
 
Well, I did a quick wash job on the leading edges of the car. Anyone in Indiana can attest to the thunderstorms that rolled through tonight. They missed me, but I was just sure we'd get hit with the way the skies looked so I didn't feel like getting caught out in whatever weather may have been headed my way.



I hosed down the bugs and let it sit for a minute or two. I thought it would be hard to cover the entire bumper and front half of the hood with towels... I then used about twice as much soap in my bucket as I should have and my chenille wash pad. That got just about all of em off without scrubbing. One or two spots required a dab of B&T remover and a MF towel.



In the future, I'm going to make sure I carry some window cleaner and MF's along for my journeys. I tried cleaning the bugs with my wipers, but that just smeared them so I had to stop at a gas station and use the squeegee. Didn't do a good job, but at least I was able to see again.



We mentioned on the chat last night that I coulda used that Auto Skin ;)



Here's how badly the front end was covered... picture taken under my carport spot at my apartment complex, so please excuse the flash.
 

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Heh, and as I was driving back in to my apartment complex, there was a County truck fogging the mosquitios. Kill all the bugs off AFTER I drove through them :grrr :(



Yea, yea.. not the same place, and I doubt it was mosquitos I hit.. just kinda ironic :)
 
Jesstzn said:
[BDo a layer of Wolfgang sealant on the nose/mirrors the day prior to a road trip .. WG stays slippery for a couple days and the bugs wash off easy. [/B]
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That's a great idea. Should work with any sealant too. i.e. AIO, SG, #20, FMJ, etc.
 
YouGottaBeLeaf said:
That's a great idea. Should work with any sealant too. i.e. AIO, SG, #20, FMJ, etc.
Click to expand...



Dunno about the #20 and FMJ but I know AIO and SG wasn't this slick for the first couple of days .. the others I haven't tried.
 
I had same problem with the little critters. Did a pretty extensive treatment: soaked with kleenex, hose off, soak again with Sonus and hose off, 2x concentrate wash, then medium scrub with bug-pad.



And still some of their remains er, remains!



Rat bastards!



I guess its their acidic "innards" that have slightly etched the JetBlack paint. What a pain.



I wonder if a claybar or B&Tar remover is next?



What do you all think?
 
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