Bugs Bugs and more Bugs

[00GREENMACHINE]

Bugs Bugs and more Bugs


I need to know what everyone uses to break up the dried on bugs. I have tried several things nevthing ever seems to break up the bugs and I end up with a sore arm.

Anything that helps.

LMK

[rusty bumper]

Re: Bugs Bugs and more Bugs

Originally posted by 00GREENMACHINE
I need to know what everyone uses to break up the dried on bugs. I have tried several things nevthing ever seems to break up the bugs and I end up with a sore arm.

Anything that helps.

LMK

Have you tried soaking the bugs when you wash your car?

They tend to come off easier after the water & soap has had a chance to penetrate them.

[Mike Phillips]

One of the people that attended a detailing class a while back recommended placing a wet wash rag on a dried bug and letting it soak for a while, if your car's body style lends itself to this kind of thing you could take this though one step further and saturate a bath towel and place it on the front of your car and then while washing the rest of the car periodically re-wet the towel to enable water to continually be in contact with the dried bugs. After you finish washing all of the rest of the car, remove the wet towel and wash the front of the car, hopefully by then the bug splatter will have softened enough to enable you to wash and loosen them from the finish.

[rusty bumper]

Originally posted by Mike Phillips
One of the people that attended a detailing class a while back recommended placing a wet wash rag on a dried bug and letting it soak for a while, if your car's body style lends itself to this kind of thing you could take this though one step further and saturate a bath towel and place it on the front of your car and then while washing the rest of the car periodically re-wet the towel to enable water to continually be in contact with the dried bugs. After you finish washing all of the rest of the car, remove the wet towel and wash the front of the car, hopefully by then the bug splatter will have softened enough to enable you to wash and loosen them from the finish.

Sounds like a great idea.

I've seen the time when I wanted to remove a few tough bugs from the windshield without getting the car wet in the process.

Looks like a person could soak a sponge and place it over the bug/glass without wetting the car.

[00GREENMACHINE]

Re: Re: Bugs Bugs and more Bugs

Originally posted by Rusty Bumper
Have you tried soaking the bugs when you wash your car?

They tend to come off easier after the water & soap has had a chance to penetrate them.

how do you soak them when they are on a vertical surface?

[rusty bumper]

Re: Re: Re: Bugs Bugs and more Bugs

Originally posted by 00GREENMACHINE
how do you soak them when they are on a vertical surface?

Read Mike's suggestion above and see if that might be feasible.

[05PhillyStang]

Re: Re: Re: Bugs Bugs and more Bugs

Originally posted by 00GREENMACHINE
how do you soak them when they are on a vertical surface?

A little QD on a MF towel then hold it there for a few seconds. they come right off. That's the process I use when I'm walking back to the car and notice a bug splatter, but the car is not in need of a wash. I suppose water can be used in this scenario as well. The QD is probably only saturating the bug at this point, so water will probably do the same. If you are in process of washing, soapy water couldn't hurt

[Bama]

I too have a problem with bugs this time of year.

I recommend the following:

1. a good coat of wax (makes removal easier)

2. a good instant detailer, like Quik Detailer

I remove the bugs atleast every two days with the detailer and a 100% deep pile terry towel. A microfiber just doesn't have enough bite to remove bugs, imo. Spray the QD and let in penetrate for a minute. Then spray the QD again and remove. Then repeat process if necessary. Then buff with a clean towel. This proactive approach will keep your vehicle looking good and make washing a lot easier. It only takes a few minutes to use this process.

Some insects if not removed fairly quickly will bond with the paint and etch your surface. It is easier to spend 10 minutes a couple of times a week rather than later having to repaint your vehicle or having to bring out the power equipment to try to fix the surface defects.

[evo77]

These tips might work well on a recently waxed surface but what about a neglected one?

Bug splatters will stick much harder to a wax-less surface and will always be more difficult to remove.

Is there a product from the Meguiars lineup that can be applied directly to the trouble spots to rub away the bug guts? Maybe a bug and tar remover or something?

[evo77]

Ah-ha, just found these.

[gb387]

One thing that I do... if I have been on a long buggy trip or I have tons of baked on bugs I will stop at the coin op wand wash first thing and rinse the bugs off then take my truck home and finish up with a hand wash.

I like the soak with a towel idea.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Re: Re: Bugs Bugs and more Bugs

Originally posted by 00GREENMACHINE
how do you soak them when they are on a vertical surface?

You don't, the technique is limited to where a wash rag or towel will lay without falling off. It's not a perfect solution, just an idea. I'm getting ready to wash our Pilot and I just inspected it for bug splatter and didn't find any. I will however mock up a photo to show the technique.

[Bama]

Gold Class Bug and Tar Remover works well also, but it remove the wax. So, you will need to rewax.

[Mike Phillips]

This tip was given to me by a forum member who attended one of our Saturday Detailing classes, I can't remember his name but I think he's a friend of Buellwinkle?

If you have dried on bug splatter, typically on the front of your car where they impact, and you want to loosen and remove the splatter without having to scrub the area with force as so not to instill any scratches into your finish, what you need to do is to soften or re-liquefy the dried bug guts.

Here is the sugggestion...

Take a wash rag and saturate it with water or your car wash solution.




Place the wet wash rag on top of the dried bug splatter and allow it to sit for a few minutes. A variation of this would be to use warm/hot water.




To speed up the process, apply some gentle pressure while drinking a cold soft drink and if need be, hum or whistle a little diddy.




Another variation of this would be to apply some Meguiar's Bug and Tar Remover to the wet wash rag before applying it to the dried bug splatter.



After a few minutes have passed give the area a gentle wipe-off and the bug splatter should remove easily. Then either wash the car as normal or wipe the area down with a quick detailer.

[Mike Phillips]

A variation of the above but for a larger area would be to use a larger cloth such as a bath towel. Saturate a clean, soft 100% cotton towel with water and place it over the affected area.








Allow the wet towel to sit for a short period of time and then remove the towel and wash as normal or wipe the area down with a quick detailer.