Removing bugs after wash

I

imported_pdsterns

New member
You finish washing and blow drying the car and then go around with a MF and you spot a couple of bug splashes that you missed. What do you usually do? you don't want to re soap and wet again, your tired. QD the bugs? use an armoral wash and wipe? any ideas?
 
I just make sure I get all the bugs off the first time. Before you even wash the car you should do bug and tar removal. The time to remove the bugs is when you have your bucket of soapy water and wash mitt ready for action, but you use some bug/tar remover first to start working on the gunk. Sap and bugs and tar can usually be pretty much cleared up before you ever get the car wet. If there are still some clingons after you are done, then you can just hit them with the webbed part of the back on your wash mitt and that finishes them off. Unless your QD is a cleaning QD like Spray and Wipe, then I'd just stick with soap and water. If you missed a spot then you should go back with your wash mitt and soapy water to fix it. Being tired isn't a good excuse. How tired can you be after only washing your car? The fun part hasn't even started yet. :)



Then again, you asked a subjective question when you said "what do you do". :lol What I would do is sit there and obsess over the bugs for about an hour making sure that I got every last one of them off. Then I would probably bust out the AIO to be doublely sure. Then I'd have to put my 3 layers of sealant back on the car over the next three days so that the bumper matches the rest of the car. Of course it won't seem to for me, so I'll find some other flaw to obsess over that drives me to clay and polish the entire car and start over again. Curse those bugs! :lol
 
Your 100% right, I usually just dive into the wash without doing a walk around evaluation and think, "I'll see it during the wash" but I just rolled up the hose and dumped and cleaned 2 wash buckets. Maybe it's not so much tired as wanting to finish, it's getting dark, this was supposed to be an express wash. I hate to leave out some of the basics in just a *wash*. I skipped dinner, washed and dried 2 cars after work, cleaned 8 tires and wheels and blew out the dust from the interior and blew out the crap that is falling from the trees from the cowl and under the hook, and did windows on the outside and put some vynalex on the dashes, I was finished.
 
Well, in those cases I would suggest having a bottle of soapy water or Spray and Wipe handy to hit the bugs with. Its important to get them off your paint. I don't know many things that are more acidic to your paint than bird crap and bug guts. I've had more damage on my cars from bug guts that I haven't gotten off fast enough than with bird crap. I drove through a swarm from hell once and you could almost hear the paint sizzle as the bugs splated on the paint. It was bad...



Definitely use something slick to take care of the bugs. You don't want to risk scratching your paint by dry scrubbing them. Soapy water should be good enough. I keep a spray bottle of that with the rest of my cleaning stuff for situations like that when I need a little soapy quick detail. ;) Just remember to rinse or use a real QD when you are done. Otherwise you get soapy drip marks.
 
I don't change my process when bugs enter the equation (and I had a huge load of them after driving half way up the state and back last week).



My basic process:



remove loose dirt â€â€œ wash shampoo



remove bonded contaminants â€â€œ clay, light chemical cleaners



address surface defects â€â€œ cutting cleaners and polishes, compounds etc.



condition surface â€â€œ pure polishes and glazes



protect the finish â€â€œ waxes and sealants





Bugs splatter mostly comes off with washing but any remaining residue can be addressed with bug&tar remover or a light cleaner. If it's really stuck on spot claying will remove it. Sometimes there's a stain or small scratching left over that needs to be removed with a mild cutting cleaner/polish.



If I'm not doing the full treatment (which is often the case If I'm just doing a wash and bug removal) I'll combine some steps. I'm not convinced claying removes much wax but bug guts probably do and bug&tar remover certainly will so I usually spot wax afterwards with a cleaner/wax (Meg's #6).





PC.
 
Suicidal bugs are a pain in the butt and I find it's easiest to remove them while they're remains while still "fresh".



Can't do much about it when going to work or shopping but I have a bucket of soapy water next to the workbench for this exact purpose.



Make a habit of cleaning the front bumper, hood, windshield & mirrors when parking the car for the night & clean-up will be less troublesome.



Also, when washing the car I find it easier to wash these "hot spots" first then proceed with washing the car thereby washing the trouble spots twice.
 
I'm new to Autopia. I just bought a 2005 Mercedes 55CLK AMG in Orion Blue. My wife is complaining that I am buying more "cosmetics" for the car then she buys for herself. "Hmmmm I said, Maybe you should think about buying more for yourself". I slept that night in the CLK.



I think NYV6Coupe is touching on the bigger problem. What do you do between weekend washings? I clean the dirty little pests off every night by spraying them liberally with QD and then wiping them off with a MF. Each weekend I have been claying the front and re-applying NXT. As long as I keep the NXT "fresh" they seem to slide right off.



Does this seem like the right approach or should I use the soapy bucket every night?:
 
lafamaku said:
I'm new to Autopia. I just bought a 2005 Mercedes 55CLK AMG in Orion Blue. My wife is complaining that I am buying more "cosmetics" for the car then she buys for herself. "Hmmmm I said, Maybe you should think about buying more for yourself".
Click to expand...



Sounds like that commerical, Her: " honey do these pants make me look fat" Him "You betcha"



I would look over the *bug area* carefully very soon and see if you have swirled or cobwebbed it up. If it looks good, continue. If not, your in my boat.





I slept that night in the CLK.
Click to expand...







You bonded?
 
Peter,

I keep a pretty close eye on it and it seems that I am not doing any damage. The way the car is sloped very few bug nail the hood, it is mostly the windshield and the front painted air dams and painted bumper.



I liked the idea of keeping a soapy mixture in a spray bottle and letting that do the trick vs a whole bucket of soapy water. Once the bugs are GENTLY wiped off, then to do a QD on the area.



BTW: Yes we bonded....and that is all I'm saying about that!
 
Peter,



PROwax markets a product called Bug Guard. It's a clear , gel like prdouct that you can aplly to your paint. I got mine locally before I left NJ. I use it primarily to block any damage from bug guts. You can wash it off along with bugs with ease. :up
 
Bill D, that is interesting, I never saw it but it might be nice to have in one's pocket. Anyway bugs really hardly present a problem for me as most of my driving is short daytime trips. I am not usually in a situation were I even worry about bugs and that is probably why I don't do that *walk around* before cleaning. It never happens to my car as I always look and remove right away, even if it is with one of those soapy armarol wipes (I do like them) but the wife has no autopian skills except critisism.



Do you just cover the bug susceptible areas of the nose, put it on with an mf applicator? Is it visible?



lafamaku, it sound like your alright. My Silver element is a piece of cake to take care of but my Eternal Blue Pearl CRV is a different story.
 
You could just avoid the bugs altogether by putting a bra on the car.
silly002.gif
 
What is a good pre-wash product to dislodge the damn bug splatters, something economical (gallon sized)?



I do work for a wholesaler, and he get's a lot of cars from out of town. By the time these cars get to me there is dead bug from the bumper to the windshield. Almost in an even coat. These bugs are sitting on some gritty oxidized paint so they don't just wipe off. It drives me crazy:angry
 
Any bug & tar remover should do the trick I believe. Other than that, just some good soapy water, unless something else exists.
 
Good bug and tar remover is the one product that I have a hard time finding to buy in quantity. Any recomendations for a good B&T remover that comes by the gallon?
 
2x UPP for me on both cars, and everything comes easily off with the hose (or a QD if I'm not washing).



Slightly off-topic, but bird-sh*t came off almost too easy with UPP on ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top