I have so many dried bugs that have crystalized on the bumper, and they wont come of no matter how hard i try to scrap it off when i wash my car. any ideas?

 

Try and rehydrate them by placing a wet towel over them and leaving it there ... There is a very good chance they are there forever .. they will etch into the clear ..

 

are there any compunds or something that can dissolve those remains? what about polishing?

 

The wet towel and patience is your friend.

 

Thanks for the reply, Ill give it a try as soon as I can.

 

Shit... I have to go get my dead bugs off before they never come off

 

Btw I forgot to mention this but its more like the residue of the splatter, not the bug itself. So im assuming claying wont work? What about turtlewax bug and tar remover?

 

Heat (vehicle paint temperature of 90.oF+ creates a very aggressive reactivity of the acids that are present, which causes surface etching, so they should be removed without delay, at lower temperatures (40oF or less) there’ s no reactivity and therefore little or no etching.

To remove - pre-soak heavy bug contamination with an isopropyl alcohol (IPA) soaked towel(s) and let dwell for 4-5 minutes before removing. Then use a Safe Scrub Bug & Tar Pad and some warm, soapy water. It’s completely harmless to the paint or glass surfaces, a very efficient and safe way of removing harmful baked on bug debris due to its non-abrasive nature. The open-cell construction 'grabs' foreign matter on your cars paint surface and safely removes it.

Options
Use a micro fibre towel soaked in Optimum no-rinse (ONR) allow to dwell for a few minutes to rehydrate and gently wipe off, alternatively use a 1:20 solution of distilled water and ONR in a spray bottle allow to dwell and then remove with a bug Safe Scrub Bug & Tar Pad

Removing Residue -use an Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA) or a glass cleaner but avoid ammonia based products (ammonia acts as an acid accelerant) or a gel alcohol hand cleaner (Purell®) place a small amount on to a first aid gauze pad, this will help it stay in place during the necessary dwell time and apply to effected area in a shaded area as the alcohol will evaporate very quickly in direct sunlight. Take your time and blot with the alcohol until it softens and melts the sap to the point where you can gently wipe it off the paint. The alcohol content, acts as a drying agent, which will extract the acid, then thoroughly flush with water to rinse away any grit or sand, etc or use detailers clay to encapsulate it, re-spray the area let it dwell for 2-3 minutes and wipe dry.

 

Just a heads up for you all reading this post ..

1) Bug innards can be acidic and can eat/etch into the clear leaving a mark that might not be able to be polished out.

2) Some innards can bond / react with the clear and can be impossible to remove without the use of harsh abrasives and even then may leave an imprint.

It only takes a few minutes after a road trip to clean the front area even if you don't have time to do the whole car.


Just be warned.

 

Good info

 

Patrick, will spraying the front bumper (bug fillled of course) with a good mixture of NRWS and leaving it sit do the same thing? or have the same effect as the wet towel?

 

As long as you can keep it wet Ed! The towel just runs the humidity level up maintaining hydration throughout the process, thats why its so effective.

 

STOP THE MADNESS !!!!

Ok try this before all the bug spray, gunk, and wet towel stuff.

1) go into your laundry room and find an OLD fabric softener sheet ... Yes USED.

2) Take that and your hose to the front of your car

3) wet the front of your car and the OLD fabric softener sheet

4) rub lightly in small circles

5) rejoice that it was this easy to remove them

6) drink beer with your money and time savings.

 

Then after a few times ... look at your clear coat .. and the marring the dryer sheets cause ... been there ,... done it .. and corrected it ... Works like a charm if your car is neglected anyway ... then you won't see the marring.

 

I have been using them for a LONG time and never had a problem .. they need to be used of course.. not new and the car should be waxed at least 4 times a year. A coat every 3 months is what I do. Im in the bug capitol of the world.. Florida. Does this sound like I neglect my car?

 

No .. I am saying the sheets will marr the finish .. I'm not guessing .. I know for a fact because I tried it on my black Passat that was polished out swirl free and it marred it .. You will not notice this on a car that isn't swirl free.

Polish out your fender to a perfect finish .. not just a coat of wax on it .. then rub it on the fender .. better yet .. rub one on a CD.

On top of that the chemicals in the sheet not only remove the bugs .. it removes your wax.

 

I can see maybe noticing on a black car.. but then again you see everything on a black car. And as for removing the wax??.. the bug spray does that. And a used and rinsed dryer sheet ? There are no chemicals left on it.. or VERY little at that. Heck if your worried about that .. soak one overnight, let it run thru the dryer 5 or 10 times .. whatever. You compare a painted surface with clearcoat to a CD's plastic finish? So yea .. Apples to Eggs right?

Anyway.. it works for me without ANY marring and I wax my cars 4 times a year.

Ill kindly walk away from this pissin contest LOL !!

 

Well the NRWS worked great, just took the sprayer I got from Patrick (plug plug!!) sprayed down the front bumper in the garage, once, let it soak, then resprayed it befor it dried let it soak, then sprayed an old mitt with the NRWS directly. then wiped bugs came right off. wiped clean with a MF. some still left on that were really caked in but i will get them when I do a full detail. Thanks again Patrick and Dale for a great product and great advice.

I don't think there is anything this stuff cannot clean!!!! NRWS FTW!!!

 

Bird droppings need to be cleaned immediately as well. At least rinse them off ASAP. Notice I said 'rinse'; there is often grit in the droppings, so you don't want to just start wiping indiscriminately.