Going Buggy with Removing Bugs
 

I've got my 911 on my lift for cleaning and detailing (makes things convenient) after a recent 20-plus hour road trip. I've finished tackling the wheel wells -- not as a result of the trip -- just something I've needed to do.

Anyway, I'm now trying to remove the residue of hours and hours worth of bug spattering on the front valence and bumper. These are mostly smallish, gnattish looking things. I've got the exoskeletons removed, but I'm left with these tiny spots of remains that are very level with the paint. I've tried detail spray and diluted simple green but it's very difficult to remove these remains. Wax doesn't do much either. I can, however, drag a fingernail and scrape them off.

The best success I've had is with my Adam's clay bar and detail spray (worked great on the foglight lenses), but it's super slow because I'm talking about 500 or more of these bug remains.

Should I look into a commercial tar and bug remover? Are they quick and effective? Is there an easier way to get these remains gone? Thanks.

Brian

I just take a scrub brush to them when I was the car.

I would, too, but some brushes can be nasty to the paint. Usually detergent gets them off after soft agitating for a moment. Off goes your wax as well. Truckers have been known to use Coke. Yes, the acid in the Coke eats 'em right up. Shake and spray. don't know what this does to your wax, but you should rewax anyway.

Milt, yes, no matter what, I'll re-wax. Scrubbing doesn't do much in my situation (and it can be invasive and abrasive if not done carefully). We're talking about flattened bug remains with superglue-like bonding properties. The stuff is nearly level or one with the paint. Like I said, the clay bar lubed with detail spray works, but it's very slow going (as in, gee, only 499 bug spatters to go!).

How do the professional detailers handle this sort of situation?

Brian

Park in the shade and lather up the area in question really well. Keep this area wet as it will aid in loosening the crusted 'innards' of the bugs from your car. Use a sponge that is encapsulated with the nylon mesh material to work the area. This methodology has performed greatly for me.

i blast the bugs off with a high pressure car wash, usually on the bumper and front valence. use care with high pressure. this will remove the majority and then it is the elbow grease removal technique describe in the above posts

+1 Also, I'm one of those dorks who use a bra. Those who don't like bras must live where the rocks are softer than they are here.

I have used Windex successfully. I spray the front of the car down, including the mirrors, and let it soak in while I get the car wash stuff ready. They usually come right off when I wash the car.

Funny thing is I have a nice Colgan bra that I've never used since I realized they had become unfashionable to so many. But then again, how many guys do looooong road trips in their older 911s?

I used to use a bra all the time on my 356. It's much easier to take inside and clean off at your convenience. Maybe I should re-think the unfashionableness aspect. On the other hand, there's the downside of running with a wet bra inside the car when you're caught in the rain.

Brian

I use a fabric softner sheet, use it wet and the bugs should come right off. Doesn't seem to harm the wax/paint at all. YMMV.

Baking soda (sprinkle on a wet sponge and create a paste) has worked extremely well for me in the past - and I have used for 20 years with no ill affects. I think it's "basic" properties work well against the acidic properties of bug guts.

Also, Mr. Zaino once recommended to me to use wd40. He said it wouldn't take off the wax.

- Skip

I may try several of these suggestions and report back to the collective. I'm still wondering what a "pro" detailer -- who has every incentive to get things done to a high quality and in a short amount of time -- would do.

Next time I'm out on a multi-hour road trip, I think I'll put the bra on, even though the current Porsche Gloria Steinems might be offended. Lift and separate, I say. :)

Brian

I use "Turtle Insect Remover", works like a charm. Spray on wait 30 seconds and wash the bugs off, could not be easier.
I use it on the front almost every time I wash my car.

IIRC, it was a pro detailer that gave me the baking soda trick. I've tried many commercial products and never found anything to work half as well.

If you try several, definitely report back on your results. I'm always looking for easier ways... :)

- Skip

Thirty seconds sounds good to me. Thanks, safe.

By the way, isn't the use of Colgan car cover products an ancient secret?

Brian

P21S Total Wash. The name is a bit misleading because it is not used for washing the car. It is a citrus based (probably deliminine) cleaner that really works well without harming the paint. I have used it for several years and love it. Usually you can dilute it way down, 8 or even 10 to 1, wet the bugs (or other road debris) let it sit 30 seconds and then wipe them off. After I drove my SC home from CA last spring, there were a few critters where I had to use it full strength but that was the exception.

Not all clay bars are the same. I've used several that didn't work real well but I've found the clay from Griot's Garage along with their Speed Shine works great. I had tons of bugs on my Subaru after our last Missouri to Las Vegas trip and it only took about a 1/2 hour to get them off with the Griot's clay.

I have no interest in Griot's Garage at all.

Joe
Columbia, MO
1982 911 SC Targa

Pour a cup of kerosene into a bucket of warm water and use a scrub sponge - the kind with poly mesh wrapped around the sponge. This works well for bugs and tar, but will probably take off the wax as well.

Success!
 

OK, I'm a happy guy. Stopped off on the way home and bought a bottle of Turtle Wax Bug & Tar Remover (might be the same stuff as "safe" recommended earlier). This comes in a pump bottle. The only other bug and tar remover the store had was a Gunk brand that comes in an aerosol-type can.

The Turtle Wax instructions say to spray it on and wait 30 seconds or so to wipe off and buff. Too indiscrete for me. I sprayed it on a microfiber towel and wiped it on a small area, waited a while and then wiped again with the moist towel. After the second wipe, you can see you're making progress. On a few areas, I had to make a couple of passes, but this stuff works and seems to be real easy on the paint (smells nice, too).

I also used it on the front rubber bumper strip, the foglight and headlight lenses, and my license plate. Worked a treat.

This stuff also made quick work of debugging and cleaning the black cross bar under the valence and in front of the A/C condenser, which was in nasty condition. Very nice! I can see lots of applications for this stuff around the 911. Thanks, safe!

Hey, how about a 911 forum on cleaning, detailing and concours? We could all learn a lot from one another's bag 'o tricks.

Brian

One other thng - try to get dead bugs off of the car ASAP -- their bodies often contain acidic compounds that can damage paint.