You know when you maybe go on a trip, and you get thousands of bugs smashed on the leading edge of your hood. And you wash the car thoroughly when you get home, but when you look closely at it in bright light, you still see "ghosts" of the bug smashes. How do you get those suckers off?

Is this a job for clay bar? Bug and tar remover won't do it.

Mike

 

Sounds like etched clearcoat. Requires an abrasive product.

 

One thing about bug guts is that they can be almost as acidic as bird crap. The sooner you get them off, the better it is for your clearcoat.

In your case, I would recommend going with an intermediary polish to remove the traces. I'd recommend P21S/s100 Paintwork Cleanser or something similar to remove the etching and then follow up with another polish and wax.

 

For a quick fix, of removing bug, guts, bird droppings. I use Mother's Showtime ( its a quick detailer) I spray it on, and rub it around with a mircofiber cloth and with a little bit of elbow grease, all bug stuff goes away, and it also smells pretty damn good. May sound questionable, but I live in the sticks so come night the bugs are all over my car and I know that tar and bug remover ain't sh*t.

 

I agree with Prinz. If the Paintwork Cleanser is an "inconvenient" choice, try an off the shelf pre-wax cleaner or scratch remover.

 

Actually, he might want to go with something stronger than the P21S. Its a very mild polish, meant for cars with pristine paint. Any paint cleaner will take care of the bug ghosts, then you need to polish/wax the spots you cleaned with the paint cleaner (it strips everything off) so its protected.

 

I like to pre-soak the bug guts/juice/bits with Spray 9 for a couple minutes. Then spray off with a power washer. Gets rid of nearly everything.

And yes..if you're an idiot and leave the Spray 9 on there for an hour or two in the hot sun it will damage your paint.

CM

 

Thanks again, guys, for the tips. Actually, I have the same problem with my Beemer, which is black, and the 'ghosts' of those dead bugs really show on that. It's weird in a way ... the spots can't even be felt, but scrub as I may, they show up in bright light when you really look close.

I'll try the things you suggested.

Mike