“Baked In” Bug Stains

rouxster

rouxster

New member
Joined
Oct 22, 2013
Messages
231
Reaction score
0
It’s been a while since I’ve posted. Unfortunately, my weekend warrior go-gettum wore off after a couple of years and I layed off a little from detailing our vehicles every weekend (kids and life in general). But, I think that the initial work I put into the vehicles has helped keep them in better overall condition.

So, we purchased a used white Highlander that has baked-in bug stains on the plastic front bumper. I’ve tried Megs Ultimate compound with an orange hand polishing pad, but that didn’t work too well. I’ve got a a bottle of D105 and D205 and most pads for my DA polisher. Should I try one of those with a certain pad or should I try something else?

Just checking before I do something and possibly ruin the paint or clear coat. Thanks for your help.
 
Do you mean M205 & M105?
I’d recommend you start off by washing the vehicle, followed by claybaring it. Then proceed to machine polishing with M205 and a polishing pad such as a Lake Country white flat foam pad. Do it on speed 4.5 on your DA polisher. If that doesn’t remove the stains step it up to M105 with a cutting pad such as a Lake Country Orange flat foam pad or even a Yellow flat foam pad if needed. Same speed, 4.5. That should yield the results you’re looking for.
 
I bought a used burgundy Acura TL with low miles but it had multiple etchings from birds. I polished them but nothing alleviated them. The clearcoat was etched and not anything to be done short of repainting. Follow Eldorado2K’s recommendation but don’t go too far with 105 or you could burn through the paint focusing on specific areas.

If the polishing doesn’t work, your two choices are to live with it or get your bumper cover pulled and repainted. Unfortunately me entire car would need to be repainted but if it were only a bumper, I would have had it painted. Good luck.
 
dgage said:
If the polishing doesn’t work, your two choices are to live with it or get your bumper cover pulled and repainted.
Click to expand...

I just re read his post and realized it’s on the bumper. It can be very difficult to remove etching from painted plastic bumpers. Not sure if some of them are fiberglass. Regardless they can be a totally different animal compared to a normal painted panel.
 
The bumpers are often plastic so they will flex on impact. I'm not sure if the paint/primer are different due to the materials.

Are the "stains" actually discolorations or is the clear coat etched by the acidic bug guts? I've just now entered the world of a white car and haven't had to face any discoloration yet, but in previous cars it wasn't uncommon to see bug impact occasionally cause physical damage to the paint that couldn't be removed by polishing.
 
Eldorado2k said:
Do you mean M205 & M105?
Click to expand...

Thanks. Yes, I meant M205 & M105. I must have poured my glass of wine a little too heavy last night. :laughing: I'll give that a shot and live with the results. Anything will be better than what it is now.


dgage said:
Follow Eldorado2K’s recommendation but don’t go too far with 105 or you could burn through the paint focusing on specific areas.
Click to expand...

That's why I was asking. I didn't want to go too extreme and possibly burn through the paint.

I'll keep you all posted, but it will probably be this coming weekend before I can try anything.
 
They add in a flexing agent for plastic bumpers which makes the paint very soft and thin. Go easy.
 
Rsurfer said:
They add in a flexing agent for plastic bumpers which makes the paint very soft and thin. Go easy.
Click to expand...

And....... the plastic bumper/paint cannot take the same amount of heat (abrasion friction) from polishing that a metal panel can.

Like others said, tread lightly.
 
Water etching stains on otherwise perfect painted bumpers has caused me a bit of stress on several occasions. There’s not much worse feeling than when a vehicle cleans up nice only to notice water etching streaks running vertically down those bumpers and wondering if you somehow caused them while also finding out they’re virtually impossible to correct. Has anyone else experienced that?

The customer shows up and all I can think about is “damn has he noticed it yet”
The risk you take on when it’s in your hands to take care of.
 
Eldorado2k said:
Water etching stains on otherwise perfect painted bumpers has caused me a bit of stress on several occasions. There’s not much worse feeling than when a vehicle cleans up nice only to notice water etching streaks running vertically down those bumpers and wondering if you somehow caused them while also finding out they’re virtually impossible to correct. Has anyone else experienced that?

The customer shows up and all I can think about is “damn has he noticed it yet”
The risk you take on when it’s in your hands to take care of.
Click to expand...

I haven't experienced etching from those drips, but I have seen them. It seems water gets trapped in the hidden drainage channels between the trunk/hatch lid and the body of the vehicle. Then at some random point that water cuts lose, runds down, and escapes across the bumper. This usually happens long after I've finished drying everything.

My "favorite" is working out our Highlander. The glass on the rear hatch can open seperately from the rest of the hatch. Dirt will accumulate between the glass and the recessed sill. I don't always open the glass and clean that sill, so it is not uncommon to have a perfectly clean car and suddenly this muddy drip appears from behind the glass and runs across a perfectly clean hatch. Ugh...
 
Desertnate said:
I haven't experienced etching from those drips, but I have seen them. It seems water gets trapped in the hidden drainage channels between the trunk/hatch lid and the body of the vehicle. Then at some random point that water cuts lose, runds down, and escapes across the bumper. This usually happens long after I've finished drying everything.

My "favorite" is working out our Highlander. The glass on the rear hatch can open seperately from the rest of the hatch. Dirt will accumulate between the glass and the recessed sill. I don't always open the glass and clean that sill, so it is not uncommon to have a perfectly clean car and suddenly this muddy drip appears from behind the glass and runs across a perfectly clean hatch. Ugh...
Click to expand...

The streaks I’m referring to are along the entire surface of the bumper. Streaks that could have only occurred if someone were to take a garden hose and spray off their car as a means to quickly “wash” it, then doubled down on their mistake and allowed it to sit and dry.

Another way of causing it would be if one were to claybar the vehicle and allow the claylube you’re spraying to rundown onto the bumpers and forgetting to dry it off in time. That’s what had me thinking about whether I had caused them or whether they were already on the vehicle but I just hadn’t noticed them until the rest of the paint had cleaned up.

This is also another reason why it’s a good idea to use distilled water to mix up your chemicals, especially claylube.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top