baked on bugs?

Acer9103

Acer9103

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I have lots of bugs almost baked on at the front end.
Is there anything I can do to remove them?
I tryed my pc with XMT3 and Orange LC pad but It doesn't come off.

Also my older car when I work on it I get grease prints on the paint what can I do to remove that?

thanks!:cheers:
 
A heavy polish and heavy pad will not remove ?? These must have baked on for years. Normally I would saturate the area with Poorboys Bug Squash then wash as usual. Sounds like you might need some body work. (refinishing)
 
if you cannot remove them with a degreaser, all purpose cleaner, or abrasive polish then they have most likely damaged your finish. I was visiting my local detail shop/car wash and the owner said the newest trend to remove bugs was an oxygenated hydrogen peroxide, or plain old hydrogen peroxide. He said it would not remove wax or damage the finish. I have not tried this personally because I purchased some bug squash that I have not been able to use yet either.

Tip: Try to remove love bugs daily during their season because their "guts" have an acidic fluid that will damage the finish if not tended to.
 
Simple Green


My car after a trip thru butterfly country.

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I saw that you spray the front of your vehicles and mirrors with Simple Green before/as you prep vehicles for wash. One question---Does Simple Gree strip LSP's? Wax OR sealant? Thanks!

Dennis
 
dengood1 said:
I saw that you spray the front of your vehicles and mirrors with Simple Green before/as you prep vehicles for wash. One question---Does Simple Gree strip LSP's? Wax OR sealant? Thanks!

Dennis
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I done it before, and yes it will.
 
I would strongly suggest not to use Simple Green on the paint. I just saw pictures on another forum where a guy literally burned through the clear coat by leaving Simple Green on the paint for too long. It's very strong stuff and for me personally, I would be terrified to touch my paint with it.

Bug Squash is awesome even on older bugs, but if the bugs aren't coming off with polishing, that sounds like they are etched in.
 
I Agree ...

Simple Green and cars are a very dangerous comodity. I have seen aluminum wheels (uncoated) destroyed in a minute with the stuff. There are simply better options. For one ... P21S Total Wash.
 
I really like Poorboy's Bug Squash but recently I had a bug problem that it couldn't clean.

My niece came to visit us from collage a couple of weekends ago and I was amazed at the amount of lovebugs that had been mashed onto the front of her car. It turned out that some of the bugs were new but most had been on there for a couple of months.

Well, I went to work on it first using Bug Squash which got the new bugs off but not the hardened caked on stuff.

My second method was to use a petrochemical that removed a bit more but not all.

My third method was to lay a wet towel over the bugs overnight. This worked fairly well but there were still some baked on spots that nothing seemed to clean.

My forth and final method was to use a steam cleaner with some Bug Squash mixed in. That cleaned it 100%.
 
scottinflorida said:
My forth and final method was to use a steam cleaner with some Bug Squash mixed in. That cleaned it 100%.
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Awesome tip. What kind of steam cleaner did you use? At what ratio did you mix the bug squash with the water? More details pleeeeeease!! Inquiring minds want to know. :p
 
FloridaNative said:
Awesome tip. What kind of steam cleaner did you use? At what ratio did you mix the bug squash with the water? More details pleeeeeease!! Inquiring minds want to know. :p
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Oops, I guess I should have given some details.

A couple of years ago I saw a "Euro Pro Deluxe Hydo Steamer" advertised on the Home Shopping Network. I don't think they carry it anymore but you can get one here: http://www.allbrands.com/products/abp08859-0385.html

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I mixed about a 1/4 cup of bug squash in about 2 cups of water and poured it into the steamer and then let it heat up.

I used the nylon brush head in conjunction with the scalding steam to get the embedded bugs removed.

I don't think I would use this method on my new Mini Cooper S but then again, I'm not going to have baked on bugs on my car either.
 
Cool! I'm going to try that on my mom's car. She's coming to visit next week and I'm detailing her car for her again. It's funny how her visits always seem to come when the car is in need of detailing again. hmmmmmmmmmmmmm:p But she has bugs like that on her front end! I couldn't get them off with polishing. I have a steamer similar to that so I'll have to try that out. But one question. My steamer says that you're not supposed to use any solutions other than water. Did yours say that also? Mine also is a shark steam cleaner, similar to this one.
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I figure they say that for liability reasons so that you won't mess up the unit and then try to return it after.
 
Is Megs APC one of the best choices if not using steam or polishing? At what dilution rate would be good? 1:1 too strong?
 
FloridaNative said:
I figure they say that for liability reasons so that you won't mess up the unit and then try to return it after.
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My directions said the same thing but my former neighbor up in Maine had one that he mixed in Lysol to clean his tile floor. That convinced me that it was alright.

I guess if they didn't say "Don't put anything but water in the unit", some dummy would put gasoline in it and eventually make another rich lawyer.

I put non-volatile chemicals in my steam cleaner all the time, (Lysol, Mr. Clean, Bug Squash.) I never put in bleach, any kind of petrochemicals in it.
 
scottinflorida said:
My directions said the same thing but my former neighbor up in Maine had one that he mixed in Lysol to clean his tile floor. That convinced me that it was alright.

I guess if they didn't say "Don't put anything but water in the unit", some dummy would put gasoline in it and eventually make another rich lawyer.

I put non-volatile chemicals in my steam cleaner all the time, (Lysol, Mr. Clean, Bug Squash.) I never put in bleach, any kind of petrochemicals in it.
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Yeah I figure that 's a liability statement to cover their arses, but one never knows. :p How strong does the steam come out of your unit (I don't want any perverted remarks about this statement guys! lol ) Mine comes out pretty strong. How far away from the paint do you hold it away? Do you blast it with the steam or hold it farther away to give it a more gentle heat?
 
Since it wasn't my car I put the nylon brush right up against the car and blasted it!

My steam cleaner shoots out a pretty good stream. I would say about 2 inches from the end of the brush is all steam with another two feet of water vapor comes out after that.

(Remember, you can't see steam.)

But bottom line, I blast it!

You got me thinking about using my steam cleaner on the inside of the engine compartment. Hmmmmmmm???????????
 
My steamer says that you're not supposed to use any solutions other than water.
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Have not tried this method before. But you may want to try applying the bug squash and let it sit for a minute or two then try the steamer with plain water to remove it. That is if you are worried about the chemicals being in the steamer. I use Duragloss HD Truck & Equipment Wash for bugs. It is currently cut 1:2 with water and it makes the bugs run off. I am sure it can be cut more and work great as I don't use much at all, approx. 2-3 sprays misted on a rinsed front then imediately wiped with mitt or next time it will be schmitt. I haven't tried the DG Bug Remover as the Truck and Equipment Wash was a tip from a relative that has a mobile detail. Sorry for the long post.:)
 
An old clay bar W/ the bug remover has worked for me.
 
I have the same problem on my wife's Explorer. I've sat on it with SSR2.5 and the orange pad and it's only gotten slightly better. No way to get it off and drives me nuts as it makes the whole hood look awful.

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look up the pinnacle safe scrub on autogeek, its a yellow scrubbing block that does wonders... you gotta put some muscle into it on the harder bugs but its a great addition to the big products you may have. we use these all day at work... my arms have been getting quite muscular to tell the truth! anyways it is safe but looks and feels like it will maul your paint, it wont, trust me!

if you cant get a bug off are you sure it is in fact a bug and not the remaining damage? a love bug left on paint for more than about 2 days will have eaten through the paint and leaves tons of little craters in the paint where it splattered.
 
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