Bug Guts

[HateSwirls]

Yesterday I worked on a Toyota Highlander, AIO.
The hardest part of the job was trying to remove the bug guts splattered on the front of the car.
Had the hardest time removing them, foamed it down a few times using Dawn and APC, still slow to remove them, not sure how long they were there.
Then I remembered reading that a dryer sheet helps to remove them, sure enough, almost like magic , they were easy to get off, shocked I was, my wife will pickup a couple of boxes for me.

If you never tried this please do, just wet the sheet and begin wiping them , it like dissolves them.

Anyone try this?

How do you guys deal with this problem?

Now that I have a shop and detail for a living time is money, can't waste an hour just to get the front clean, normally it doesn't take that long but that Highlander kicked my butt. Lol

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

You need to get a beach towel plus some assorted hand towels and simply keep them on hand for this type of problem and as soon as a car with bug splatter arrives get the towels wet and laying on the front of the car. The towels will hold water onto the car and the water will soften the dried bugs to make them easier to remove.



From 2012...



Tips & Tricks: How to remove dried bug spatter or bug guts

Bug Spatter can actually eat through and remove paint if left on too long...

Tip: Water soften the dried bug guts and splatter with water first.

Trick: Use a towel to hold water in place on a vertical panel.​

Here's a tip I posted in 2005, the idea being to use the towel to hold the moisture onto the paint and thus the bug splatter where it can go to work softening and loosening the splatter. A large beach towel works well for this...

This was my Honda Pilot in our garage where I would also wash the garage because it's pretty hard to wash a car in the desert without the dry heat or the wind drying water before you can dry your car.

Take a wash rag and saturate it with water or your car wash solution.

Place the wet wash rag on top of the dried bug splatter and allow it to sit for a few minutes. A variation of this would be to use warm/hot water.

To speed up the process, apply some gentle pressure while drinking a cold soft drink and if need be, hum or whistle a little diddy.

A variation of the above but for a larger area would be to use a larger cloth such as a bath towel. Saturate a clean, soft 100% cotton towel with water and place it over the affected area.

Another variation for headlights and fenders...

Big Picture
The idea being to use some type of bath towel or microfiber towel or even wash cloth or wet chamois to trap and hold water onto the dried bug splatter in order to soften and re-liquefy it so you can more easily remove it without causing damage to the delicate, scratch-sensitive clear coat finish.

 

[BillE]

I've never tried them on a painted surface (like a 'car') but on RV's they are GREEEEAT!

When I was still doing them (RV), I'd get a half dozen or so and just stick 'em on the surface (while wet). After dwelling for a few minutes, pick them off and hose off the area. No bugs.

One thing about the large area on a RV, start at the bottom. That way you can easily hose off the 'treated area' as you move the remoisten sheets up the nose.

Bill

 

[HateSwirls]

That's why I love this forum so much, many people with knowledge :dblthumb2:

Thanks Mike,I'll try it today on a truck I'll be doing this morning.

Kevin

You need to get a beach towel plus some assorted hand towels and simply keep them on hand for this type of problem and as soon as a car with bug splatter arrives get the towels wet and laying on the front of the car. The towels will hold water onto the car and the water will soften the dried bugs to make them easier to remove.



From 2012...



Tips & Tricks: How to remove dried bug spatter or bug guts

Bug Spatter can actually eat through and remove paint if left on too long...

Tip: Water soften the dried bug guts and splatter with water first.

Trick: Use a towel to hold water in place on a vertical panel.​

Here's a tip I posted in 2005, the idea being to use the towel to hold the moisture onto the paint and thus the bug splatter where it can go to work softening and loosening the splatter. A large beach towel works well for this...

This was my Honda Pilot in our garage where I would also wash the garage because it's pretty hard to wash a car in the desert without the dry heat or the wind drying water before you can dry your car.

Take a wash rag and saturate it with water or your car wash solution.

Place the wet wash rag on top of the dried bug splatter and allow it to sit for a few minutes. A variation of this would be to use warm/hot water.

To speed up the process, apply some gentle pressure while drinking a cold soft drink and if need be, hum or whistle a little diddy.

A variation of the above but for a larger area would be to use a larger cloth such as a bath towel. Saturate a clean, soft 100% cotton towel with water and place it over the affected area.

Another variation for headlights and fenders...

Big Picture
The idea being to use some type of bath towel or microfiber towel or even wash cloth or wet chamois to trap and hold water onto the dried bug splatter in order to soften and re-liquefy it so you can more easily remove it without causing damage to the delicate, scratch-sensitive clear coat finish.

 

[HateSwirls]

Thanks:dblthumb2:
Wish I had thought of this yesterday

I've never tried them on a painted surface (like a 'car') but on RV's they are GREEEEAT!

When I was still doing them (RV), I'd get a half dozen or so and just stick 'em on the surface (while wet). After dwelling for a few minutes, pick them off and hose off the area. No bugs.

One thing about the large area on a RV, start at the bottom. That way you can easily hose off the 'treated area' as you move the remoisten sheets up the nose.

Bill

 

[Desertnate]

I've also found the Detailer’s Road Kill Bug Scrubber, bug and tar sponge works great. I'll pre soak with Poorboys Bug Squash and then hit the area with the sponge and my normal wash solution.

 

[parttimer]

I did the towel trick while detailing a car in AZ and FL. At home I have the awesome bug sponges as well as bug squash. I usually spray bug squash on the areas, foam cannon and scrub with the bug squash. The dryer sheet will be added for me!

 

[VISITOR]

if you can still find some at your local oreillys on clearance (less than a buck) the megs bug splatter sponges work well...

 

[damaged442]

Also a fan of the bug sponge. Initially, I was very skeptical to use it because when it is dry, it's like a brick! Soak it in some of your favorite car wash for a few minutes and you are good to go! Works great!

Detailer’s Road Kill Bug Scrubber, bug and tar sponge

 

[toycar18]

Bug squash works great!!!!

 

[conquistador]

Two things always make me cringe, dryer sheets used on paint and steel wool to clean windows. Leave the dryer sheets in the house. Get a bug sponge.

 

[Paul A.]

I like Mike's towel trick and never thought of that. Great idea. Drape the bug guts parts with wet towels while i tackle the wheels/tires. Maybe couple that with the bug squash sponge ya'll mentioned and should be a piece of cake. I do get my share of bug gut covered front ends and side mirrors.

 

[Audios S6]

The towel trick is so easy and so helpful. I'll also wet the towel and put it in the microwave to heat it

 

[FUNX650]

-Dryer sheets? Sure they'll work; but at what costs, in the long run?
-There's got to be more paint-friendly bug-removal products than abrasive dryer sheets.
_______________________________________________

Typical dryer sheet ingredients:

•Dipalmethyl Hydroxyethylammoinum Methosulfate...(Fabric Softener Agent)

•Fatty Acid...(Stearic Acid, Double Pressed: Tallow)...
Surfactant; Binder; Thickener

•Polyester Substrate...("A sheet of Plastic")

•Clay...(An abrasive)

•Fragrance...(Can be allergenic)
_______________________________________________


Bob

 

[craigfilly]

Kevin-

I cleaned an O'Reilly's out when they put the bug sponges on clearance...I will drop a few off to you so you can test them out. We both know that down here in south LA, bugs are horrible year round. The sponges from Megs get the job done.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

I like Mike's towel trick and never thought of that. Great idea.

Drape the bug guts parts with wet towels while i tackle the wheels/tires.

Exactly.


Find another part of the car to work on while you let water do what water does and that's soften things up.

Then, after the bug guts are liquid again you don't have to be so aggressive to remove them.

Work smarter... not harder...


:xyxthumbs:

 

[HateSwirls]

Kevin-

I cleaned an O'Reilly's out when they put the bug sponges on clearance...I will drop a few off to you so you can test them out. We both know that down here in south LA, bugs are horrible year round. The sponges from Megs get the job done.

Thanks:dblthumb2:

Guess I need a bug sponge

Thanks everyone:dblthumb2:

Kevin

 

[Desertnate]

Kevin-

I cleaned an O'Reilly's out when they put the bug sponges on clearance...I will drop a few off to you so you can test them out. We both know that down here in south LA, bugs are horrible year round. The sponges from Megs get the job done.

Do they wear out? The DP bug sponge I use looks brand new after being used all summer. I never thought of it losing it's cleaning ability.

 

[TundraPower]

"1Z Einszett Anti-Insekt Bug + Tar Remover" or "SONAX Insect Remover".