Is my cars paint destroyed? FL Love Bugs

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muahman

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Hey guys. Big problems here. If you live in Florida then you know the awful plague that besets us every May and September. Horny love bug swarms having sex over the highway in GIANT big black swarms. Apparently they have acid for blood.

I was on the way back from the last Shuttle Launch and ran through two massive clouds of these things in my two week old Hyundai Genesis 3.8. It was so bad they started to clog the radiator and I had to stop every couple of exits just to try and be able to see out of the windshield.

When I got home 90 miles later I washed them off as best as I could with a power washer. However I was up all night camping out and saving a front row spot so we could photograph the launch. So I left it for the night.

Today I spent about 6 hours trying to get them off my car. I didn't succeed. I doused pretty much the entire car with bug and tar remover, let it sit, wipe, wash clean. I did this three times. Still the surface felt bumpy and terrible. Out came the clay bar. Clayed the car to absolute smooth perfection. However I can still see hundreds of splatter marks on the hood and roof. They are seemingly completely smooth. I then polished it by hand with McGuires over the counter polish pushing down probably harder than I should have. Marks still there. I have a feeling they have eteched my paint.

I guess my question is can I go at these like swirl marks? I'm ready to pull the trigger on one of the porter cable xp kits. Which would you recommend for this situation. The 2nd question is... after watching your videos I see you are close. (Stuart for u, West Palm Beach for me) Do you take walk-ins?

Thanks for the time,

Brian
 
And if you can't get them out try contacting your insurance company. You may be able to get the car painted under the road hazard section. Possibly without there even being a deductible.
 
Love bugs will destroy paint quick, fast, and in a hurry. Treating the etching like a swirl is a good way to go at it. I would first try a finish polish like Mothers Foam Pad Polish or Megs 205 on a grey pad. Work your way up from there. All hope is not lost.

Keeping a good bug remover and microfiber towels in the car is a good idea to remove them after each drive.
 
Thanks for the quick replies.

Man I am so bummed. I keep my cars eat off clean. Inside, Outside, even the engine bay. This situation is gonna push me over the edge! :)

Orginally I was looking at this kit:

Wolfgang Porter Cable 7424 Swirl-Free Kit

but it sounds like I should be looking at this one?

Meguiars Porter Cable Ultra Polish Kit with 5.5 Inch Pads, Meguiar's Mirror Glaze Polishing Kit, Meguiars polishes, Porter Cable 7424 Mirror Glaze


Is Wolfgang product line better than Mequiars? Or is does it come to personal preference. Not sure if paint color matters but it's dark blue, now a bug splattered dark blue.
 
Wolfgang is an excellent line, but I do not recommend it because I have not tried it. I only like to recommend things I have used. The only wolfgang product I have used is the finishing glaze.
 
I would go with a Griot's kit being as there is a lifetime warranty and the machine is MUCH more powerful than a PC7424XP. I haven't tried the Wolfgang products either, but I can say that I would DEFINITELY recommend the Meguiar's 105/205 combo over pretty much anything else, even the new Meg's Microfiber system. Just my .02. Good luck man.
 
muahman said:
Is Wolfgang product line better than Mequiars? Or is does it come to personal preference. Not sure if paint color matters but it's dark blue, now a bug splattered dark blue.
Click to expand...

I have used the Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover effectively on minor swirling using an LC white. I really liked the way it finished down ready for wax and was good to work with in the sun. You also have the LC orange in the kit if you need a bit more cut.

You will find strong advocates for almost any brand. Griots vs XP, Meguiars vs Wolfgang, etc. A lot of times it comes down to personal preference.
 
oldmodman said:
And if you can't get them out try contacting your insurance company. You may be able to get the car painted under the road hazard section. Possibly without there even being a deductible.
Click to expand...

I don't think so. Not a covered loss. And, it's preventative. The impact of the love bug doesn't damage your paint. It's the effect of it sitting on your paint that does. Therefore because you didn't mitigate your damage it's not covered.

I'd try getting a class action lawsuit against the University of Florida. They're the ones that created the whole mess:
ENY-840/IN694: Living With Lovebugs
 
David Fermani said:
I don't think so. Not a covered loss. And, it's preventative. The impact of the love bug doesn't damage your paint. It's the effect of it sitting on your paint that does. Therefore because you didn't mitigate your damage it's not covered.

I'd try getting a class action lawsuit against the University of Florida. They're the ones that created the whole mess:
ENY-840/IN694: Living With Lovebugs
Click to expand...

Seriously why release a non-native bug species with no known predators and acid for blood. What the heck! And my car is Gator blue! heh
 
David Fermani said:
I don't think so. Not a covered loss. And, it's preventative. The impact of the love bug doesn't damage your paint. It's the effect of it sitting on your paint that does. Therefore because you didn't mitigate your damage it's not covered.

I'd try getting a class action lawsuit against the University of Florida. They're the ones that created the whole mess:
ENY-840/IN694: Living With Lovebugs
Click to expand...


I just read that article.. I am confused on how the University of Florida is the one to blame.

Some quotes from the article:

Lovebug Myths

Lovebugs escaped after University of Florida researchers brought them into Florida

University of Florida researchers genetically engineered lovebugs to kill mosquitoes


Those were found under the Myths portion of the article.

Of course it also said this:

The body fluids of lovebugs are acidic and immediately dissolve automobile paint. When numerous lovebugs are smashed on the front of a vehicle, the contents of their bodies, especially eggs, coat the painted surface. No permanent damage is caused, however, if the surface is cleaned before the coating is baked by the sun for a day or two. Marisa and Jeffrey Gedney (personnel communication) determined that macerated lovebugs are about neutral with a pH of 6.5 but become acidic at 4.25 within 24 hours. Yet, automobile paint was not damaged after being coated with macerated lovebugs and held in a humid indoor environment for 21 days. A lovebug-coated surface exposed to the sun for an extended period of time, however, may be damaged by the insects and their removal (Denmark and Mead 2001). The front of a vehicle can be protected by coating it with “car wax” and removing the lovebugs within 24 hours.


Who knows. LOL
 
did you have a wax or sealant on the car? Doesn't sound like they baked on in the sun at all so could they have etched it so bad that a polish can't take it off? What Megs polish did you use anyhow?

I've never experienced love bugs but once I parked in a bad spot at work and saltwater did the Chinese water torture drip on the front of my roof all day. Left a 2 inch wide spot on the roof that did not go away with detailer and was actually etched like how a chalkboard feels. Had blacklight on there and was thinking what a piece of crap it was if it couldn't even protect the paint for a day but some scratch x 2.0 by hand took it right out and it was smooth and glossy again.
 
I had the same thing happen to me last year. I immediately went to a car wash upon arriving in orlando. Still, I had paint etching. I went to a friend who used his griots DA and griots polishes and while he might have done a good job of hiding the damage, its still there. Since then I have purchased my own DA, but have yet to attempt my car. Having known this experience, a few weeks ago ,I was hitting the road once again and applied a coat of megs synthetic sealant the night before and the love bugs did no damage and washed off relatively easy.

I went with the Porter cable when I bought my kit from autogeek. While the griots might have more power its made in China while the PC is made in Mexico and is tried and true reliable and plenty powerful.
 
Your guess is as good as mine seeing that they call both the UF connection and paint damage a myth which we know isn't accurate.


M.P. Cobra Fan said:
I just read that article.. I am confused on how the University of Florida is the one to blame.

Some quotes from the article:

Lovebug Myths

Lovebugs escaped after University of Florida researchers brought them into Florida

University of Florida researchers genetically engineered lovebugs to kill mosquitoes


Those were found under the Myths portion of the article.

Of course it also said this:

The body fluids of lovebugs are acidic and immediately dissolve automobile paint. When numerous lovebugs are smashed on the front of a vehicle, the contents of their bodies, especially eggs, coat the painted surface. No permanent damage is caused, however, if the surface is cleaned before the coating is baked by the sun for a day or two. Marisa and Jeffrey Gedney (personnel communication) determined that macerated lovebugs are about neutral with a pH of 6.5 but become acidic at 4.25 within 24 hours. Yet, automobile paint was not damaged after being coated with macerated lovebugs and held in a humid indoor environment for 21 days. A lovebug-coated surface exposed to the sun for an extended period of time, however, may be damaged by the insects and their removal (Denmark and Mead 2001). The front of a vehicle can be protected by coating it with “car wax” and removing the lovebugs within 24 hours.


Who knows. LOL
Click to expand...
 
After further review. I tried the sandwich bag over my hand brushed the hood again. It's not as smooth as I thought. Pretty surprised at the difference of feeling between bare hand a bag. Is it possible the Mequires Clay Bar I got at WalMart isn't aggressive enough? I'm at a loss at how to get this stuff off. I can't push down any harder with a microfiber towel and I don't really want to. What's really frustrating is that I had waxed the car the day before with Mequires Ultimate Paste wax, 2 coats.

I did go ahead and order Mequires DA kit with 105 and 205 in it; a bottle of Bug Squash and a more aggressive clay bar from Mequires.
 
muahman said:
Seriously why release a non-native bug species with no known predators and acid for blood.
Click to expand...

Hmm... anyone else see a resemblance?

alien_from_the_movie.jpg
 
SOrry to bump this old thread but are all bugs acidic or is it just love bugs? I havent washed mine off in over a month and it's been baking in the sun. I have no idea what type of bugs they are but I live in California, where we dont have lovebugs.

I have an appointment with my detailer on Friday. I live at an apartment with no access to a hose.
 
Forgot to add that I have opticoat so hopefully that will minimize the damage
 
I can't speak for how opti coat will hold up to it, if anything it will hold better than a wax/sealant but I would assume if baked on there, it could damage some of the Opti-coat--again, I'm not pro so I can't be 100% sure.

BUT, I can recommend swinging by a auto part store or walmart and pick up some quick detailer and get them off of there -- better safe than sorry, right?
 
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