Bug splatters & keeping windows clean?

[talksr]

Hello,
I recently got a new car, and made sure I got a pressure washer with foam soap. It is cleaning up not too badly, but I have two issues...

The first is that the car is white. I do lots of motorway miles and I am finding the bug splatters really hard to get off. This is after it had been washed and pressure washed twice:




Is there anything anyone can recommend which will help?

Second, I live in a hard water area and the marks left on my mirrors and windows from using my tap water look awful. Is there anything you can recommend? With my old car, I used to take it to the car wash, but would rather do this one myself, so I am a bit of a n00b to this.

[zsdom]

For the bugs you’ll need something a bit more aggressive than the foam you have, an all purpose cleaner will do the job no problem, I use Autosmart G101 but any APC will suffice.

As for the water spots a proper drying towell & a quick detailer spray will help

[_Hoppers]

I've got one of these for the bugs

https://www.halfords.com/motoring/car-cleaning/spo...

Keeping the car regularly waxed will also help with the removal.

As above, get a drying towel, something like a Klin Korean

[RB CV8]

I always keep Car Lack Glass Clear and Car Lack Insect Remove in the boot, along with a few microfibre towels.

[PMacanGTS]

I keep a good stock of waterwipes and microfibre cloths in the boot and clean off the bug splatter after every trip. It’s the only way to keep it manageable at this time of year.

[Summit_Detailing]

A citrus based cleaner like Gtechniq W5 is brilliant for bug splats, spray on, leave for a minute or two then rinse the car with a pressure washer and wash as you would normally.
Sometimes you may get a particularly stubborn one or two which are easily removed using the W5 on a microfibre cloth.

Try one of these drying towels which will help alleviate the water marks after washing.
https://www.exceldetailingsupplies.co.uk/product-p...

Cheers,

Chris

[Trailhead]

Window cleaner on the glass. I have hard water too, and mr muscle shower cleaner works a treat on the marks.

For the paintwork, you can buy a spray on bug remover by Autoglym for about a tenner. Wipe on wipe off.

To make them easier to remove (from paint and glass) you could treat your car with Gteq products. It will seal your paint and glass and not a lot can bond to the paint work.

Let me know if you’d like more info.

[talksr]

Hi guys. Thank you everyone for your helpful suggestions.
I have to be honest, this car is the easiest to clean (other than the bug splatters) ever. It never looks half as filthy as my past blue car. Although, I have not owned it through a winter yet, and doing a 100 mile round trip each day will soon make it's mark.

All of your posts have been really helpful.
_Hoppers, thanks for your suggestion. I happened to be passing Halfords earlier so picked up the sponge you suggested and some microfibre cloths.
If these cloths are no good, I will go with some of the ones Summit_Detailing has suggested.

PMacanGTS...waterwipes as in baby wipes? Would that work as from experience wiping mobile phones and iPads, it leaves a streaky mark after, though I guess with a microfibre cloth on it after, it might be ok.

Tonight, I did as Trailhead suggested and used household window cleaner and one of my new microfibre cloths and it did the trick very nicely.

Thanks again everyone. I am not sure if I would benefit from it, but wondering if it would be worth me going for paint protection on at least the front end of this car just based on the high mileage I do. I have owned it for 3 weeks and already done 1700 miles.
Don't want it getting stone chips etc.

[PMacanGTS]

talksr said:

PMacanGTS...waterwipes as in baby wipes? Would that work as from experience wiping mobile phones and iPads, it leaves a streaky mark after, though I guess with a microfibre cloth on it after, it might be ok.

Yes. Work a treat for me. The waterwipes are just water with tiny amount of fruit extract. I unravel the wipe, lay it flat on the paintwork where the bug splatter is, leave them to soak for a few minutes, then wipe off. Then dry with a microfibre. The front of my car does have PPF, and I was told to remove bug splatter as soon as I could otherwise the self healing can bake the little fkers into the film.

[talksr]

PMacanGTS said:

Yes. Work a treat for me. The waterwipes are just water with tiny amount of fruit extract. I unravel the wipe, lay it flat on the paintwork where the bug splatter is, leave them to soak for a few minutes, then wipe off. Then dry with a microfibre. The front of my car does have PPF, and I was told to remove bug splatter as soon as I could otherwise the self healing can bake the little fkers into the film.

Ah ok, sorry, I thought you meant for my windows to clean the hard water off. That makes more sense. Ok, great suggestion, I will give it a go. I am tempted to look into PPF, but I think it will be really costly and would ideally like to get a dash cam in the car with a battery pack which allows it to run all the time. I need to pick one or the other really.

Thanks again for your helpful suggestion!

[Zetec-S]

Thought I'd tag my question on to the back of this thread rather than start a new one.. I have one of those bug shifter sponges which I use to clean the windscreen. Does anyone use one on their paintwork as well? It suggests you can but I would be concerned about scratches?

Something like this:

https://www.halfords.com/motoring/car-cleaning/spo...

[_Hoppers]

Zetec-S said:

Thought I'd tag my question on to the back of this thread rather than start a new one.. I have one of those bug shifter sponges which I use to clean the windscreen. Does anyone use one on their paintwork as well? It suggests you can but I would be concerned about scratches?

Something like this:

https://www.halfords.com/motoring/car-cleaning/spo...

I used it loads on my previous car and didn't notice any swirls from the sponge. Never used it on my current car as the wash mit I bought at the same time has a similar mesh on the back. I've not noticed swirls marks from that either but swirls are harder to spot on the front bumper anyway.