Best way to get baked on insect residue off paintwork

[omniflow]

I've watched a few product reviews, but they're all focused on fresh bugs.

The problem I've got is what's there after a 4,000 mile roadtrip across Europe over 6 weeks. All kinds of weather - baking hot sun, torrential rain and practically everything in between. I've tried several options - Autoglym bug remover, Carpro Tar-X and Bilt Hamber medium clay. Nothing seems to be working, although I only had a small amount of the Tar-X left and it did seem to be making some progress.

I'm not worried about removing wax / polish, as I plan to do the whole car once I've managed to get all of the crap off the paint.

[Kuwahara]

Many years ago I’ve seen people use flat coke , not the stuff that goes up the nose.

[LightweightLouisDanvers]

Citrus pre wash sprayed on, even diluted seems to do a decent job of softening even the stubborn ones which then come off with either pressure washer or a little effort with a wash mitt.

[cliffords]

Slice an orange in half rub the dried up bugs .
Leave just a few mins and they will come off with warm water.

[Bezerk]

Any bug remover should work fine on these and baked on bird ste.

You need to leave it to dwell though. If in a hot climate do this early or late in the day. Don't let it dry.

Spray on and leave it for at least 5 mins.
When you return you should see them starting to kind of melt off.
Gently wipe these away with a wet microfiber and apply again if needed.

Once clean they will come off much easier in future if you apply some ceramic detailer every few days.

[Richtea1970]

Had the same problem travelling 200 motorway miles most weeks in summer. The car would be covered in squashed bugs, so asked the same question on here.
Someone recommended this [url] https://www.halfords.com/motoring/car-cleaning/car... [url]

It's excellent. I keep a little spray bottle of it in the car along with a microfiber cloth. Spray it on, leave it for a minute or so then just wipe the bugs off, it works really well.

[Belle427]

If tar remover etc is struggling then I would think a polish is needed.

[archie456]

Use a wet towel and leave it on to soak for an hour or so, it will soften them and they'll wipe off.

[Wills2]

Better to post a photo of the issue, given what you've said you have used the residue should have come off but your clear coat maybe etched.

[_Hoppers]

Belle427 said:

If tar remover etc is struggling then I would think a polish is needed.

Do bugs etch paintwork like bird poop does?

[T_S_M]

Hands down the best bug remover I've ever used. If this doesn't remove it then it'll need polishing off.

https://stjarnagloss.com/products/forst-citrus-pre...

[Wills2]

_Hoppers said:

Belle427 said:

If tar remover etc is struggling then I would think a polish is needed.

Do bugs etch paintwork like bird poop does?

They do indeed.

[NDA]

Would a clay bar do it?

[_Hoppers]

Wills2 said:

_Hoppers said:

Belle427 said:

If tar remover etc is struggling then I would think a polish is needed.

Do bugs etch paintwork like bird poop does?

They do indeed.

That explains why none of the products the OP has tried works then! A cutting polish it is then?!

[Wills2]

_Hoppers said:

Wills2 said:

_Hoppers said:

Belle427 said:

If tar remover etc is struggling then I would think a polish is needed.

Do bugs etch paintwork like bird poop does?

They do indeed.

That explains why none of the products the OP has tried works then! A cutting polish it is then?!

Maybe but a picture is worth a thousand words, some of it can be very suborn, I washed one of mine at the weekend jetwash/Citrus APC/Snow foam/rinse/wash/rinse and there was still residue on the nose of the car, but if something like tar remover and some elbow grease doesn't shift it then I doubt it's bug splatter.

[Crudeoink]

archie456 said:

Use a wet towel and leave it on to soak for an hour or so, it will soften them and they'll wipe off.

This^
I do exactly this. Wet blue roll applied to the paint softens up the dried on bugs enough to be washed off with a hose pipe. Any very persistent bugs can then be seen to with a bug remover spray / mechanical removal. Leaving them to soak does generally get 95% of them off though

[E-bmw]

Crudeoink said:

archie456 said:

Use a wet towel and leave it on to soak for an hour or so, it will soften them and they'll wipe off.

This^
I do exactly this. Wet blue roll applied to the paint softens up the dried on bugs enough to be washed off with a hose pipe. Any very persistent bugs can then be seen to with a bug remover spray / mechanical removal. Leaving them to soak does generally get 95% of them off though

Me too, never used anything more than a wet rag/towel/etc to soften then clean as normal.

I think flies are water based the same as other life forms on this planet.

[Robertb]

_Hoppers said:

Belle427 said:

If tar remover etc is struggling then I would think a polish is needed.

Do bugs etch paintwork like bird poop does?

Yes they do. If the residue is not coming off with a solvent then compounding is the best route... if the OP is polishing anyway it'll come off then.

One of the real benefits of a good ceramic coat is that bug residue and bird lime is much easier to deal with.

[omniflow]

I think these photos show the problem

[Wills2]

That looks like they have etched the paint, as per this detailers video below;

Edited by Wills2 on Wednesday 10th June 15:10