Saturday AM Accomplishment + Question

"FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com" (alphaass)
06/11/2016 at 11:52 • Filed to: HAPPINESS IS A CLEAN BOXER

My wife is out of town for the weekend so the kids and I washed her neglected wagon. I wasn’t able to get off many of the bug splats on front... do y’all have recommendations for a product that does the job well? I have a Turtle Wax bug/tar spray that didn’t seem to do much. Thanks! I’m off to the store to grab parts for an engine maintenance project that I’m attempting this afternoon.

DISCUSSION (14)

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
06/11/2016 at 12:07

Any good solvent like that Turtle Wax is a good start. You should also use a sponge with netting on one side when you wash it. So solvent first, let it work for a few minutes, then wash it off with the netting side of the sponge.

That should knock down the big stuff. After than you will need to clay-bar to get everything off.

d15b > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
06/11/2016 at 12:12

Ugh, I should go wash my car. It’s still dirty from my recent road trip.

TheRealBicycleBuck > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
06/11/2016 at 12:26

Kill them with fire? No?

Ok then, I've had pretty good luck with bug and tar remover. Really, that's the name on the bottle. No idea who makes it though.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
06/11/2016 at 12:29

Thanks! I probably need to let it soak longer. I do have a sponge with the netting so I’ll give it a try.

Spasoje > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
06/11/2016 at 13:39

This. I use the stuff and it gets anything stubborn off easily and safely.

random001 > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
06/11/2016 at 14:31

Griot’s garage bug and tar remover. It’s fantastic, I just removed 1000 miles of 2 week old bugs in about 5 minutes with it.

random001 > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
06/11/2016 at 19:57

I apologize that I gave you the really short answer earlier. I was in the middle of detailing my Genesis. Do you want a full rundown of bug and gut removal procedures, or just the product recommendation I gave earlier? Cuz I do this a lot. On purpose, actually...

E90M3 > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
06/11/2016 at 20:43

Oh that’s your wife’s, I was going to say, I’ll be on the look out for that Subaru. If you see a grey M3 sedan with a Georgia Tech plate on it, that’s me.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > E90M3
06/11/2016 at 22:32

I’ll give you a wave if I see it! I see quite a few GT plates around actually but I doubt there’s another M3 with one in SA. I drive the Outback sometimes. Hard to miss - there is a big dent in the front right fender left by someone in an HEB parking lot a year ago that I haven’t gotten around to having fixed yet. I’ve been trolling eBay and Car-part for one off of a wreck in the same color but I’m getting close to caving and paying for a new one plus paint.

Oh hey a couple of us mechanical engineers + spouses are heading to the Flying Saucer on June 20 after work. Not sure quite what time or what time I’ll be there but you’re welcome to join us if you’re interested.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > random001
06/11/2016 at 22:33

No problem. If you don’t mind I’d be interested - this has always been the hardest part of cleaning a car for me.

E90M3 > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
06/11/2016 at 22:39

yo I’m down. That’s like 15 mins from me. My phone number is contained in this

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > E90M3
06/11/2016 at 23:01

Now that’s a clever way to share info on Oppo. Also I wish I was in the market. That thing is clean and NP. I hope you sell it soon... I think manual anything that isn’t in the price range of college kids is a tough sell in this town full of lazy overweight people.

I added a contact. I'll shoot you a text sometime here.

Clown Shoe Pilot > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
06/12/2016 at 19:54

Hey now... I’m old, lazy, and overweight and I LOVE manual transmissions.

random001 > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
06/13/2016 at 08:18

Well, it’s important to know where you’re starting. As I mentioned, my go to is the Griot’s 10982 Bug and Smudge remover. It’s nice, and simple. Spray it on, let it sit, wash car as normal, and if the guts are pretty fresh it’ll take them all right off during the normal washing. I fear I’m going to sound a little like a Griot’s salesman here, but I’ve tried dozens of different products and brands on my various 35 different cars, and had to settle on the ones that work best. So the Bug and Smudge remover, It’s not so great vs baked on bugs, but what is?

If the B&S remover doesn’t take care of a bug splatter, likely it’s been baked on, either chemically or through heat. This is where you have to get serious. First step is to hit it with a clay bar, or my new preferred clay bar substitute, the Nanoskin. It works much like a clay bar, thought not as abrasive or quite as hardcore. The advantage is it’s not as hardcore, but almost as effective, so less likely to add swirl marks from the crap it’s picked up. I can do the whole car with the Nanoskin (I use the AS-017 kit from amazon) in about the same time as doing the hood with a traditional clay bar. It’ll pick up a lot of stubborn bug splats that are chemically bonded, but so will a clay bar. Same idea.

If THAT doesn’t work, you have some clear coat damage that has occurred. Bug guts, sap, etc. can become chemically bonded to the clear, and you’ll need to star applying paint correction to get it out of the clear, so we’re talking going to abrasive polishes and getting down to full on obsessive. I usually skip this with my DD, as the time put in to get it perfect is usually ruined by some jackass in a parking lot with a shopping cart. That said, I’m more than happy to go though it with you.

So lets say that a bit of B&S remover and some Nanoskin/claybar got it all off, and you want to keep it that way. Let’s talk wax. First things first, no carnuba wax! No! Carnuba is organic, so organic compounds like nasty bug innards have a tendency to bond to it. I know it’s pretty, and shiny for a bit, but there are too many drawbacks to it and newer, better products to use to saddle yourself to carnuba. My favorite wax for a while was carnuba based, another Griot’s product called best of show. I then learned of a better product called Race Glaze, not sold many places, but it was a polymer based glaze wax. It was a little tricky to get off, though, requiring a bit of muscle and pretty precise timing of cure to removal. Griot’s came to the rescue again just last year with my new favorite wax (I still use wax for that final shiny glossy things I put on, even if it isn’t actually a wax.) with the 10916 Liquid Gloss Poly Wax. This stuff is amazing. It has everything I need in a wax. It’s easy to apply, can be done on cool or warm panels, in sun or shade. You apply, let it cure for 10-30 minutes or more, and it just buffs off. I usually build up two layers in the first application, like I just did with my very black Genesis, and it’s so easy I can just apply another coat after every wash. It’s a polymer cured coat, and will make future bug problems almost no problem at all. It leaves no white residue on rubber or plastic parts, and is as shiny as you can get. I want to post a recent picture, but work is not letting me post pics or links, so sorry about that.

Let me know if you have any questions, sorry that was so super long...