How to Safely Remove Bug Guts From Your Vehicle - Video Demonstration!

July 12, 2022

Summertime is great: sunshine, warm weather, pool days, camping trips, and bugs everywhere! 😅 If you care about the appearance of your vehicle, nothing can be more disheartening than walking up to it and seeing hundreds of dead bugs on the front bumper and mirrors staring back at you. The temptation is high to just start scrubbing away, but if you attempt to clean off the bugs improperly you can actually cause serious damage to your vehicle's paintwork. Below are some quick tips and also a video showing you some simple ways to SAFELY remove bug guts from your vehicle!

If you have one of those bug sponges....THROW IT AWAY RIGHT NOW! Find the nearest trash can, line up for a half-court buzzer shot and toss that thing in the garbage. Do they clean the bugs off? Sure...but these sponges are abrasive and will scuff up your clear coat requiring you to polish the area you just scrubbed.
DON'T WAIT! Take care of bug guts as soon as you can. The longer they sit on your paint, the greater the risk is of it etching into your clear coat. In some cases, the only fix at that point is to repaint the entire panel.
Remove bugs when the surface is cool to the touch. Try to avoid any sort of detailing out of direct sunlight. If the panel you're working on is blazing hot from the sun, any chemical you spray on there could cause some damage and staining.
Use the right bug remover chemical. There are generally 2 types of bug remover products on the market: Caustic ones, and non-caustic ones. Most of the ones you buy off the shelf at a retail store are going to be caustic. This means that it is an aggressive chemical and it will strip any waxes or sealants that are on the surface. It is not recommended to use these products on ceramic coated vehicles. A non-caustic bug remover will be PH neutral, and usually marketed as something that is "coating safe." These chemicals are formulated to be strong enough to remove bug cuts, but careful enough to not damage the surface. These types of bug remover products are fantastic to use on coated vehicles, and also work great on Glass and Plastics.
*SEE the video below for a demonstration of a non-caustic bug remover!
Use a pressure washer safely. An electric pressure washer is all that is needed, and stay away from those black "turbo-nozzle" attachments. The white or green one will be sufficient. Keep a minimum distance of 8 to 12 inches from your paint and get a feel for the pressure washer you're using. If you're using a self-service bay at your local car wash just know that those pressure washers are typically very high-pressure. Keep the nozzle at a safe distance!

With the right tools and products, removing bug guts can be a simple process! PLUS, if your vehicle is ceramic coated, it will be an even simpler process! A lot of the times on a ceramic coated vehicle, natural rainfall and driving in the rain will clean the majority of bug guts off of your vehicle. No extra work for you at all :)

Watch the video below for a demonstration on how I use a non-caustic bug remover, Gtechniq's W8, to clean up the front end on this ceramic coated truck. Just rinse, spray the product, rinse again, and done! No scrubbing required!