Bugs etched into clearcoat...how do I fix this?

[zoomzoom3]

I was working on a friend`s car that was not in bad shape at all except for the front bumper. A lot of bugs are etched into the clearcoat. I tried an LC yellow pad with Optimum polish & that didn`t do the trick. I`m not sure what kind of bugs these were, but it`s awful. I`m wondering how aggressive I should go? Would a wool pad with Meguiar`s #4, Megs #95 or Menzerna SIP using a Flex 3401 take care of this?



If that doesn`t work, should I tell him to just get the bumper wetsanded?

[JohnKleven]

you`ll have to wetsand the bumper. Unfortunately this is a difficult task to do on a front bumper. There are so many nooks and crannies to wetsand and buff around. Honestly I`d recommend a respray to apply a clear bra like Venture Shield.





John

[Bostonsfavson]

I was working on a friend`s car that was not in bad shape at all except for the front bumper. A lot of bugs are etched into the clearcoat. I tried an LC yellow pad with Optimum polish & that didn`t do the trick. I`m not sure what kind of bugs these were, but it`s awful. I`m wondering how aggressive I should go? Would a wool pad with Meguiar`s #4, Megs #95 or Menzerna SIP using a Flex 3401 take care of this?



If that doesn`t work, should I tell him to just get the bumper wetsanded?



I suppose it depends on what type of results your friend wants. If he`s not going to spend the money to protect the bumper with a clear bra after it`s all said and done, I really can`t see the wisdom in wetsanding the bumper. After all, in a few months you`ll most likely be back to where you started.



Like most here, I`m very anal about my daily driver, which also happens to be my detailing rig. Even so, I only do what you have already done when it comes to the front bumper. I wash, clay and polish, and whatever remains, remains. You have to pick your battles, and the front bumper is often one you just can`t win. Again, that`s on my own truck. It`s it`s a client`s vehicle and they want perfection (or close to it), that`s another story.

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I talked to him & he says he would only do a repaint as a last resort. He wants the bumper to look as "new" as possible. The reason he wants to try not to repaint is because it`s a 2004 BMW M3 in Laguna Seca Blue (rare color & pricey).

I just wonder if a very aggressive polish or compound with a wool pad might work. The LC yellow pad + Optimum polish did improve things (made the spots much less noticeable to the naked eye), but if you look under a halogen lamp, the spots are definitely still there. The most he wants to do is wetsand.



He takes very good care of the car, but clear bra just doesn`t work in this part of the country. We have extreme winters and bugs the size of birds in the summer. It was because of the crazy weather we`ve had that caused him to neglect it I think. In March it got VERY warm quickly & we had a few 80 degree days. The bugs came out in droves. Then the next thing you know BAM, winter`s back, it`s 20*F and even too cold to even ONR. Today was the first nice warm day we`ve had in a while, so he had me try and fix the problem.

[Accumulator]

I wouldn`t get so aggressive as to precipitate a repaint. M105/orange is about as aggressive as I`d go and if that didn`t do it I`d just live with whatever etching is left.