Review: Gyeon Bug & Grime Remover

[kevincwelch]

There are parts of the country where bugs are just a real nuisance and a problem for vehicle owners. Chicago is not among them. In 9 years of living in the Chicago area, I can`t recall any significant bug collisions on any of my vehicles that have required anything other than a hose and a good soak with whatever rinseless or 2BW I`m using to remove the stuck-on exploded biologics.

When my wife took the kids on a road trip last summer to New York and came back with a grill full of nasties, I thought I`d get some bug remover for the next time she took a road trip. Well, over the past week, my wife took the kids to Little Rock, Arkansas to visit some friends and relatives, and when she came back a week later, the front end of the Highlander was pretty decently assaulted by insects, and they were splattered just about everywhere.

Now, this is probably minor compared to what a lot of you Southerners experience, but for us here in the Chicagoland area, this is a lot of bug splatter.





As many of you know, I have become a fan of Gyeon, so I picked up some Gyeon Bug & Grime Remover not too long ago, and this was the perfect time to give it a test.



Product Description

Remove bugs before they damage paint!


GYEON Bug & Grime Remover is a powerful cleaner that dissolves bugs and grime before they can cause permanent damage to paint. This easy to use spray formula is perfect for removing more than just bugs too; use it for road grime, tar, road film, and other common contaminants as well. GYEON Bug & Grime Remover is safe on your vehicle, whether it’s been treated with and SiO2 coating or not!


Driving down a bug-swarmed highway is never fun. Once you manage to get the windshield somewhat clean, you start to think about the dead bugs eating away at your bumper! When you make it home and it’s time to clean them off, don’t fall for one of those bug cleaning gimmicks, use a product that works, like GYEON Bug & Grime Remover.


GYEON Bug & Grime Remover makes bug removal easier. You won’t need an improvised scraper or a coarse scrubber that could damage the surface. All you’ll need is a couple of sprays of GYEON Bug & Grime Remover and a quick rinse and your vehicle will be bug free! GYEON Bug & Grime Remover is essential for preventing the damage that caustic bug guts can cause.


400 ml.

I was really excited about this product since it is advertised as a "touchless" solution to bug and grime. Whereas other bug removers suggest that you spray and agitate with a special sponge, Gyeon has no such requirements and furthermore states that it is safe for your coated car, which is nice since the Highlander has C1/EXOv2.

Price
$10.99 on AG and ACC


Review
The instructions state

Spray a moderate amount directly on the surface. Leave to soften the contamination. Rinse with a pressure washer and a large amount of water. DO NOT use on hot paint or in direct sunlight. Do not let dry on paintwork or trim. The product is also environmentally friendly.

Frankly, I didn`t know how much was a "moderate" amount. That was problem number 1. I sprayed somewhere between what I thought was light and liberal. It then stated to leave the product on to soften the contamination. I wasn`t sure how long that should be, but on another retail website, it suggested 1-2 minutes. I was concerned about letting it dry on the paint and trim (it was in the mid 70s), so I let it dwell for about 2-3 minutes. It`s quite possible that wasn`t long enough, but after that time, parts of the paint were getting pretty thin and I was concerned the product would dry out.





I did not agitate the product as stated on the label of the bottle (despite what some other website retailers suggest).

Here is a video of the application and the removal, which was done with a high pressure hose (not powerwasher as suggested by the manufacturer).



You can see that after the spray, soak and wash that the majority of bugs, splatter and grime are gone from the vehicle. However there are some bulky nasties still present on the vehicle. It required a general wash to get rid of these remnants and they were easily managed by a chenille wash mitt and Rupes m101.

So, one could look at this two ways. From one perspective, after spraying the Bug & Grime Remover and hitting it with the hose, the vast majority of the insect splatters and guts were eliminated from the vehicle. Another way to look at this was that the product didn`t work entirely as advertised and required some agitation and physical removal.

I decided to perform a simple test.

On the opposite side, I had a fairly equivalent amount of splatter and stuck-on Hymenoptera. I decided to blast this side with the hose to see if I could get an equivalent cleaning effect with just the pressure of the water without the Gyeon Bug & Grime. Here`s the video.



As you can see, the hose knocked off the vast majority of the bugs and splatter, but the Gyeon Bug & Grime did help achieve a bit more removal.

Opinion
Gyeon Bug & Grime Removal is a fairly easy to use spray for bug and grime removal. Unlike other bug and grime removal sprays, this one is stated to not need any agitation or scrubbing. It is safe for coated cars. In terms of these two claims, I don`t fully agree with the first one. After the first test, there were visible components of bugs and grime still on the vehicle that were removed only with agitation during a full 2BW. However, it is clear that during the second test, water alone was not sufficient to remove the bugs and grime and that Gyeon Bug & Grime Remover did help. Even still, there was some grime left over.

I`m not entirely convinced that this is a product that will consistently work without some agitation of scrubbing. It does help, but it may not be all that more helpful than water alone followed by a 2BW or possibly rinseless wash.

This brings to mind a post by Mike Phillips concerning bird bomb removals. He takes a microfiber, saturates it with water and leaves it on the bird bomb. The bird bomb comes off without a problem. Why are there bird bomb removal products at cost? Do we actually need bird bomb removal products, or is water saturation the key? Similarly, do we need a bug removal product or is water saturation the key?

Another interesting question to answer is whether this product is less helpful on coated cars. If coatings offer the best protection, special products to remove bug splatter may be unnecessary. More testing is required to answer this question, and opinions are invited.

At this point, however, I am not convinced that s specific bug splatter removal product is that beneficial.



(In case you`re curious, the trim is dressed with 1 week old McKee`s Trim Restorer.)

[briarpatch]

Very nice review. That amount of bug splatter is typical of what I get in NJ during the summer. I`ve been using Kenotek Anti Insect, and really like it. I`d say it`s similar in effectiveness to the product you used, but I`ll have to give it a more detailed test (like yours) when our bug season gets into full swing.

[atgonzales]

Nicely done

[dschribs]

The best part of this review is the word "Hymenoptera"

[briarpatch]

The best part of this review is the word "Hymenoptera"

I had to go back and re-read it....that one escaped me on the first go-round

[glfnaz]

The best part of this review is the word "Hymenoptera"

I had to look it up. LOL Science was not my strongest academic subject.

[heisenberg]

I really like your reviews. They take a real world approach to determining products` effectiveness. Thanks for sharing.

[GearHead_1]

Good review. Your question about how much of the effect is actually water doing the soaking is something to consider. Nature`s solvent.

[Accumulator]

kevinwelch- How is this stuff with regard to LSP degradation?

My 1Z anti-insekt can be a bit harsh on LSPs if I leave it on too long. (Only need such stuff on vehicles not wearing FK1000P.)

[kevincwelch]

kevinwelch- How is this stuff with regard to LSP degradation?

My 1Z anti-insekt can be a bit harsh on LSPs if I leave it on too long. (Only need such stuff on vehicles not wearing FK1000P.)

Gyeon is pretty clear about not having it dry on the paint, but the instructions lack specifics as to why. Degrades LSP? Eats through clear coat like Alien blood? Not sure.

However, I can say that after everything was cleared, I detected no difference in the sheeting and beading of the Gtechniq C1/EXOv2 that was on the bumper. The Gtechniq is well over a year old -- I think about 18 months at this point. Granted, I do refresh periodically with Wet Coat or HydrO2. But, I`d say it was undamaged by the bug remover.

No opinion about waxes or sealants as LSP.

[kevincwelch]

I really like your reviews. They take a real world approach to determining products` effectiveness. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks, Heisenberg. I appreciate that compliment.

(Sent via my mobile device...)

[rlmccarty2000]

Imho, the bugs should have come off easier. I`ve got C.Quartz on my bumper and here in the south we get some bad bug splatter. If I use a hose, without any bug remover, I usually remove 99% of the bug splatter. Before I used a coating I had to use 1Z or similar product and agitate to remove bug splatter. The slickness of the coating alone should have made the removal process almost effortless. I have been maintaining my coating with an ECHO2 and SiO2 mix, which I`m sure helps with slickness. Just doesn`t look like the Gyeon stuff is very potent to me.

[Accumulator]

kevinwelch- OK, thanks. I never let my bug stuff dry, but then I never used it on anything coated either.

rlmccarty2000- I too am a bit surprised the bugs stuck to the coating so tenaciously. They come right off FK1000P for me, though I do benefit from the 1Z bug stuff on vehicles wearing other LSPs.

[rlmccarty2000]

1Z is my favorite bug gut dissolver too. 1Z has some excellent products that get overlooked. I`m sticking with their glass cleaner as "best in class". Just purchased some of their new version "Klima-Cleaner" to try to clean the evaporator core of my old truck. Glad 1Z didn`t go under when their owner retired.