bugs "etched" clear coat

M

Mopar Dude

New member
Hi guys, I'm new here and I'm looking for some help. I have a red dodge srt-4 and a few days ago, I encountered some love bugs. Being a full time college student with a part time job, I don't have much time or energy outside of school, studying and work, at all to keep it as clean as i would like. The love bugs ate/etched the clear coat on my front bumper and on the hood a little. From what I can tell, the paint is unmolested but the clear has suffered some damage. Is there ANYTHING that I could use to correct this and/or make it less noticeable? I know that nothing short of getting it repainted will take care of it completely but is there some kind of rubbing compound, wax, or clay bar that could help clean the clear coat up and make it look decent again? Links to products would be much appreciated. Someone please help me. I can't stand to look at that mess. Thanks for your time.
 
Try some Meg's ScratchX (Wal-Mart, etc.) or some Meg's 105:



How to remove a defect by hand with ScratchX - Car Care Forums: Meguiar's Online



M105 by hand vs 2500 grit wetsanding marks - Car Care Forums: Meguiar's Online



Meguiar's SCRATCH X Fine Scratch & Swirl Remover is a rubbing compound that can be applied by hand. Meguiars ScratchX polishes away fine paint



Meguiars Mirror Glaze #105 Ultra-Cut Compound



You probably won't eliminate all of the etching but you can minimize it. Meg's 105 is pretty aggressive so be careful on edges and on your plastic bumper where paint tends to be thinner.
 
Here is what I did on my old (1990) black Z which is clearcoated. Nose panel had multiple white specks fron bugs or rocks over the years. I estimate about 50 specks over the 10"X 24" panel. It really "bugged" me because the rest of the paint was in great shape. Washed, claybared, touched up with matching touch up paint using enough coats to get the chips above level with good paint. Let cure for a day. Then it looked better than white specks but kinda like a case of achne. I had just got a gallon of the new Megs. D151 and was doing the whole car anyway. I applied with my PC7424and orange pad and used extra passes and more pressure on my bumpy nose panel. It came out pretty good. The D151 worked great on the overall car and got rid of the many swirl marks and the nose panel no longer sticks out like a sore thumb. I topped with a coat if Megs NXT synth. paste wax. The whole car took me about 8 hours to complete. Short of a repaint this is worth a try. My Z has not looked this good in years. It really is very close to "showcar" quality. I love that D151!
 
All good answers for addressing the issue once the bugs have caused damage. Also, keep a bottle of detail spray and a clean microfiber towel handy at all times to remove the bug splatters before they get a chance to attack the paint.
 
Thank you all so much for the suggestions. I will give them a try just as soon as I get a chance. Thanks a million. :2thumbs::2thumbs:
 
It really depends on how bad it is, since lovebugs, unlike pretty much every other bug out there, are super acidic. I have a spot just above my windshield where I missed one when cleaning and it literally etched all the way down to the primer by the time I saw it and got it cleaned off maybe 2 days later :( I needed to use touchup paint to fill in the mess it made.

I hate lovebugs.
 
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