My comment about using gasoline as an "economic" tar remover is based the fact that that is all I had on hand in my younger days and , yes, it can be nasty on car finishes, even in those days. BUT it did work and work quite well. The the old cotton T-shirt tag that I used to remove tar, well, that too is what I had on hand in those days. When you are ignorant and uninformed, you make due with what you know and/or have on hand.
There is also the great-debate about using mesh-type nylon bug pads as a bug removal media. I do and have used it along with vigorous "elbow grease" to remove/abrade off baked-on bug splatter from chrome bumpers, grills, and painted front fascia trim/panel/cladding/bumper material . Bug splatter remover products, like Poorboy`s Bug Squash, have been a real help with that process and reducing the "elbow grease" required to do so and mitigating scratches and swirls on painted surfaces. (The etching not so much as this is a timely removal requirement by the vehicle owner or their hired detailer. True story: I removed bugs from the front of vehicles who paid to park in my driveway during a pre-season Packer Football game. Only one owner noticed and said "Thank You". My wife was very upset that I did this and said, "Would you want someone you do not know to wash YOUR vehicle without your permission"? Lesson learned..but they really needed it, so I thought I was doing them a favor. True Story, Part Two: I washed a truck that was parked on the street in front of my house during a Packer Game because, well, it was dirty and I cannot stand dirty vehicles. By chance several years later I talked with a gentleman at a store and he asked where I lived. When I told him where, he said he parked on the street in that area once during a Packer Game and someone washed his truck. I told him the make and color of his truck, so he knew that it was really me who did that! What are the chances of running into the vehicle owner again!... Or to plagiarize Jeff Foxworthy`s quote: "You might be an Obessive-Compulsive Detailer if you`d rather wash a vehicle than watch a Packer Football Game on TV and you are from Green Bay, WI." Just sayin`...)
I know many of you comment liking Poorboy`s Mesh Bug microfiber towel just for that specific detailing task.
I also know some of you prefer Sonax`s Insect Sponge as safe media for that purpose.
I recent received Pinnacle`s Safe-Scrub Bug and Tar Pad in an applicator kit I ordered from the Autopia Store, but have yet to try it. It seems very "rough", but I need to soak it per the directions and let it "soften up". I`ll see how it works on my own black Ford Freestyle as a beta-test before using it on other vehicles. I probably never would have ordered it on its own or used it, but it came with the kit, so I have it and I`ll try it.