Cleaned bugs of my bumper but... OMG

[themoose]

Please be kind as I feel really stupid...

After a long trip I had to clean bugs off my front bumper. I had this sponge that did not look abrasive to me... I was wrong

I used the sponge very lightly with a lot of soapy water. The reason I did not immediately see the damage is because of the water. Once dried, I could see the huge mistake I had just made.

The attached picture looks a lot worse that what I actually see. I cannot feel any scratches. The color seems to have turned light grey and the shine is gone. I did try glaze and wax to no avail. I bought some ultimate compound which I did not try yet. Will this help ?

Any advice will ne much appreciated.

https://onedrive.live.com/?id=CCDE7EC0954F1AD2%21295&cid=CCDE7EC0954F1AD2&group=0&parId=CCDE7EC0954F1AD2%21118&o=OneUp

[KBzPTGT]

Re: Cleaned bugs of my bumper but... OMG

Use the least abrasive product/technique to get the job done. UC may be to abrasive to start with. Maybe drop back to Ultimate Polish. Let the more experienced people chime in

[Blueline]

Re: Cleaned bugs of my bumper but... OMG

Not experienced at all, however I did some something like that with UC trying to get out a scratch on my trunk. Looks like you just buffed the shine off the clear coat, which is sort of what I did with the UC. If that is the case, then like the above post, I would suggest Ultimate polish first, applied by machine.

[davey g-force]

Re: Cleaned bugs of my bumper but... OMG

I wouldn't hesitate to reach straight for UC for that, especially if you're working by hand.

Sure the rule is to try the least aggressive method first. So if you have something less aggressive, like UP, give that a go first. But I suspect you'll be needing UC...

[Top Gear]

Re: Cleaned bugs of my bumper but... OMG



BTW, had to wade through Microsoft's idea of photo sharing to see the shot using another browser, but wow, that literally looks like sandpaper was used. Looks like the sponge was dragging bug bits back and forth as sanding grit.

With bugs, the best way I've found is just water and my bare hand, even fingernails, to gently get the dried guts off, then regular washing with a mitt. Or, a quik detailer or a waterless wash liquid to wet down the dried bits with careful wiping also works well. Either way, I don't want to try to scrub anything off (especially as it can be a common issue driving at night), but use liquid to soften and ease them away.

To fix the scratches, I think you'll need to use a machine with your Ultimate Compound. It can be done by hand, but be very, very patient with it. The scratches will come out and look great

[themoose]

Re: Cleaned bugs of my bumper but... OMG

Thanks everyone for your help. Since I already have the UC, I will give a shot by hand on a small portion of the bumper. Weird I say to everyone to never rub anything on a paint job, and there I go and use a sponge. God i feel lridiculous...

[GLOCKer]

Re: Cleaned bugs of my bumper but... OMG

Holy ****! Yeah, that looks like sandpaper was used!

I would suggest UC with at least the Meguiar's DA Power System, but it looks like it would probably require a proper DA with a compound, polish, and wax. Wow that looks not good!

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Cleaned bugs of my bumper but... OMG

As others have said, that really does look like it was wet sanded. Ultimate Compound would be our first choice here - we firmly believe in "using the least aggressive method to get the job done", and UC, when used gently by hand, really isn't very aggressive at all. Your choice of applicator will be almost as critical as the liquid, so do yourself a huge favor and stay away from terry cloth for now. Start with a foam wax applicator pad, and make sure to keep your fingertips away from the pad. Fingertip pressure on a foam pad can and will translate into pressure points that will scour the paint further. Also, never, ever scrub in a small area regardless the applicator and liquid used. You can rub through clear coat fairly easily with a cleaner wax and a terry towel if you scrub vigorously in a very small area for a couple of minutes - we've seen it happen far too often.

So, squirt some of the UC onto that foam applicator and, with your fingers broad across the pad, begin working against the damaged area with moderate pressure - straight lines or a circular pattern is up to you; both are fine, just go with the one you're most comfortable with. Don't let UC dry on the paint. It only does it's thing when being worked against the paint and letting it dry only causes it to become difficult to wipe off. You may find you need two or three applications to correct this problem. Without seeing it in person, especially since you say the pictures look worse than real life, it's difficult to place this damage into the context of, say, a similarly aggressive sanding mark. That makes it a bit tricky to determine the exact best case approach to fixing this. If you owned a DA polisher like our MT300 or a Porter Cable, we'd say go with that and the DA Microfiber Correction System and you'd most likely clear this up in no time.

One last thing: you may find that correction is fairly straightforward (fingers crossed) but that some deeper scratches remain. You may have to live with those as not everything can be repaired by any sort of buffing process. We've seen Scotch Brite pads used aggressively on paint and they will cut really, really deep and completely destroy the paint. The fact that you can't feel any scratches in this damaged area is a big plus. Take your time, go easy at first, repeat as needed.

Oh, and nail that sponge to the garage wall to remind yourself to never, ever do this again!

[Sleper]

Re: Cleaned bugs of my bumper but... OMG

As others have said, that really does look like it was wet sanded. Ultimate Compound would be our first choice here - we firmly believe in "using the least aggressive method to get the job done", and UC, when used gently by hand, really isn't very aggressive at all. Your choice of applicator will be almost as critical as the liquid, so do yourself a huge favor and stay away from terry cloth for now. Start with a foam wax applicator pad, and make sure to keep your fingertips away from the pad. Fingertip pressure on a foam pad can and will translate into pressure points that will scour the paint further. Also, never, ever scrub in a small area regardless the applicator and liquid used. You can rub through clear coat fairly easily with a cleaner wax and a terry towel if you scrub vigorously in a very small area for a couple of minutes - we've seen it happen far too often.

So, squirt some of the UC onto that foam applicator and, with your fingers broad across the pad, begin working against the damaged area with moderate pressure - straight lines or a circular pattern is up to you; both are fine, just go with the one you're most comfortable with. Don't let UC dry on the paint. It only does it's thing when being worked against the paint and letting it dry only causes it to become difficult to wipe off. You may find you need two or three applications to correct this problem. Without seeing it in person, especially since you say the pictures look worse than real life, it's difficult to place this damage into the context of, say, a similarly aggressive sanding mark. That makes it a bit tricky to determine the exact best case approach to fixing this. If you owned a DA polisher like our MT300 or a Porter Cable, we'd say go with that and the DA Microfiber Correction System and you'd most likely clear this up in no time.

One last thing: you may find that correction is fairly straightforward (fingers crossed) but that some deeper scratches remain. You may have to live with those as not everything can be repaired by any sort of buffing process. We've seen Scotch Brite pads used aggressively on paint and they will cut really, really deep and completely destroy the paint. The fact that you can't feel any scratches in this damaged area is a big plus. Take your time, go easy at first, repeat as needed.

Oh, and nail that sponge to the garage wall to remind yourself to never, ever do this again!

I like to let the water roll over the bugs for a few minutes to soften them prior to removal. A bug sponge with cheese cloth wrapping works wonders. Good Luck