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MG MGF Technical - Damn Flies

OK, it's Langka for chips. Has anyone got a favourite product for dead flies?

I've got loads to remove. So far I've tried soap and water and T-cut. T-cut works but it leaves a white residue in the stone chip craters.

Andy
Andy

I use Muc-Off on my bike (the F doesn't seem to get this problem); gets everything off without any problems (try it on a small area first - but I've never had a problem on any surface).
Be careful how you ask for it !

Steve
Steve

Andy,

Believe it or not, baby wipes get the off quite well! no idea whats in them but it doesn't appear to leave any residue but as Steve said, try it first on a small area

Les
Les Piggot

I use a dab of Hammerite brush cleaner on a soft cloth to remove tar spots and stubborn "beasties".

You need to polish the area afterwards.

Once clean, a few coatings of Autoglym Extra Gloss Protection will ensure that future squashed insects come off with a wipe.

Sam
Sam Murray

Another much kinder way is to leave something like an old bath towel soaked in water on the front of the car to soften-up the beasties, then just wash the 'things' away.

Ted
Ted Newman

Turtle Wax liquid shifts them. It's slightly abrasive and soon clears the muck leaving a nice wax shine.

So do the "colour back" waxes



Brian

Keep your suggestions coming. I'm going to try one or two. The F doesn't suffer too badly but I have a company alfa as well and that's sporting a fantastic collection. It's just been to France and the little beasties have even ricocheted off the top box and stuck to the roof of the car as well as the front.

Brian,

That turtlewax colourback. Is that the one where the polish is dyed the same colour as your paint. I tried that and I ended up with red hands, red drive where I spilt it and it was almost impossible to get off plastic trim. I'm not going there again.

Andy
Andy

Ordinary Turtle Wax liquid shifts the bugs.

The colour back polish from Turtle or Tcut also does the same thing but as you noticed, is hard to remove.

If you buy the stuff for plastic bumpers, it shifts polish marks off black plastic items like mirror and windscreen surrounds.

The trouble with all the white spirit type solutions is that they also remove some of the wax, assuming your car is polished.
Brian

As Ted says - a good pre-soak is *often* all that is required. Works on stubborn birdsh*t too. (That's not sh*t from stubborn birds, by the way).
David Bainbridge

Ive tried the Turtle Wax Bug and Tar wipes (£3.99) and they seem to do a good job, cleans the bugs and bird Cr*p off and doesnt leave any residue that I can see....

Thanks to these I am now down to washing my car every other week instead of every week ;)

Cheers,

Russky
R Goodman

Halfords (and others) sell a sponge with a mesh overlayer, that removes flies and stuff without scratching or affecting the paint surface - great fro windscreen glass too.
Tar comes off easily with Mer polish - a little on a rag, gently rub it on the spot and it dissolves!no residues, no paint damage, and as Mer is also a polish, clean up is easier
Bob (aka The Blue Max)

So far...

I've discounted Ted's method because I've got an awful lot of car to cover in damp rags. I can see this will be the cheapest option though.

I looked at Muc off but it's £7 for half a litre.

So I plumped for the Turtle Wax Bug and Tar Wipes as recommended by Russky.

They do work and they smell suspiciously like Baby Wipes. I suppose they're both designed to clean up similar deposits. At £3.99 for 25 they're fairly cheap. You can also get the same stuff in spray form for £4.99.

I was suprised to see that Autoglym don't have a product for this particular application.

Andy
Andy

You see, it's that difficult silver colour showing up those bugs. Most bugs' intestines are a sort of blend-in anthracite colour. ;)
David Bainbridge

>>I looked at Muc off but it's £7 for half a litre. <<
Where's that from - Halfords by any chance ?
I pay 6.50 for one litre (www.busters-accessories.co.uk).
Most pedal-bike shops should stock it.

Steve
Steve

Autoglym for dead fly removal...is FastGlass cleaner.Works on paint/plastics as well as glass.Have tried it this a.m and it works well and quickly,using a paper towel for rubbing off debris after softening
Bob (aka The Blue Max)

Steve, Yep it was Halfords. I discovered it at my local Bike shop this morning for 5.75 for a litre. I bought some for my bike!

Bob, Oh bugger I've got some of that in the garage

David. I really need it for an Alfa 156 in Cosmos Blue which if it was an MG colour would be described as erm Charcoal. Platinum Silver does show up the bugs but I'm lucky if I get to drive it more than twice a week and her in doors drives slow enough for the bugs to see her coming!
ANDREW WRIGHT

Drive slower! Flies only seem to adopt suicide tendancies when you hit 80 mph. Otherwise Autoglym tar remover works well. :)
Praveen

You have to drive slow round the north-west coast of Scotland (some of it's single track), and the damn Scottish midges pepper the car with insect internals!

Can recommend a Scottish driving tour to anyone. Fantastic roads, scenery and people.

Also interested to read everyone's comments.
Tony White

But you will need more than Autoglym to get squashed people off the car:-)

BUT yes I agree - Scotland is well worth a visit.

Ted
Ted Newman

"Halfords sponge in an old pair of fishnet stockings" just took 5 mins to remove 2 weeks worth of French flies (not sure if nationality is that important) and also the deisel residue that 2 weeks in France always leaves on the screen.

BTW if you really want to see the effect of French diesel in the air ride a motorbike 200 miles with the visor open and see the visor shaped black patch on your face afterwards. I hate diesel for several reasons including the effect on children but the filth on me and my car is the main reason.
JohnP

French diesel you can keep! But French stockings - now that is another story, providing they are still filled with French legs of course:-)

Ted
Ted Newman

I keep a spray bottle of Mr Muscle in the boot for cleaning the front of the car. Usless and smeary for the 'screen though. I reckon a lot of the milder household stuff is as good as (and cheaper than) auto-branded 'accessories'.
Dimo

This thread was discussed between 12/09/2002 and 27/09/2002

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