How to Clean Tar and Bugs Off Car

How to Remove Tar from Car

It’s time to clean the bugs and tar off your car before it gets too cold. The summer season is coming to a close September 23, 2015. While the temperatures are still pleasant, take a moment to clean-up your vehicle and make it look like new! Accurate Autobody car collision repair located in Aurora, Colorado provides helpful tips on how to clean bugs and tar off your car.

Earn $500 or More with a Clean Car

Selling or trading-in your car? A clean car free of tar and bugs will help you fetch $500 or more! Cleaning your car and helping it to look its best is a surefire way to earn more money for your vehicle whether you’re trading it in to a dealership or selling it to a private party.  Who wants to buy a car that is covered with dry bugs and tar?

3 Easy Tricks to Clean Off Tar from Car

1. Many folks have complained about the difficulty of removing tar off your car’s bumper and wheel rims. One of the most simple and affordable methods to clean off tar is by using a lubricant such as WD-40, which will not harm your car’s paint.  Simply spray a generous amount of WD40 on areas covered with tar, wait 10 minutes or so (longer for larger tar spots) and wipe away with a cloth towel.  Repeat these steps as necessary to remove all tar.
2. The use of petroleum based products like kerosene or even gasoline work well to remove road tar. While both kerosene and gasoline smell bad, you may prefer a product like Goof-Off with a lower odor.  Simply wet a towel and rub. Depending upon the amount of tar and the area covered, this may take a little time and elbow grease.
3. Food products such as butter and peanut butter are handy choices when no W-40 or Goof-Off is around. Removing tar with food products takes more time.  Ultimately, if possible, let the butter soak into the tar spots overnight and wipe clean the next day.

How to Remove Bugs from Car

Is your windshield, hood, bumper or wheel rims covered with dried-on bugs? Removing bugs from your car can be difficult because of the shellac that some bugs leave behind.  No worries, here are a few simple ways to remove bug guts from your vehicle:

1. WD-40 is a great way to remove dead bugs from your car. Like with tar, let the WD-40 soak into the dirty bug area for 10 minutes or so, then, wipe away.  Repeat as necessary.
2. Ivory soap is another excellent way to remove vehicle areas covered with bugs. The stearic acid in Ivory soap helps to penetrate bug residue and with a little rubbing the bugs will come right off. Simply wet a towel and rub the bar of soap onto the wet area to create a paste, then rub those areas with bugs.  Repeat as necessary.
3. Believe it or not, clothes dryer sheets have proven to be effective at removing bugs from bumpers and wheel rims. Simply take a dryer sheet (recycle a used dryer sheet, this works just fine), wet and begin rubbing.  With a little soaking and rubbing, bugs should come right off.

If you’re into more expensive car products, take a look at Turtle Wax Bug & Tar remover.

An internet search on how to remove tar and bugs from your car will provide many additional suggestions, tips and ideas. The options listed above are among the most popular ways to remove tough bug and tar stains. For more ideas, see How to Clean Tar and Bugs Off Your Windshield.

Conclusion

Summer driving typically results in tough to remove debris like tar and bugs. The beginning of fall is the perfect time to clean your car and improve its value.  While many suggestions provide methods to remove tar, nothing really beats the simplicity of a good WD-40 soak and rub. This also works well for dried-on bugs.  Don’t have any WD-40 around, try petroleum products like kerosene or Goof-Off. Still at a loss, household food items like butter and peanut butter may even work to remove tar and bugs from car bumpers, wheel rims and windshields.