Regular washing alone may not be enough to remove splattered bugs, road tar and tree sap from your automobile's various surfaces. You may need a few select, specialized cleaners and a touch of patience to remove these contaminants.

During "bug season" here in Florida, it seems that a simple trip to the grocery store results in mass carnage as hundreds of love bugs spend their final moments being splattered on the front of our cars! In addition to making our cars look awful, these little critters are very acidic and can adversely affect the paintwork on cars. If their remains are left on a vehicle for more than 48 hours, pitting and etching of the paint may result! I am a big believer of going on the offensive during bug season. The two most important things that you can do is keep your paint CLEAN and keep your paint PROTECTED.

Quite often I see cars with one to two week's worth of bugs accumulated on the front bumper, grill, hood, windshield, roof and side view mirrors. If the car owner has time they may pull into a tunnel-style car wash where the employees might spray a highly caustic chemical on the bugs to soften them up. Once the bugs are softened by this harsh chemical cleaner, the employee may scrub them off or spray the car with a pressure washer to reveal damage from the acids that the bugs leave all over the paint.

In addition to removing bugs, these harsh chemical cleaners strip off any way that may have been on the paint. Now more than ever, the finish is vulnerable to new attacks!

I have a feeling that if you are still reading this article that you don't want your car to be the one in the above scenario. If you agree, then I would like to share with you four suggestions to help your car make it through "bug season" clean and protected.

I highly suggest that you start the season with a fresh coat of polymer wax on your car's paint, a polymer coating on your windshield and a water-based dressing on any exposed rubber or plastic trim and moldings.

Keep a microfiber towel and a bottle of quick detail spray in your car at all times and remove bug residue often, before it has a chance to harden and adhere to the paint finish.

Wash your car at least once a week. Wash the hood, front bumper, grill and windshield areas first and let them soak with soapy car wash solution to soften bug residues. Do not scrub! Wash these areas again before you rinse the vehicle. You will find that soaking these areas first really does a great job of softening the bugs for easier removal.

Reapply a polymer wax to the paint to increase protection. Just because you think you have protection on the paint, you need to keep in mind that waxes and sealants are simply microscopic sacrificial coatings and are not to be mistaken as "impenetrable armor". If the acidic bugs can damage paint which is fully cured and hardened and can last over 10 years, think about how much more damage they can do to wax who's lifespan is measured in months, not years.

I recommend using the least aggressive approach possible for bugs that have had the chance to dry and adhere to the car. Washing with plenty of soap and water, as I mentioned previously, is always my first step. I use a lambswool wash mitt but may try a honeycomb bug sponge with soap and water for tougher, more neglected cars.

If this is not enough then I may try a citrus-based all purpose cleaner spray or my favorite solution, a true paint cleanser applied by hand and massaged gently onto the paint and followed by a fresh coat of polymer wax. As you can see, when it comes to the subject of bugs on your car's paint, I am a big fan of leaving the paint clean and protected.

Road tar is most often found on the bottom of door panels, rocker panels and in wheel wells. Regular soap and water and even citrus-based cleaners usually will not remove tar that has affixed itself to your car's paint. I recommend a solvent-based product specifically made for removing tar, grease and tree sap.

Do not scrub when using specialized cleaners. Spray the area affected by road tar. Work in a shaded area on a cool surface and allow the product adequate dwell time and it will do the work for you. Use a soft cloth or microfiber towel to gently blot the area and wipe the tar away.

Tree sap is similar to road tar in that it dries very hard and attaches itself to your car's paint with a strong bond. The same solvent-based cleaner that you use for road tar will also work for tree sap as well.