I travel around the state of Oregon a lot. My brother in-law, with whom I confide my woes of bugs and other flying things hit while driving, suggested that I spray the front of my XC70 with Pam cooking spray to minimize my need to run the car through a carwash. My questions are: does this work? Will it ruin my paint? Otherwise, I think it sounds brilliant and have already thought about letting my 9-year-old son loose on momma’s car prior to travel- as a sort of good-bye ritual. What do you think? Will it work?
tr.y it and let us know
I’ve never tried or heard of using that product for such a purpose so whether it causes any damage to paint over the long term is something I do not know.
I do use Pam while doing machine work on the lathe and I can tell you that when dirt in the air combines with Pam that is aging a bit it becomes a bit of a gummy mess so my recommendation would be to go another route with this.
Some preferred alternatives would be to wax the car thoroughly and keep it waxed or install some Scotchgard Paint Protectant film on the nose.
I might add that if you inadvertently get any Pam on the A/C condenser, radiator, etc. you will likely have to put up with an obnoxious smell that will come across as a deep fat fryer at McDonalds run amok… 
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You can try it. I think Pam gets gummy and tacky over time. After a week the Pam might just make the bugs stick more.
I’d rather put an extra coat of a good paste wax on the front of the car. Every few weeks you can wash off the bugs and apply a fresh coat of wax. The bugs won’t stick to the waxed paint, and if they do they will wash off easily.
I live in South Florida. When the love bugs swarm and make a big mess. A wet dryer sheet will remove them. I wash and wax immediately. The remains of love bugs and some others etch into the paint if not removed. The dryer sheets work better for me than some of the expensive products.
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Pam is almost entirely water, with a small amount of canola oil in it. It’d be far cheaper to just buy a bottle of canola oil and wipe the front end down.
But to be honest, I doubt if it’ll do anything more than make a mess. Except perhaps to the sides of the vehicle when the 70mph buffeting winds drag the canola oil down the car. Although now that I think on it, perhaps it’ll distrinute the bugs down the side of the vehicle and reduce the number of bugs on the front.
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Like the others here, I’ve never tried it. It seems like the car would look worse after the Pam starts mixing with dust and dirt, so you’d end up washing the car more, not less.
If you do decide to try it, post back and let us know the results. I, for one, am curious.
I haven’t checked my bottle, but I think Pam contains Lecithin.
I am guessing it would wash off with water and a detergent.
Instead of spraying PAM on the front of your vehicle, you might try this instead. http://www.autozone.com/autozone/landing/page.jsp?name=3m-paint-defender-spray-film
Tester
Whatever you try for the grille and hood…
don’t forget the INSIDES…The radiator, a/c condenser, trans & p/s cooler fins all get the same bugs.
Far, far, far, too many people clean the outside and never even blink about the importance of the cooling fins and the possible overheating from lack of air flow.
The car wash does not clean these areas and for a really bad or very often cleaning you can buy a fin comb at the parts store so you don’t squash the fins further blocking air flow.
Sometimes a back-washing gets the bugs out without scrubbing or combing.
Open the hood and use the garden hose from the inside out ( most carwash wands aren’t bent short enough to get in there , but try that too. )
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In addition to oil, Pam has lecithin, that’s probably contributes to the gumming up. I’d avoid it.
Paint Defender will keep the paint free of bugs, but it will collect them, too. I also wonder if Paint Defender will prevent aging of the paint beneath it. The covered paint will eventually look different than the other paint, much like the paint under a car bra.
Nu Finish is an easy to use cleaner and protectant–a kind of polymer, not a wax–which is extremely durable and easy to use. I’d just clean the front of the car with a bug sponge as often as you can, and every month or so, use NuFinish on the impacted parts. Don’t use it on plastic or plasticized fake-chrome, just wash them. You can test for real metal with a magnet. And I second the radiator comments too.
Lechithin is just a fatty acid contained in all plant and animal substances. That includes canola oil. It’s also added to foods as a preservative. Canola oil is, after all, a plant based foodstuff.
Oh, nothing wrong with eating lecithin. Just not something I’d want to put on my car…
They make a spray on paint protect ant, Its a spray on shield, I have used it before, but I must warn you, don’t leave it on for more than 5-7 days because it gets really hard to get it off. It comes in clear or black.
I have seen people saran wrap the fronts of their cars, I have seen it once or twice going down the highway. Its ugly but it works I guess.
First and foremost a good coat of wax is the best defense. I’ve tried the cooking spray (when we traveled a lot) and it did make removal easier. I always hosed or wiped the bugs off and started the next day with a clean surface before applying the cooking spray again (and fairly lightly too I might add). I even used it on the front of the travel trailer to good effect but only when I knew the bugs would be terrible eg. after some outgoing wet and incoming warm weather or during fish fly season. Absolutely no harm done to any of the finishes.
Thank you, London! Did you ever leave the buggy PAM on the car for a few days? If I were to apply the spray to the car, park and attend a conference for a couple days then return home and wash upon return would the PAM 1) still be effective and “moist” (for lack of a better word) and 2) wash off easily.
I recently bought a Range Rover Evoque. Love the car and want to keep it clean from bugs. I asked the detail shop where I purchased it in Chicago and was told exactly this …safe to use Pam. He said just spray it on before a trip and it will definitely help but not completely cure you from bug guts. Said to wash it off after a day or end of the trip.