Dr. Wack "CW1:100" CW1:100 "Insect Remover Gel" insect remover 750ml

The CW1:100 "Insect Remover Gel" lifts baked-on bugs without scrubbing

What is the CW1:100 "Insect Remover Gel"? A ready-to-use bug remover in gel form for the windscreen, headlights and the whole front end of a car. It stays put on vertical surfaces instead of running off. Not meant for the washer fluid, not for direct sun or hot surfaces, and not for bare aluminium without a spot test.

CW1:100 "Insect Remover Gel" is a ready-to-use bug remover from Dr. Wack that loosens dried-on bug residue before you rinse it off. Bug residue is protein: on impact the body bursts, the water in it evaporates, and what's left is a protein layer that keys into the surface as it dries. That bond is exactly what the gel goes after.

Denaturing is what happens to the protein here: it loses its folded shape and tangles into a hard, water-insoluble layer. The same thing happens to a fried egg, only this time on your clear coat. And just like with the fried egg: the hotter the surface and the longer it sits, the harder the residue sticks.

Anionic surfactants and phosphates undo exactly that bond. They swell the tangled proteins and work their way between residue and surface until the grip lets go. You notice it because what looked glued on before runs off with the water when you rinse, without a towel having to go over it. And on a front covered in hard residue, rubbing is exactly the step that puts the swirls in.

Still, the real trick isn't the chemistry, it's the consistency. A liquid cleaner runs down a raked windscreen in seconds and ends up in the scuttle panel instead of on the spot. The gel stays put like a damp compress: where it belongs, for as long as the reaction needs. In practice that means there's any dwell time at all on glass and bumpers in the first place.

• Cling time on the vertical. AUTO ZEITUNG tested all nine candidates in its bug remover test with a uniform 3 minutes of dwell time. Three minutes on an upright windscreen isn't a given, it's a material property. The gel has it, and that's exactly what took it to second place out of nine.
• One bottle for seven parts. In the product information sheet Dr. Wack approves the windscreen, bonnet, grille, bumper, headlights, plastic headlight lenses and door mirrors, and adds guaranteed paint-safe. You don't switch products between glass, clear coat and textured plastic.
• Three sizes, three situations. The small 100 ml bottle is 15.6 cm tall and fits in any glovebox; the big 750 ml one measures 25.0 cm and belongs on the shelf. In between sits 500 ml as the standard size for one summer season with one car.

Detailing1's tip from the shop: We often see fronts that are spotless and still smear at the first rain. The cause isn't on the glass, it's on the wiper blade. That's where the same residue gets pressed in with every wipe cycle and hardens, and at the first rain the blade drags it across the fresh screen. So wipe both wiper blades with a cloth damp with gel before you rinse. Two wipers, two passes, twenty seconds.

The dwell time isn't on the bottle. Three minutes works.

In the product information sheet Dr. Wack only says leave briefly to act and deliberately gives no number of minutes. AUTO ZEITUNG tested with 3 minutes and put the gel in second place. That's the reliable guide value.

The open instruction has a practical reason: how long it takes depends on how long the residue has been sitting. Freshly splattered bugs in summer still come off with water and a wet sponge after one night. After about forty-eight hours the protein layer has hardened and keyed into the clear coat so far that it won't go without chemistry. If the car was parked in blazing sun meanwhile, that window halves.

So with bug residue, time is the real active ingredient, twice over: once the time the residue has already been on the paint, and once the time the cleaner stays on it. The first you can only shorten by not waiting. The second is what the gel consistency buys you.

The routine itself is short. Turn the nozzle to spray, shake the bottle, apply the gel generously across the cool front instead of misting it. Going easy on the spray is false economy here, because the reaction needs liquid and a film that's too thin dries on within minutes.

Leave it briefly, then rinse thoroughly with water and only then wash. For crusts that stay put, the product information sheet is clear about what to do: a sponge to help, wet, no pressure and no circular motion. A second application always beats waiting longer, because a gel that's drying on doesn't dissolve anything any more and just costs you an extra rinse.

Finally, turn the nozzle back to stop. That's the leak protection, and anyone who keeps the bottle in the boot or door pocket knows after the first time why that setting exists.

The test praises the cling and criticises the consumption

In AUTO ZEITUNG's bug remover test from August 2025, the gel scored 77 out of 100 points and the seal Highly recommended. Praised were speed, thoroughness and the drip-free cling; criticised were the strong smell and high consumption.

Both criticisms are the flip side of the same property. Whatever stays on the vertical instead of running off also isn't spread thin, it's laid on thick. If you want to get a whole front wet, with screen, bonnet and bumper, the 500 ml bottle empties faster than you'd think. With two or three fronts per summer you won't notice; with weekly long-distance driving you will. Then 750 ml is the sensible size.

Two limits come from the product information sheet and aren't a formality. Don't use in direct sun or on hot surfaces: after two hundred kilometres of motorway, a dark bonnet is a lot warmer than the ambient air, and on a surface like that the gel dries on before it can swell the proteins.

The second limit concerns bare, unprotected aluminium, such as unpainted trim strips or polished parts. There, a test on an inconspicuous spot comes first. On painted, glazed and textured plastic surfaces, on the other hand, the manufacturer's approval applies without restriction.

And the practical limit: the gel is designed for protein. Tree sap and tar aren't protein, and it won't help against them. If only the front is plastered with bugs after the motorway, this gel is the right tool. If sap from the roof, tar on the sills and a tired wax layer come on top, you're better off reaching for the heavy-duty cleaner for the pre-wash, which clears the whole organic range. More alternatives are in the bug removers.

The wiper reaches the screen. The gel reaches the rest of the front.

The CW1:100 "Insect Remover Gel" is the only cleaner in its line that doesn't go into the washer fluid. The four screenwashes work from the inside via the washer system while you drive. This gel works from the outside, parked, right on the spot.

The division of labour is clean and answers the question of when you need what. If you're on the road and a smeary film builds up in the wiper area, a screenwash concentrate for the washer fluid belongs in the reservoir. It keeps your view clear, loosens fresh residue and prevents glare film against the light.

If, on the other hand, you're parked and the residue is hard, the gel comes in. The wiper reaches a rectangle on the screen, nothing in front of it and nothing beside it. No washer fluid in the world gets to the grille, the headlights or the mirror base. Together the two cover the front; on their own, each leaves half behind.

The difference shows after the first long night drive. In the wiper area the screen is streaky but see-through, because fresh washer fluid lands there every few minutes. Just above it, beyond the wiper sweep, the bug layer sits untouched, and the same layer covers the bonnet, grille and headlight glass. Those zones are the gel's turf.

That makes the gel for anyone who puts the miles in during summer and doesn't want to leave the front for weeks: country-road commuters, holiday drivers, motorhome and trailer use. As a pre-cleaner before the car wash it's half the battle, because otherwise the brushes push exactly the hard residue across the paint that they can't do anything about. If you drive your car in the winter half of the year and leave it parked in summer, you simply don't need it.

One last detail that says more about the manufacturer than any product description: on the product information sheet for this gel, right next to the application notes, there's a refund condition. Bottle at least two-thirds full, sent back with sufficient postage, receipt enclosed, address Baar-Ebenhausen. A manufacturer that prints its own return address on the data sheet has done the maths on how often the bottle comes back.

How to use the CW1:100 "Insect Remover Gel"

Cool front, generous application, and only then the sponge

Park the car in the shade and let the front cool down. After a longer drive, a dark bonnet needs a few minutes for that. On a hot surface the gel dries on instead of working, and Dr. Wack explicitly rules out direct sun and hot surfaces in the product information sheet.

Turn the nozzle to spray and shake the bottle before use. Then spray the problem areas generously and evenly: windscreen, bonnet, grille, bumper, headlights, plastic headlight lenses and door mirrors. Misting sparingly gets you nowhere here, because the reaction needs liquid. The gel holds even on the vertical screen, so you don't have to top up.

Leave it briefly. The manufacturer gives no number of minutes; in AUTO ZEITUNG's bug remover test the uniform dwell time was 3 minutes. If hard crusts remain, go over them with a wet sponge, no pressure and no circular motion. Never rub dry, that's the fast track to swirls in the clear coat.

Then rinse thoroughly with water until nothing smears, and only then wash as normal. The same routine works as a pre-cleaner before the car wash. Before you rinse, one more move: wipe both wiper blades with a cloth damp with gel, otherwise the first rain spreads the residue from the rubber back onto the clean screen.

Notes: The gel works on protein, not on sap or tar. That's a job for a heavy-duty cleaner for the pre-wash. On bare, unprotected aluminium, check compatibility on an inconspicuous spot first; on painted, glazed and textured plastic surfaces the product is guaranteed paint-safe according to the manufacturer. Letting it dry on is the only real application mistake: in the sun or on a hot surface, rinse off early and move into the shade. After use, turn the nozzle to stop; that's the leak protection for transport. Store the bottle frost-free.