I use an old pair of (my wife's) panty hose.  They remove the bugs and leave
the paint/wax alone.

When you say "strip the finish", do you mean remove the wax or take the
paint off?

You can find a suitable product at your local auto parts store...just make
sure it's safe for clearcoats (which all should be).  Follow the
instructions to the letter...meaning thorougly wash/rinse the car after
using it.

I would avoid getting it on plastic...even if it says it's safe for
plastic.  The black plastic on my CR-V was slightly discolored when I used
it...easily covered up with a vinyl protectant, but discolored nonetheless.

Another use for bug/tar remover:  getting oil-based house paint off your
car...as I found out when I drove through some recently.