Darn bird's dropping left spots in my clear coat.
 

I noticed the p...p the other day on the hood, but didn't think much of it. Usually they have come off in the past, but not this darn bird.
I washed the car , dried it , under the florescent light , I noticed the darn spots. I tried using cleaning polish, but the clear coat is surely damaged.

Will wet sanding the car get rid of the spots?

Any suggestions?

Usually a medium grade polish should take care of it. Try using Menzerna Power Finish first and see if it makes a difference.

http://www.glisteningperfectionstore...ish/Categories

You must not wax your car often.
People ask me why I wax everymonth. One reason is to protect the finish from those darn bird droppings. A fresh coat will prevent staining.
After you fix this problem, keep it waxed.

It's very likely you will need to have the spot wetsanded, but always start with the lightest method, and go more aggressive. Auto Glym's Bird Dropping Wipes are great to keep in your glove compartment for those bird poop disasters. They also work great on paint protection film.


AutoGlym Bird Dropping Wipes

John

Bird Excrement

Uric acid , C5H4N4O3 [a diprotic acid , thus in strong alkali at high pH it forms the dually charged full urate ion, but at biological pH or in the presence of carbonic acid or carbonate ions it forms the singly charged hydrogen or acid urate ion as its pKa2 is greater than the pKa1 of carbonic acid][1]

Bird excrement contains unpleasant fungi, including Histoplasma capsulatum and Cryptococcus neoformans as well as bacteria, including Chlamydophila psittaci. These are known to cause pneumonias as well as systemic infections.

Various forms of encephalitis are also associated with bird droppings, so avoid direct skin contact. It also contains highly acidic and alkaline concentrates; Ammonia and Uric acid, pH 3.0 - 4.5, Uric acid is a small organic compound which is produced by the breakdown of protein during digestion, and is excreted by reptiles and birds. Uric acid is also the end product of nitrogen catabolism in birds Ammonia is a mixture of nitrogen gas and hydrogen gas; with moisture as a catalyst it becomes Ammonium Hydroxide, which is caustic.

Heat and water act as a catalyst; a vehicle paint surface temperature of >90.oF creates a very aggressive reactivity of the Alkaline, Uric Acid and Ammonia. This will cause surface etching, so they should be removed without delay, at lower temperatures (> 40.oF or less) there’s no reactivity and therefore little or no etching.

Their main food source in summer is mostly insects, in the winter/ spring it’s berries, which are very acidic, and if left for any length of time the will cause the porous clear coat to occlude (a non-transparent ‘clouded’ area) or may cause etching (a depression in the paint or glass surfaces) Birds use gravel to help digest their food so grit and sand are some of the major components, which can cause scratching.

Protection- a polymer sealant forms a molecular bond with any paint surface it’s applied too, so when it’s attacked by environmental elements (acid rain, bird excrement, etc) it provides a direct conduit to the clear coat paint surface, causing surface etching.

Carnauba wax molecules form a closed linked mesh like structure, which means that they only butt up together to protect the surface and the wax forms a shell like structure that adheres to the paint surface. When attacked by environmental elements they have to compromise the wax surface before they can reach the clear coat paint surface and cause surface etching.

Most organic waxes (Carnauba) are more resistant to environmental hazards then synthetics, although an Acrylic polymer offers limited resistance. Being a sacrificial coating, ut the best way to avoid clear coat etching is too remove the environmental acid, along with the wax as soon as it’s noticed; but given enough time acid will compromise the clear coat whatever its protection.

No wax or polymer sealant can provide a permanent shield against acidic bird excrement, even the latest nanotechnology coating or CeramiClear only offers resistance to scratches, mars and acid etch, a product like Collinite 845 Insulator Wax is probably the most durable non-organic wax product, and but this will only provide enough of a barrier to enable it to be removed quickly before causing too much damage to the paint film surface.

Take your time and be careful with its removal, these acids should be removed and/or neutralized as quickly as possible. Using an IPA (isopropyl alcohol) no ammonia based (ammonia acts as an acid accelerant) glass cleaner or a gel alcohol hand cleaner (Purell®) place a small amount on to a first aid gauze pad and apply to effected area this will help it stay in place during the necessary remain in place time. The alcohol content acts as a drying agent, which will extract the acid, then thoroughly flush with water to rinse away any grit or sand, etc or use detailers clay to encapsulate it, re-spray the area let it remain in place for 2-3 minutes and wipe dry.

Removal
To remove bird excrement without causing scratches; apply very little surface pressure, dusting with long strokes in one direction only, use a product that contains a surfactant; this will lessen surface scratching as they ‘lift’ dust etc into the media used avoiding surface friction (use a solution of Optimum no-rinse (ONR) diluted 1:20 / distilled water in a fine mist spray bottle) and allow to remain in place as this will soften debris and allow it to be removed
Use a long nap micro fibre towel to ensure the debris that is lifted from the paint surface remains in the nap and not on the towel surface thereby causing surface marring. Shake the towel occasionally to ensure any particles picked up will drop out rather than come to the surface while you’re using it.

Do not scrub hardened/dried excrement residue, birds use gravel to help digest their food so grit and sand are some of the major components, which can cause scratching as it is very abrasive and will scratch the paint surface. Once it softened (re-liquefied) it enables their removal with less likelihood of damage to the paint surface Do not use on a hot paint surface (soon after driving) as this will cause streaking

Mike Phillips did a good mini-tutorial [with pictures for people like me :) ] on dealing with avian crap:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...-dropping.html

I keep extra plush microfiber cloths and a spray bottle of either a quick detail spray, ONR or Griot's Speed Shine in every car. There is no escaping the aerial attacks. :eek:

That's a very good technique...never seen that before.

The Philips tutorial is great -- assuming you have all of those supplies in your trunk. In a pinch, I have very loosely balled up a kleenex and saturated it with water. Then LIGHTLY place it on the bird poop and add a little more water. Let it set for at least 5 minutes, adding additional water to keep it moist. Then GENTLY lift the kleenex from the surface while very slightly pulling in the sides. Immediately add a fresh, clean, wet kleenex, wait a minute or two and then remove. All of the poop should be gone and you're good to go until you have access to additional detailing supplies.

Carry this in the glove and deploy when you park. This will help prevent future recurrence. Maybe you can use it as an antenna-ball:

http://img.meijer.com/assets/product...IOWL_A_400.jpg

hilarious



I hate bird poop. The birds that hit my car usually have very poor dietary habits and very nasty looking poopies.

I usually carry QD in the trunk just for situations like that :)

-So. Cali Guy

Avoid using a quick detailer (QD) spray to flush residue, as they usually contain either carnauba wax or polymer sealants, which will seal in the acid and not allow it to dissipate. Using an alkaline rinse of baking soda and water (to neutralize the acid) as soon as is practical is highly recommended, if the affected paintwork is not neutralized any remaining acid residue will be reactivated with moisture and heat.

Take your time and be careful with its removal, these acids should be removed and/or neutralized as quickly as possible. Using an IPA (isopropyl alcohol) no ammonia based (ammonia acts as an acid accelerant) glass cleaner or a gel alcohol hand cleaner (Purell®) place a small amount on to a first aid gauze pad and apply to effected area this will help it stay in place during the necessary remain in place time. The alcohol content acts as a drying agent, which will extract the acid, then thoroughly flush with water to rinse away any grit or sand, etc or use detailers clay to encapsulate it, re-spray the area let it remain in place for 2-3 minutes and wipe dry.


Avian Bomb Kit- use a 1:20 Optimum No-Rinse (ONR) / distilled water solution in a fine mist spray bottle. The surfactants it contains encapsulate and trap bird and insect excrement, dry surface dust, or light dirt particles making them virtually non-abrasive and it can be used without causing scratches (check contents periodically as heat will evaporate the contents if stored in the cars trunk). Apply with a long nap micro fibre towel using very little surface pressure, dusting with long strokes in one direction only. For stubborn stains, soak the micro fibre towel and allow it to remain i n place for a few minutes and then wipe away the debris.

good info...thanks

I did an IS300 last year from Chicago that was terrible. Had bird spots all over it. Nothing but careful polishing with 2000 grit wet/dry would touch it. Even after that I was only able to level and reduce it in many areas because it ate almost all the way through the clear. It did look much better when it was done though:

Before:

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7...0/DSC02835.jpg

During:

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7...0/DSC02883.jpg

After:

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7...0/DSC02911.jpg

That was the fender. Even after sanding the hood it still looked like this in the right light:

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7...DSC02827-1.jpg


Sometimes sanding is all that works, but I would try the polishing route first as well. I never bothered on this car and went right for the sandpaper. Iif you can feel the damage with your fingernails, just polishing probably won't cut it.

Good luck.

Post some pictures, maybe the pros here can weigh in a bit better.