Bird poop, tree drippings, or UV/sun, which is worse?

[CharlesInCharge]

I have several vehicles, and insufficient parking space. For some vehicles, the choice is either all day sunrays, or parking under trees subjecting them to bird scat and tree drippings/sap.

The UV is going to attack the clearcoat and paint. It cannot be washed away. The shade is the only cure. (I do cover the dash and interior as best I can to protect against UV.

But the shade has a price and the bird and tree droppings require constant washing. Almost daily, I spot wash with soapy water and rag to get off any bird droppings.

Probably frequent waxing will help.

I'm reluctant to use car covers. I've seen what happens when wind and sand get in them, it's like sandpaper on paint. Erecting any structure is not an option here either.

Help me with a solution or your thoughts on what is more harmful.

 

[vavavroom]

Park under an English Oak. No sap. Can't help you with the air raids.other than suggesting a good paint sealant and to carry a 1-gallon sprayer for on-the-go poop removal. That's what I do.

 

[daves87rs]

Thinking bird poop would be the worse. At least lots of waxing can help protect the clear coat a bit…..

 

[SeaJay]

six of one, half dozen of the other.

 

[aquariuscsm]

It's all paint damage, they just damage in different ways. We here on BITOG who live in hot climates know how the sun destroys everything.

 

[PimTac]

This is where using the latest ceramic based spray products really shine. Easy to apply, they help protect and easier to wash off contamination when it happens.

Isn’t new technology great?

 

[WylieCoyote]

Keep it waxed, and keep protectant on the rubber & plastic, use a sunshade, get your windows tinted, and put it in the sun.

I got to see first hand what trees, bugs and birds do to paint when I detailed my sister's Highlander a few weeks ago. This stuff didn't come off with a wash, it had to be compounded off.

My truck sits in the sun all day, after I had the big tree removed from my front yard. It's better off. Bird poo can etch the clearcoat in 24 hours. The sun requires years to do the same damage.

 

[555]

I've had the most issues with tree sap and I'm sure some trees are worse than others.
Bird poop a distant second place, butt at least it comes off much easier than sap.
Seals are treatable and replaceable. Sun shades in front and back make a marked difference.

 

[Bud]

Although I park in the garage, when over at my daughter's with her huge trees I always get dived bombed by the birds. Seems they wait for me to park in her driveway and then say lets get him. I have to remove the birds poop as soon as I get back home. Can't stand it on the paint.

 

[JohnnyG]

Buzzard crap is the WORST! Here in FL had some on my car when I came out of Publix. I waited till I got back home to hose it off. Took about a half hour to get home. By then it was too late, that stuff ate right through the paint on the hood of my 2014 Mercedes! No amount of washing rubbing compound or wax would help the paint recover!
At least pine tree sap can be removed by a mild petroleum solvent.

 

[RTexasF]

Bird caca is very acidic. I consider it the worst of the three.

 

[gofast182]

You're in PA, not Arizona so the sun isn't going to be as deleterious as it is for many in the country. Honestly I'd get the car [properly] ceramic coated. With that you're going to protect very well against UV and better protect against animal/plant droppings (it's not going to be 100%, but MUCH better). Unquestionably skip all waxes, because the sun degrades them very rapidly.

 

[ekrampitzjr]

Some tree sap either seems to etch glass or leaves tiny droplets that are impossible to remove. The spots are visible in bright sun, but cannot be felt, and using the washer/wipers or scrubbing the glass has no effect on removing them.

 

[partspro]

This is where using the latest ceramic based spray products really shine. Easy to apply, they help protect and easier to wash off contamination when it happens.

Isn’t new technology great?

2nd Ceramic products

 

[Silver]

I'd opt for the sun with a good coat of high quality wax or other type of protectant.

 

[vavavroom]

There is no good solution. The sun will also cook your interior and damage the dash over time, unless you use a reflective sunscreen. Birds will bomb targets out in the open just the same. Avoid meat and fish-est8mb birds. They drop the worst bio weapons. Birds drop poop and pee at the same time. Someone suggested I should leave the top down on the convertible so the birds don't paint it. Good thinking.

 

[PimTac]

There is no good solution. The sun will also cook your interior and damage the dash over time, unless you use a reflective sunscreen. Birds will bomb targets out in the open just the same. Avoid meat and fish-est8mb birds. They drop the worst bio weapons. Birds drop poop and pee at the same time. Someone suggested I should leave the top down on the convertible so the birds don't paint it. Good thinking.

I hope that last sentence was a joke.

Birds are especially bad in the late spring if you park under a mountain ash. They eat the red berries which go right through them. My work place had those trees around the edges of the parking lot. After the shift a clean car would be covered in berry droppings.

 

[Warstud]

Half the clearcoat on my SUV's bumper is gone due to Spruce tree sap.

 

[buster]

It's all paint damage, they just damage in different ways. We here on BITOG who live in hot climates know how the sun destroys everything.

I think if I lived in FL or AZ, I'd go for Optimum Car Wax with its patented UV protection. Others claim UV protection too, but there is a unique patent supposedly with the OCW.

 

[buster]

Do you have space for a carport?