Birds are ruining my paint!

[Patman]

I don't know what is going on this year, but bird droppings are etching into my paint and I can't seem to remove them! I always remove bird droppings from my paint as soon as I spot them, so it's not like they are on there for days. The first one I got this season was on my 2 month old paint on the front end, and I figured it etched into there because the paint was still softer than the original paint. But today I removed a dropping from my passenger door, which is still the original paint, but I can't get rid of the etching it's left behind! What are you guys using to remove the etching left behind from bird droppings? I tried using Scratch X 2.0 and my UDM buffer, and then hitting it with a few coats of Zaino Z5 but it seems to have no effect!

 

[Quattro Pete]

I'm afraid some of these bird dropping etchings may be permanent. I've got a few of these from seagulls on the hood of my 530i. All it took was several hours in direct sunlight of Florida summer. I've tried various polishing compounds to no avail.

 

[Spazdog]

Birds. Nature's most incontinent animal.

Yep. I got a spot permanantly etched in my hood.

I don't know what that sky-rat ate, but it etched my paint.

I hope it burned like [heck] coming out of him.

 

[Patman]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
I'm afraid some of these bird dropping etchings may be permanent.


That's what I'm afraid of too!

In previous years I had no trouble removing every trace of the stain by just using detailing spray on it. But for some reason this year, any time a bird leaves a dropping I can't get rid of the stain/etching even if I get to it within a few minutes of it happening. Curse this black paint which shows every flaw!

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Patman
Curse this black paint which shows every flaw!

Yup. Black paint attracts more sunlight and becomes hotter than any other color paint. High temps speed up the reaction time of acids in bird poop with the paint. I've owned two black cars in my life and I'll try really hard not to own a third one.

 

[CROWNVIC4LIFE]

The birds in Miami and Fort Lauderdale have been real nasty this year..Every single day I have to take their stuff off..Yesterday while waiting for a long red light to change I get splattered on the windsheild,hood,top and trunk..I keep water and rags in my trunk at all times.

 

[synthetic_crazy]

You might try a cleaner type wax. I use Meguiars nxt generations tech wax 2.0 (in the purple container) and it removed some baked on staining I had on my paint from a dirty rain we received. It would be worth a try on the bird droppings.

 

[Patman]

Originally Posted By: synthetic_crazy
You might try a cleaner type wax. I use Meguiars nxt generations tech wax 2.0 (in the purple container) and it removed some baked on staining I had on my paint from a dirty rain we received. It would be worth a try on the bird droppings.



I'll have to dig through some boxes in my basement to see if I saved the last bottle of NXT 2.0 that I had, hopefully I kept it when I moved!

 

[RTexasF]

If it will come off at all it will take a great deal more than Scratch X. If Meguiar's Ultimate Compound and a yellow pad (try orange first) won't remove it then your best move is to just make it look better. Color sanding is also a possibility if all else fails but even that may not remove it 100%.

 

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
I've owned two black cars in my life and I'll try really hard not to own a third one.

I hear ya LOUD AND CLEAR on that!!

 

[mikered30]

Zaino is poor for bird bombs. Try a topping of collinite 476s, much better. Not sure how to remove the staining though.

 

[Patman]

I looked through my boxes in the basement and couldn't find my NXT 2.0 to try out, but I do have some Meguiar's 21, and that's a pretty close formula to NXT 2.0 so I'll try it first. I also have a ton of different Meguiar's compounds and glazes (#5, #7, #9, #80, #81, #83) so I will try some of those with an orange pad (I've never even used the orange pad, it's still in the plastic wrap!) and see how it goes. Although I'm not sure any of those will do any better than Scratch X 2.0 with my buffer, as I have found that to be an excellent compound for removing imperfections. In fact it's my "go-to" product now because I find it so easy to work with (it buffs off super easy, unlike many of the other compounds in my arsenal, and will usually knock down the light scratches and swirls with just one pass with the buffer and the white pad)

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: Patman
I also have a ton of different Meguiar's compounds and glazes (#5, #7, #9, #80, #81, #83) so I will try some of those with an orange pad (I've never even used the orange pad, it's still in the plastic wrap!) and see how it goes. Although I'm not sure any of those will do any better than Scratch X 2.0 with my buffer, as I have found that to be an excellent compound for removing imperfections.


I used Meguiar's swirl remover (don't know the number) with hand buffing with great success with bird etchings on black paint. If you have it, it's worth a try.

 

[Patman]

Originally Posted By: Garak


I used Meguiar's swirl remover (don't know the number) with hand buffing with great success with bird etchings on black paint. If you have it, it's worth a try.


The swirl remover is #9, so I've got that one!

I'm going to attack my paint with the buffer in a few hours, I'll let you guys know how it goes.

 

[Patman]

Success!

I used my UDM buffer with the orange pad and the speed set to 5 (max is 6) and used Meguiar's #9 Swirl Remover 2.0 and after two passes the etching is completely gone!

Now if I can just keep those pesky birds away from my Corvette!

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: Patman
I used my UDM buffer with the orange pad and the speed set to 5 (max is 6) and used Meguiar's #9 Swirl Remover 2.0 and after two passes the etching is completely gone!


Good show! The Swirl Remover was the least abrasive Meguiar's polish I could find, and I was being cautious. I don't have a proper polisher yet, though I'm looking at one of those Porter ones, since there are a few minor flaws and swirl marks in the G's paint. In any event, the Swirl Remover did a very nice job and eliminating that splatter. By hand, it took close to an hour, though. I suppose there's no chance of burning my paint that way, though.

 

[Patman]

Originally Posted By: Garak


Good show! The Swirl Remover was the least abrasive Meguiar's polish I could find, and I was being cautious. I don't have a proper polisher yet, though I'm looking at one of those Porter ones, since there are a few minor flaws and swirl marks in the G's paint. In any event, the Swirl Remover did a very nice job and eliminating that splatter. By hand, it took close to an hour, though.


You'll definitely enjoy having a proper buffer then, as I was able to get rid of my problem in about 5 minutes!

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: Patman
You'll definitely enjoy having a proper buffer then, as I was able to get rid of my problem in about 5 minutes!


The evening I did it, it was about 34 C. I like it really hot, but 34 C ambient in an insulated garage with a 3.7L radiating heat from a highway run can really get things cooking. I'm sure I could polish all the other imperfections out by hand, but I think my patience would rapidly disappear.

So, yes, it's time to splurge. The G is black. Almost everything else I've ever owned has been white or off white. The F-150 is black, but the body work is a butcher job, so swirl marks are the least of its worries. In fact, it has none, since no work was ever put into cleaning it.

 

[Colt]

Originally Posted By: mikered30
Zaino is poor for bird bombs. Try a topping of collinite 476s, much better. Not sure how to remove the staining though.


No wax or sealant will stop etching from certain bird [censored].
The [censored] etches paint!

 

[johnsmellsalot]

When a bird [censored] on my car, I clean it off immediately with a wet paper towel. Don't scrub it. Just wipe it off.