Zaino and bird poo - is it the Zaino?

[BookemDano]

I have an `02 Audi A4 with two coats of Z5 and one coat of Z2 Pro. Frankly, I love the stuff and couldn`t be happier. It`s a great protectant, but is it resistant to bird poo?



At work, the parking lot is about a block from a major garbage transfer point in south Seattle. At any given time there are probably 500 seaguls (and other birdies) flying about overhead. Every night, I come home with at least one spot of bird doody on the paint. My record is nine good-sized ones (quarter-sized or bigger).



The problem is... There is no problem! When I get home, I just wash off the birdy dump with a little Z6. In the last nine months, there has been NO damage to the paint. Not even a slight hazing. Not a single bit of damage!



I don`t get it. :nixweiss Am I just lucky? Is it only certain types of avians whose doo-doo damages paint? Do certain types of car paint have this problem. Or is it the Zaino? Does Zaino give this kind of protection? Have other Zaino users seen this?



(Inquiring minds want to know!)



Regards,



Dan.

[Ed Hartman]

Any decent sealant that is still on the paint should do the same thing.

[BookemDano]

Originally posted by Ed Hartman

Any decent sealant that is still on the paint should do the same thing.



I hear a lot of people complaining about bird bomb damage. Does this mean that these folks are not using a sealant? I.e., no protection or maybe just wax?



If that`s true, then that would be MAJOR reason to start using a sealant. It`s just that I`ve never read anything about a sealant providing this kind of protection (Zaino or otherwise).



Hmmm...



Thanks for the feedback.



Regards,



Dan.

[Ed Hartman]

Ive used Carnuabas and it would not hold back bird crap at all. Thats why I use sealants amongst other reasons

[BookemDano]

This is very interesting.



Sealant users - have you experienced bird poo damage? What sealant?



Carnauba users - have you experienced bird poo damage? What carnauba?



Regards,



Dan.

[Eliot Ness]

Originally posted by BookemDano

.......Am I just lucky? Is it only certain types of avians whose doo-doo damages paint? Do certain types of car paint have this problem. Or is it the Zaino? Does Zaino give this kind of protection? Have other Zaino users seen this?.....

I seriously believe that the diet of said feathered friends who make a deposit on our cars has a lot to do with the damage caused.



Iâ€â„¢ve had a bird dropping that was cleaned off within a couple of hours (on a well sealed car) cause a minor etching that required DACP to remove. Other times Iâ€â„¢ve seen it left on cars for weeks without causing anymore damage than a light abrasive like VM would remove.



The worst I saw was in the late 80â€â„¢s on a light blue Caravan I drove at the time. A flock of birds must have eaten some berries (dark blue, raspberry maybe?) and the van was covered with them. It took hours to get the marks off, thank goodness it wasnâ€â„¢t white!



Hmmmm, maybe we Autopians should start a drive to put out âہ“paint friendlyâ€Â� bird food across the nation ;) .

[White95Max]

I purposely left several piles of bird crap on the trunk of my mom`s Concorde after using AIO and UPP on it (Call me an A$$, but my mom doesn`t really care about her paint...I even told her every day that there was bird crap on her car. :) ). I left the piles on for a week. It was driven during this time too, rain or shine.

I washed it after a week, and there were no spots or anything left behind.



I have 2 spots on my hood that were caused by bird crap a couple years ago. My family and I went to Yellowstone for 2 weeks and my car was left in the driveway. I came back and found two piles on my hood. Both left a stain that I have not been able to remove. At that time, all I had on the car (only wax I had) was Turtle Wax Carnauba. I don`t know how long the piles were on the paint, but it could have been up to 14 days.

[CaptRamrod]

Its a random factor and one should never take a chance.



Sealant

My wife`s Jetta had 2 coats of Z5 and got hit hard on the rear passenger side door. I wasn`t informed for 3 days, and it made a stain. However, later she identified 4 spots on her roof that were there for a week. These spots washed off without a mark.



Caraunba

My car gets a new coat monthly. I have never seen a Bird dropping cause a scar. This includes the last two which were on 2 days [I did not follow my own suggestion below, feel free to poke fun of me] before a strong rainstorm washed them off.





Advice

No product on the market will protect against a wide variety of organic acids. Whatever your using, remember to carry a spray of your favorite QD and a towel (MF , American Cotton.. whatever you prefer). Remove the offending material quickly.



CaptRamrod

Ohh and I believe ElliotNess may be on to something.

[Jesstzn]

I have had Z5 x 3 and Z2 x 3 and bird poop that hit on the way home .. et was 6 min and it etched .. depends on the diet .. and the bird type.



Eliot Ness is spot on.

[jerry@robs]

Yep, the bird`s diet is a big issue. I have a customer that I placed 9 layers on top of the car and one afternoon on his way to our shop, a bird poop dropped on his 2 month new PPG paint job and it etched right through.

[AudiOn19s]

I think the biggest factor is the diet of the bird...some droppings will be more pront to etch than others...so it might always be a big question mark.



Another thing to consider could be the makup of the clear. Audi Clear is pretty tough stuff BUT having said that I do have a couple of spots of etching on mine from bird poop...and at that point it was protected with Zaino. Biggest problem with Audi clear is correcting the damage once it`s been done...it`s really a pain in the neck.



As long as you keep after it and make sure you wash off the droppings as soon as possible that`s about all you can do other than get a car cover to protect your car while you are at work.

[togwt]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by AudiOn19s

[B]I think the biggest factor is the diet of the bird...some droppings will be more pront to etch than others...so it might always be a big question mark.



Another thing to consider could be the makup of the clear. Audi Clear is pretty tough stuff BUT having said that I do have a couple of spots of etching on mine from bird poop...and at that point it was protected with Zaino. Biggest problem with Audi clear is correcting the damage once it`s been done...it`s really a pain in the neck.



As long as you keep after it and make sure you wash off the droppings as soon as possible that`s about all y

[paco]

On my Acura EL and Chevy Z24, the bird poo literally flies off the Z2 layers either when I`m driving :xyxthumbs or simply with squirt of quick detailer. :cool:



Zaino slickness really aids in the removal of bugs and bird doo. :eek:



I do agree with the above though, etching depends on their diet. Gulls tend to not be very hard on paint. It`s the smaller birds or Geese that can cause havoc!

[the other pc]

Originally posted by CaptRamrod

... remember to carry a spray of your favorite QD and a towel ... Excellent advice Captain. In addition, I like to carry a sport-top water bottle. When the birds strike you pop the top and squeeze. You get enough flow to remove most of the glop* so there`s less to QD.





PC.





*Well, maybe not if it was a really, really big bird. I was on a trip once and got a bird bomb in my pickup that was so big and sticky it took three cycles at the coin-op with a brush to get it out. Thank God it was only in the bed.

[Inzane]

There was that post from way back where the guy`s car with Zaino did get etched from a bird-bomb, but the car with Meg`s #20 didn`t.



:nixweiss