Bird poop etching - how to remove?

[benpocock]

OK I`ve searched and read all the posts regarding bird poop but they all deal with how to remove the actual poop - I`m in need of help with how do deal with the etching that they leave behind.



A friend`s car that I`m detailing has a massive bird poop etch on the roof and I`m at as loss how to remove it. So far I`ve tried #83 on a polishing pad and that hardly even touched it.



What do I do from here? Does an ISA/water mix help with the etching at all? Oh, and just to make things worse, it`s an Audi, so the clear is brutally hard!



Thanks,

Ben.

[seracis]

If you can feel the etching, you might be outta luck. ISA/water does nothing for etches but get them clean.

[Bill D]

Either use multiple passes or step up to a more aggressive polish and/or pad.



For Audi clear, especially via PC or Cyclo, set aside PLENTY of time to do this and expect to make repeated passes.

[rollman]

Bird poop has alot of acid in it. Left on the surface it will eat the finish .



Whether you can get them out depends on how deep they are. You have 3 stages of headaches , The not so bad stage , the huge pain stage and finally the It`s to late stage. :D



1: Not so bad would be ,surface etching which you might be able to remove with aggressive buffing



2: Huge pain stage is when it leaves deeper etching which may be visibly reduce by a light wet/dry sanding and then buff; polish and wax.





3: The to late stage , when its through the clear and your only alternative is repainting.



You could try wet sanding a test area then polishing it out.

Good luck

[togwt]

Bird Excrement:

(Or insect excrement like Gypsy moth, June bug, bees, aphids, etc) contain highly acidic concentrates (uric acid) which if left for any length of time the will cause the clear coat to â€Ëœcloud (a non-transparent area) or etch (a depression in the paint) or glass surfaces, so they should be removed without delay. Birds use gravel to digest their food and grit and sand are some of the major components. Residue should be removed as soon as possible as it could compromise the clear coat. Take your time and be careful with its removal, pre-soak contamination with Isopropyl Alcohol and use detailer`s clay and a lubricant to remove any hardened residue. Then use an alkaline rinse of baking soda and water (to neutralize the acid) If the paint or glass surface has been etched the surface can be levelled with a suitable polish and then apply a paint protection.



Removing etched bird excrement residue (below surface) from paint -

These can be removed by using detailer`s clay to remove any hardened surface deposits and then using a machine polish, Iz Einzett TM Metallic Polish or Iz Einzett TM Paint Polish and a cutting (LC Orange or Yellow) foam pad (speed # 4) to level the surface, work on a very small area at a time (2-foot x 2-foot) until the polish has run out, you may have to repeat this process two or three times. Reapply surface protection once spots have been removed.



No wax or polymer sealant can provide a permanent shield against acidic bird excrement (Collinite 845 Insulator Wax probably the most durable Carnauba wax product) but this will provide enough of a barrier to enable it to be removed quickly before causing too much damage to the paint film surface.

JonM

[benpocock]

Cheers guys:xyxthumbs



That`s pretty much what I thought the replies would say! By the looks of it I`d say it`s too far gone, but I`ll get out there later and try some clay and then a few passes of the most aggressive combination I`ve got and see what happens.



Ben

[imported_Totoland Mach]

BenP: I had some bird poop on the hood of a black Suzuki Vitara and tried a lot of the suggestions posted to no avail. I then tried Meguiar`s Scratch X by hand and worked the product for several minutes on each spot. This worked great! Removed the spot and I followed the procedure with NXT + polish pad.



You can see the results in my photo gallery: www.meguiarsonline.com



Totoland Mach

[superstring]

Ben, you might want to have a look at this; it may be just the ticket :)



http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1516

[richlove]

I too had bird poop etching on my dark blue paint. I tried wax, swirl mark remover and rubbing compound paste. Nothing worked. The rubbing compound paste put scratches in my paint.



Then I found something that worked. It is from 3M and is a liquid rubbing compound. I applied it by hand using a terry cloth towel.

This stuff is great. It is clear-coat safe and does not scratch.

Took several applications but the bird etching is totally gone.

Finished the job with 3M Swirl Mark Remover, 3M hand glaze and 3M wax.



I highly recommend these 3M products. I get them at Pep Boys.



The full description for the rubbing compound is:

3M

Professional Formula

Perfect-It II

Rubbing Compound

Fine Cut

Part Number 051131

39002

[benpocock]

Thanks guys - I tried the Scratch X in the end and it worked a treat. It`s not gone totally but you really have to look hard to see it. Sometimes even I can`t find it and I know where it is!



Ben

[FastGT94]

I had a situation like this on my hood. Over the years of hand polishing, it eventually just went away lol Glad you got rid of most of it, it can be a pain.

[kurkosdr]

Bird poop etching problem over here, too. A bad one.



Got my car (10 years old fiat, silver paint) second had, and it has etchings all over the roof. I am probably on the "too late" stage, as the poop has left a black mark around were it was. You can literally see the perimeter of the poop "drawn" on the metal, so the acid has probably eaten the paint and it`s too late.



Will the scratch x help reduce the damage? I don`t expect it to remove it completely, but my condition is so bad that the above trick might not do anything at all and be a waste of time and money.



So, does the scratch x trick reduces the damage on the "too late" stage? Or it only works on the other two ones?