Autopian horror show (lots of pics)

**kiwi133** · 07-25-2004, 12:53 PM

Ok I`m gonna do this by attaching pics and replying a bunch of times till its all up so it would be great if you all could hold your replies till I say I`m done. Thanks

This is the sad story of the environment in which I am forced to keep my car.

This is a shot of my fathers neon. I detailed it only a couple weeks ago, it has been driven every day, but no cleaning done.

**kiwi133** · 07-25-2004, 12:57 PM

:shocked

These trees are to blame. They line my street, and reguardless of time of year will drop leaves, twigs, branches, bugs, bird poo, sap, all of it looking like it is rotting and molding.

(can someone please identify what they are for me?)

**kiwi133** · 07-25-2004, 12:59 PM

branch

**kiwi133** · 07-25-2004, 01:03 PM

wow don`t they look healthy

leaves fall out of the tree looking like this (which is how all the leaves look)

when I try and pick them off my car they crumble, or if they are wet, they fall to bits in your fingers.

**kiwi133** · 07-25-2004, 01:09 PM

I washed my car yesterday, the following is what happens EVERY NIGHT!

only two bird poo`s from last night, normally there is one on every car pannel.

Oh and all those bump/speckles, that is sap. It f*ing rains from these trees be it dry or wet outside.

**kiwi133** · 07-25-2004, 01:13 PM

More bird crap, little sead things, and sap. No the sparkle you see is not the paint, that is sap. Its like someone took a cloged spray nossel and tank of sap, and shot my whole car every night.

sorry all the pics are a little burry, but it is very overcast and dark out. you get the idea anyway.

**kiwi133** · 07-25-2004, 01:17 PM

As bad as all that is, I can get it off.

The following is my real problem.

Here we see all the sap, a little seed thing, and then my problem.

this is a real macro shot, the object of that photo is about 1cm across

**kiwi133** · 07-25-2004, 01:20 PM

same one, different angle/lighting. I have 3 of these on my roof, and one on the trunk. They used to be big heaping piles of sap. Gooy when fresh, but quickly hardening to somthing like violin rosin.

**kiwi133** · 07-25-2004, 01:28 PM

I couldn`t get the stuff off any way but carefuly cracking its surface, then setting an alcohol damp rag over it and lightly rubbing it away. I had to repeat that process multiple times to get each one off.

What you are actually seeing now is a mystery to me. It will not disolve off like the sap did with alcohol. It feels just like any other area of the paint, only raised slightly. Its as if the clear thickened under the sap.

This last one is the largest blemish, and most scary because I can see lines in it. But it feels smooth and hard just like normal paint, only raised up.

**kiwi133** · 07-25-2004, 01:31 PM

Ok, now I`m done.

to those who can help me!

btw, its a 2004 honda civic, fiji blue pearl.

**Ben Z.** · 07-25-2004, 01:40 PM

Where do you live (if it`s New Zealand the flora would probably be completely strange to me)? Looks kind of like the lindens that are really common street trees around here. Sorry about your car, I guess the only suggestions I could make would be to change where you park or invest in a car cover or carport of some type.

**kiwi133** · 07-25-2004, 01:43 PM

I`m in Columbia, MD. Very pretty area because of all the trees but...

**DaGonz** · 07-25-2004, 02:40 PM

Looks like an aspen tree to me.

Two words: Car Cover!

**imported_BretFraz** · 07-25-2004, 02:54 PM

You could always move to the desert..... :nixweiss

Seriously tho, short of a garage or a car cover, there is no way to prevent things like that from happening.

**SK2003TypeS** · 07-25-2004, 02:56 PM

Wow kiwi133. I`m sorry to see you have a tough parking spot. I would find a spot that`s not under one of those trees, but from the pic it looks like you have `em all over the place.

I`d probably get a car cover like Gonzo said. Only thing is that you have to make sure your car is clean before you throw one on which is not easy if it`s a daily driver.

At least you`re protecting your cars. While they might not maintain their beauty after you detail them. You can have a little peace of mind knowing that there is a sacrificial (sp ?) layer on there to take that abuse.

Might want to look into some QEW so you can wash the cars a few times a week. Especially the bird poop. That stuff will get through clearcoat in a matter of hours.