Remove Bird Poop Etching With Out Power Tools – Help!

Hi Team. Living in New York has limitations on all the tools I would like to own! We have a new 2020 Mini Cooper that has been “initiated” by our local “flock” of nesting birds since we brought the car home.
I assume that the paint is applied as a 2 stage process nowadays, so the etching is actually in the clearcoat. Since ownership, any obvious droppings have been removed, but I do have some minor staining /etching. It seems I got too it in the “not so bad stage”. Nothing seems to have pitted the surface luckily.

Now, I have read, read, & read so that I have a general understanding of the process but can anyone share their experience(s) if I don’t want to use power tools? Most of the posts I have read are dated, so any current products, techniques, thoughts etc. would be of great help!


Is it possible to focus on just the spots or do I need to do this to the entire hood to “do the best job”? Many Thanks!!!!

I got a nasty bird bomb on my car. I machine polished and it`s still there, visible at certain angles. Probably have to use a compound and an orange cutting pad to remove the etching.

Being in New York, a cordless polisher might be a good choice. I doubt you`ll get a nasty bird bomb out by hand.

aquaport- Welcome to Autopia!

Sorry to hear about the etching from the bird-bombs. Here`s my suggested approach:

-Chemically neutralize the affected areas. This is important as the acids are *IN* the clearcoat and won`t stop etching until they`re neutralized. I`d use the ValuGard ABC system, but maybe there are other options. You want something *alkaline* to neutralize the acids (e.g., with the ValuGard stuff that`d be the product called "A"), and that`s generally followed by something acidic (e.g., the "B") to neutralize the alkaline product, and *that* is generally followed by something neutral (e.g., the "C")

-Use a fairly aggressive compound to reduce the severity of the etching. I`d stop at "better than it was" rather than overthin the clear by aiming for perfection.

How large is the area? Myabe you can just do the etched spots and not the whole hood (is that the only panel involved?) Doing it "without power tools`, i.e., by hand, will take pretty much time/effort to say the least, and I don`t mean just a half-hour of hard work by a long shot.

-Polish the whole hood to correct the micro-marring from the aggressive compound and to "even out" the whole panel so it looks uniform.

-Wax it with something like Finish Kare FK1000P that`ll resist etching should it happen again.

That`s the short version, please get back with anything I can clarify.