Bird poop corrosion - help!

[brianad]

A bird left its calling card on my hood, and I negligently left it there for weeks. Lesson learned the hard way.

Needless to say, I will definitely have to touch up the paint and will be ordering a Dr. Colorchip kit. I`ve combed through forums and watched various youtube videos, but most of them deal with "fresher" bird droppings that haven`t done much damage. I suppose the one good thing is that the bird confined itself to one fairly small blob.

I know the area will have to be wet sanded. But I`m not sure what intervening steps to take in between wet sanding with 3000-grit sandpaper and applying the touch-up paint. If anyone who has been lucky enough to experience this themselves could post exactly what to do and what I`ll need, I would appreciate it. I don`t have an orbital polisher or anything, so hopefully it can all be done by hand.

Many thanks!

 

[Accumulator]

brianad- Welcome to Autopia!

Sorry to hear about your etched hood, must be pretty frustrating.

Before you get too far down the "gonna DIY it" road, a few Qs:

-What vehicle, what color paint?
-Where`s the etching?
-How big is the damaged area?

I don`t want to come across as a wet blanket, but this *might* be something best left to somebody with a lot of experience. I *have* a fair bit of experience with touchups/etc. and I still know when to pay somebody with better skills. It`s awfully easy to have the sort of "oops!" that leaves you wishing for a Way-Back Machine. If you`re gonna pay somebody, it might be smart to just go that way from the jump.

Note that 3K is awfully fine for leveling something like "alligator skin crazing" if that`s the kind of etching you`re dealing with. And more aggressive stuff (well, anything harsher than 2K) can cause trouble in a heartbeat (so beware advice like "start with some 1500 and then..." unless you`re one very lucky guy).

But anyhow, if you give some answers to those Qs maybe I, or somebody else here, can offer some worthwhile advice. Might be a great DIY project, or it might be a chance to stimulate your local economy instead.

 

[Dan]

Agree with accumulator. This is something even a pro can rarely fix without repainting the whole panel.

Curious as to what wax/sealant you had on there at the time of etching.

 

[dcjredline]

I picture is worth 1000 words.

 

[Accumulator]

This is something even a pro can rarely fix without repainting the whole panel.

Yes indeed, so quick and easy that those of us who`ve DIYed such stuff just stand there gaping. And if it doesn`t turn out all that great, you can rest assured it would`ve been a lot worse had you tried it (well, assuming you got the right guy..bit of a challenge there..).

Curious as to what wax/sealant you had on there at the time of etching.

Ah yes, that Great Unspoken Question I was pondering Yeah, I was indeed thinking "should`ve had FK1000P on there", but the whole birds/bugs thing is a real !YMMV! crapshoot anyhow and some day somebody`s gonna get some nasty marring despite using the FK, only a matter of time, hope it`s not me.

 

[Older]

My wife had an Infiniti with the “self-healing” paint. (A horror-show all by itself).

It was super-soft. Very easy to correct,but if you looked at it,it would mar.

I had a small etched spot on the hood that disappeared every time I corrected it. It would stay gone for a few months,then just appear again. Very weird. I just learned to live with it.

 

[Accumulator]

Older- It can be surprising what we can end up "learning to live with", huh? Stuff that I was *certain* would always drive me nuts simply doesn`t register that way any more. Same ol` same ol`...Life`s not a Car Show, even if this is Autopia.

 

[Lonnie]

...Ah yes, that Great Unspoken Question I was pondering Yeah, I was indeed thinking "should`ve had FK1000P on there", but the whole birds/bugs thing is a real !YMMV! crapshoot anyhow and some day somebody`s gonna get some nasty marring despite using the FK, only a matter of time, hope it`s not me.

Is this an unintended pun about bird poop or something or am I, Captain Obvious, reading more into this than there is??

 

[Accumulator]

Lonnie- Heh heh, hey good catch...but nope, you`re giving me too much credit; that one must`ve just slipped outta my subconscious

 

[Lonnie]

Sorry to somewhat hijack this thread, BUT does anyone have any experience with Poorboy`s World Birdsh#t Remover for this detailing dilemma and is it for use as a spot cleaner by itself that can be used as an on-the-go cleaner when it happens OR is it designed for use as a cleaner/remover for stubborn bird dropping when washing a vehicle?

I myself have used a small mixture of Optimum`s No-Rinse (ONR) in a small bucket OR Megs Mirror Glaze No. 34 Final Inspection and a microfiber towel for spot cleaning bird droppings. Here in the Upper Midwest living near the Great Lakes we have two birds that wreak havoc (pun intended) on vehicles with their droppings: Canadian geese and seagulls.
Seagulls are the worst as whatever they eat (mostly dead fish) will burn through/etch clear coat & paint in a day if left on in the summer sun. I also know some of you deal with certain birds that eat berries that are also very caustic (acid-containing) in their droppings. The point is remove the droppings as-soon-as-possible to negate the etching effects. I am less worried about the minor swirls I may induce from spot cleaning that can be removed in the next full detail to my vehicle than the more permanent etching that will result if droppings are left on for any length of time.

And on a bird-related note, those of you who live in areas with a wild turkey population and have very reflective and mirror-like dark-colored vehicles know that male turkeys will attack that reflection of themselves in your door and scratch the living heck out of it, thinking it is another turkey it needs to defend himself from in his territory. There is no "cure" for that , other than" lead poisoning" (AKA bullets) for the offending male and most states Department of Natural Resources and Wildlife Management highly frown upon (AKA it is illegal) to hunt (AKA protect your personal property) offending said male turkey out of season and without a proper license and permit. Dogs work pretty good as a deterrent IF you like BIG dogs; small dogs on a chain are just turkey bait, sorry to say!
.

 

[Accumulator]

Lonnie- Yes indeed, the Seagulls can be nasty...they really got the Crown Vic a few times but I was always able to rinse it off with bottled water (INSERT usual FK1000P rave). Never had any car-related problems related to the geese though, can`t recall any of our vehicles ever getting bombed by `em.

I`d use the ONR instead of the M34, which I *do* still like, it just isn`t a very potent cleaner and when using such stuff you`re already at a disadvantage regarding neutralizing the acids since just RW/QDing the stuff off doesn`t really address that (not that I find it an issue).

And yeah, now and then we have a *LOT* of turkeys (not just six or eight at at time)..luckily they`ve never gone after our vehicles but they can be aggressive when they think they`re being [messed] with. You`re right, they want *no* part of big dogs who consider them prey, but they seem to understand how fences work, know the dogs can`t get to `em.