Paint etching from bird poo

512detail

512detail

New member
When I went to wash this vehicle this morning I noticed several bird bombs on the passenger side and hood. My phone was charging so I didn't get any pics but the remains left were pretty significant and I opted to pre rinse the suv.

Anyways after washing this still remained.

It looks pretty bad in person. I'm not sure if its type II etching but I told the customer It didn't look like it was going to come off safely.

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These were the best pics I could get with my phone. When Iooked closely at the paint it sure looked eaten away in little spots inside those etchings.
I clayed that area and put down some EX P.

He said he wanted me to try and polish it out but like I said I told him I wasn't sure there was much that could be done here.

I'm going back Thursday to work on another one of his vehicles. This is the first time I have washed this suv for him. These bird remains were quite large I really regret not having s charged phone at the time.

What are my options here? I think fixing this is above my skill level.
It is very rough to the touch and I feel comfortable polishing all the areas except the big circle etching that looks like its been eaten away slightly.


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Sorry this had to happen to nicely finished paintwork..

I would try to loosen as much off this with my Steamer, being careful to keep it at just the right angle to lessen any possible problems...

There probably would not be any problems, but still, its not my vehicle and I have to take precautions to insure the paint is not compromised in any way by me...

Im pretty sure hot water and a a good carwash soap would loosen this up enough to at least get the hard stuff off so you can see what is left...

Since I have a few bottles of it, I might try some Einszett ( 1-Z) Anti-Insekt Bug + Tar Remover, following directions closely..

And it goes without saying that anything you do to this, you need to be out of the Sun and in the shade...

In my experience, it is usually an outline of the matter that is usually left...

And if I still had something there, it would be worth it to take some Compound and gently see what happens to that outline or what is left... Gently is the key word here...

The best thing that can happen is if the hot water/steam/chemical/carwash soap and water can remove it all.. :)

Good luck !!!
Dan F
 
Just to clarify, this is what remained after washing and claying the area.
It has a very rough feel to it and I'm not very sure if I polish the nasty spots that some paint won't also be coming off.

It might not even all be etching from bird sh#t but it is definitely from something that shouldn't have been left on the paint.

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Looking at it you would think its sap or something but it didn't come off with bug squash, bug sponge, or red/blue clay pad,or regular clay.


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512detail said:
Looking at it you would think its sap or something but it didn't come off with bug squash, bug sponge, or red/blue clay pad,or regular clay.


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Click to expand...

I would determine by measuring paint thickness, and asking Client, if this area/s were ever repainted..

Did you try using a plastic single edge razor blade on it when it was wet with lots of soap, and see if any of this could be scraped carefully, off ?

If it feels sticky and smells like tree sap, what about take some Q-Tips and a bottle of Goof Off, and with the paint cool, not hot, just touch a little part of it and quickly wipe and look at the Q-Tip and see what is on there..

I have had to use this method on hundreds of tree sap blobs on an equal number of vehicles especially in the Northwest, because of all the sap coming down from all the honking tall 150+ foot trees..

Never had a problem doing this and never removed, lifted, or damaged any paintwork with this process either...

Good luck !
Dan F
 
Thanks for the suggestion Dan. A paint reader is my next costly purchase.

I sw the owner and he said he's okay with letting me polish those areas even if it takes off some of the paint in those spots.
I still am not very comfortable doing this.

I saw a thread on ag where it was discussed that you could potentially dab a little touch up paint in the areas where the etching ate through to the base coat, let it dry and then smooth it out, but again I have no experience with this.
 
Brandt -

I would still try to see how hard this is stuck on using either a plastic single edge razor blade with warm soapy slippery water, and if no movement, then try some Chemical Guys Heavy Duty Water Spot Remover... Its an acid based product that is supposed to work on paint, glass, chrome, stainless steel...

If they dont sell it here, Detailed Image has it...

Good luck !
Dan F
 
I will pick up one of those blades but I cant think of anything I have on hand besides bug and tar remover or apc to use. So I might try some different ratios of apc after the soapy water.

And it really feels more shallow on the surface where those marks are. Like something ate into the paint.
 
512detail said:
I will pick up one of those blades but I cant think of anything I have on hand besides bug and tar remover or apc to use. So I might try some different ratios of apc after the soapy water.

And it really feels more shallow on the surface where those marks are. Like something ate into the paint.
Click to expand...

Brandt -

Those must be super-birds or something down there then.. :)

In all the years I have removed this stuff from hundreds of vehicles, I have never had this happen..

It always comes off using one or more of the methods I described above..

I see more etching into the paint with tree sap than I have ever seen with bird bombs... I dont know - perhaps I have just been lucky...

Dan F
 
Well I'm hoping that is the case.
Maybe it was egg or something but I really hope its not permanent. But these bird bombs were pretty large.

I can try all the methods you suggested above tomorrow except for the hd water spot remover.
 
Could be Seagull droppings those things eat anything who knows what could be in that poop. Also the have really high acidity levels in there poop to digest all the stuff they eat. All birdys have high acid poop but some more then others depending on there diet. better to wipe it off quickly and risk surface scratches then to let it dwell till you get the proper tools and sprays to remove it.
 
If only the customers thought like us....I don't think we have seaguls here in Austin, tho. Ive only seen something this bad from egg.
 
You want to talk about uber-bird-poop - you should see what Canadian Geese do as they fly over the Northwest back and forth...

They stopped in the neighborhood I used to live in up there, and take leisurely strolls, crapping all over everything at ground level..
OMG !!!!!

Our PureBred German Shepherds kept them from making a mess in the front and back yards, but other people had to deal with it at a more up close and personal, level... :)
Dan F
 
I need to bump this thread back up...

The owner just got back into town yesterday and I went over there to see if I could get some better pictures of the damage.

this is the best shot I could get of what looks like etching straight through the clear and paint. pieces of black paint came off onto my claybar.


Here's the other one and I think its easier to see how the paint is wrinkled and broken off and at the top of it you can even see some of the base. Under a magnifying glass it looked pretty scary.

__
This has got to be type II etching, right?

So what to do...

I picked up a plastic razor and I am pretty sure this will flake off but I am not sure if I'm really willing to take on this job because I am no master with touch up paint and the last thing I want to do is make it worse.

I have used one of those (dr colorchip) road rash kits on a hood and front end before (and will also be doing this on the front of the vehicle) but these spots on the door are not going to be little chip marks once cleaned out. And I think if I polish on those areas they might even get larger. I'm pretty sure I could have gotten off all that paint with just my claybar and some more agitation.

The other option would be to try what using a plastic razor blade and touch up paint to fill in the area by kind of smoothing it over and then after it dries polish it lightly. I've seen this discussed on some other forum post from a few years back.

Who has done this before?

My gut tells me to stay away from it but the client wants me to try and fix it.
 
Explain the risks, then let him decide.

Personally I'd go with a plastic razor first, then if it seems to be level compound. Worst case a little wetsand with 3000 can't hurt unless it's through the clear. If it is, I'd would recommend you send them to a touch up specialist.
 
Stokdgs said:
You want to talk about uber-bird-poop - you should see what Canadian Geese do as they fly over the Northwest back and forth...

They stopped in the neighborhood I used to live in up there, and take leisurely strolls, crapping all over everything at ground level..
OMG !!!!!

Our PureBred German Shepherds kept them from making a mess in the front and back yards, but other people had to deal with it at a more up close and personal, level... :)
Dan F
Click to expand...

I hate geese... There like grumpy old birds. All they do is hiss, piss an poop.
 
Ronkh said:
Langka may be better for this, but I didn't have luck when I tried it.
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The Driver said:
Explain the risks, then let him decide.

Personally I'd go with a plastic razor first, then if it seems to be level compound. Worst case a little wetsand with 3000 can't hurt unless it's through the clear. If it is, I'd would recommend you send them to a touch up specialist.
Click to expand...

I'm just afraid that if I try and flake this off with the plastic razor it might get a little larger. And touch up paint directly over it obviously wouldn't last.

I feel 100% comfortable fixing the rock chips on the front end-although I have no idea what to charge him.

I originally told him I did not feel comfortable taking this 'touch up' spot job on- but he kind of talked me into it saying he didn't want to have to go to a body shop. He was mostly afraid if he took it to a body shop they were going to tell him he needed to repaint the whole door, side panel,etc.
The marks in question are on the top of the rear passenger door and above the rear passenger qtr panel. There are also a couple of spattered spots of the similar etching on the drivers side rear qtr panel as well.
 
512detail said:
I'm just afraid that if I try and flake this off with the plastic razor it might get a little larger. And touch up paint directly over it obviously wouldn't last.

I feel 100% comfortable fixing the rock chips on the front end-although I have no idea what to charge him.

I originally told him I did not feel comfortable taking this 'touch up' spot job on- but he kind of talked me into it saying he didn't want to have to go to a body shop. He was mostly afraid if he took it to a body shop they were going to tell him he needed to repaint the whole door, side panel,etc.
The marks in question are on the top of the rear passenger door and above the rear passenger qtr panel. There are also a couple of spattered spots of the similar etching on the drivers side rear qtr panel as well.
Click to expand...

Listen...

I'm just going to tell you this straight out from past experience. DO NOT EVER LET A CUSTOMER PRESSURE YOU INTO DOING SOMETHING, no matter how much it may "save them" the fact is they are looking for the cheapest way to get it done and in some cases that might lead to you footing the repair bill. I can tell you customers may like you and the work you do but when push comes to shove they will almost always make you foot the bill regardless of how much warning you gave them. The fact is you are liable.

My whole thing is, if a customers too cheap to fix it right, I almost certainly know they'll have no problem making me accountable for their "cheapness" to do it right in the first place.

Do what you can, what ever you don't feel comfortable doing... don't. One of the most important parts of business is standing up and saying no.

Lastly, don't forget it was his neglect that caused this. Those spots are old, worn and burned in... that doesn't happen overnight. I have no sympathy for stuff like that. It's not our job to save people money because they neglected their car. No one "needs" a perfect looking car to get to work ;)
 
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