Ive been patiently awaiting the opportunity to order the ultimate zaino package, which I should be able to do this weekend [after i get paid].

Unfortunately, this may have come a tad bit late, as I have just realized that, for an undetermined amount of days, I've the proud owner of a birdshit with a mini cooper stuck underneath it.

..its quite fossilized, so its had to be there for over a day [and yes, I do the 360 around the car when entering and exiting.. but the last few days have been too hectic and I'm assuming thats how I missed it]

My first reaction was to remove it with anything I could. Then, I recalled all of those detailing posts that made fusses about 200k thread microfibers and special cleaning detergents. The last thing I want to do is put swirls in the paint just before i get my hands on the zaino package. Then again, birdlove etched into the clear coat just might give me a nervous breakdown. So what should I do?

I'm tempted to go to the local pepboys and get whatever I can to make this go away, but the last thing I want to do is make this worse. I also know leaving it there is probably even worse than removing it with 40 grit sandpaper..

Is there anything locally available that will not damage my car?

 

I'd give the area a quick bath with some soapy water and a wash mitt.

Leaving it will cause etching....far more damage than you're going to create yourself by washing it away.

 

lots of QD and papertowel, try not to penetrate the paint with the towel.
leave the wet towel over bird crap to moisten/soften it.

it probably has some etching so will need to do some polishing.

 

Mother nature giveth, and so shall she taketh away.

When I returned to my car, apparently it had rained hard and removed about 99% of it.. if i look closely, at an angle, I can see some brown spots that have somewhat of a texture to them.. ..is that a good sign? [like its on top of the clear coat?]

Ill see what pepboys has regarding the wash mit -- i hope it doesnt swirl the paint.

..also,, who makes QD? is it ususally available locally?

thanks for your help

 

I hate to say it but you're probably too late. I found bird doo on my black roof about 4 hours after it likely happened and it was far too late. I cleaned it properly and even polished the area. I used every method/product suggested in the various forums here dealing with this subject. Still remains 2 spots in the clear coat that are evidently there to stay.

 

What color are the spots?

Did you try scratch-x?

 

Wet a paper towel or rag. Cover the dropping with it for an hour or so, to thoroughly soak it. It should come right off when wet.

BTW, some of my cars lived for years outdoors near the SF Bay, where the birds are large and the gull droppings are fishy, and I've never seen a stain on my cars paint.

 

Be aware that there is often sand in bird poop , making it very abrasive in addition to being very acidic. Definitely soak the encrusted dropping with warm water and/or maybe a detailing spray before trying to remove it, and I'd suggest that you avoid using a paper towel in favor of a very soft cotton cloth. Good luck!

 

The spots are not a "color". They are irregularities or rough areas in the clear coat.

Yes, scratch-x did the best but still left residual damage.

 

I'm sure all birds have different droppings. It depends on what they eat. The birds that bombed my car have caustic poop, plain and simple.

 

Some bird crap is acidic and eats into the clearcoat. Not good.

I soften up the, ahh, birdmess with very warm water and then rinse/wipe away gently. Warm water is key because it seems to break down and soften the material. If you can let it soak for 20 seconds, all the better. Rinse clean and you're good to go. Use the quick detail stuff to avoid water spots. Depends how OCD you are; I'm usually in a hurry and I just want to get the damaging stuff removed and then get going.

Be gentle. I learned a hard lesson when I combined some cold water and impatience on the roof of an (otherwise spotless) A4.

 

We can pretty much generalize that all bird poo regardless of what they eat is bad for your paint. In the worst case scenario, it only takes 10 seconds or less for the damage to be done to your paint. The worst that can happen is that the acids in the poo dissolves the paint leaving a permanent etching that nothing can fix except for adding paint.

Sadly I think you misjudged the importance and difference between what bird poo can do to your paint, and the damage that poor microfibers instilling swirls might do. Swirls can be polished out, quite often, bird poo cannot.

In the best case scenario, an etching occurs that can be compounded out by machine or at the very least visually improved with an orbital buffer and some polish.

You should keep a spray bottle of soap water or quick detailer in your boot--much like any other tool in your toolkit, and douse/drench the poo next time you encounter it. The quicker you remove it, the less damage to your paint and your wallet it will be. =)

Richard

 

Can we use Hydro and a MF cloth for this?

 

Yes you can. I would use a cheap MF towel though---good quality though. Costco yellow towels are great for this. Stuff it in a plastic bag so that once you remove the poo you don't have to touch it or have it touch the rest of the boot contents, or just throw it away. These towels are much safer than paper towels on your paint.

Drench the area with the Hydro then dab at it to wipe it--be gentle but don't delay. Spray more until it's clean.

Although Hydro is a spray wax, it does work well as a QD.

Richard

 

Hydro will work but Slick has cleaning properties which Hydro doesn't have.

 

Hydro may not be optimal, but in the case of bird poo, anything is better than nothing.

 

The reason I asked is because I have Hydro and Clarity in the boot right now. I live on the West Coast and garbage vultures (aka seagulls) are everywhere.

Sounds like I should get some Slick too. May as well order some polish (suggestions, please ) and more Hydro while I'm at it so I'm only paying one shipping cost.

 

Personally I would use Clarity over Hydro to remove the bird poo first, then follow with Hydro if I were using either one. I live on the Wst Coast too and the worst ones are the ones that eat the fast food---their poo is powerful stuff, lol.

If you're working by hand, none of the Prima polishes are going to be that beneficial for your paint. Just stick to claying the paint, then waxing it, IMO.

Richard

 

talking about birdcrap, i found 3 huge smashes on the side of the house
today. washed it as soon as i could with the Griot's 9pos nozzle
with detergent... crust came off, but it stained the wood siding.



like i said before, non-edible birds need to be removed from the planet.

 

True.

 

Damn... I just got the same thing...

It's still British Racing Green; not a color, but it sure looks like my clear coat is gone on an area a bit smaller than a dime.

Can this be repaired by a detailing shop? It's right on the bonnet near the scoop.. Very visible

 

I highly doubt the clearcoat is gone. It's likely etched or perforated however. Can a detailing shop fix it? What do you expect them to do? Touch it up? lol.

If you take a piece of swiss cheese, can you make it whole into American cheese? Will punching more holes in the cheese or shaving it thinner fix it? Of course not.

If the etching hasn't completely gone through the clear, you might be able to polish it to improve it, but no detail shop is going to be able to fix it, and especially touching up such a large area on your metallic paint is likely to be a disappointment.

Richard

 

Sorry if I was asking silly questions, but this is all kind of new for me, so please bear with... I've never had a car where I cared before, I suppose.

So what I'm trying to ask is: Is this how it is, or is there a way to make it look better? I'll refrain from trying to answer myself this time since it'll only confuse matters....

Thanks

 

It's not a silly question. I might have come off a bit sarcastic--sorry about that--just finished a show, and haven't slept in the last 48 hours.... My point is, that once the damage is done, there is little you can do. But the important question, is HOW much damage was done?

I wish every new MINI owner would be directed to Detailing101 because we are constantly trying to re educate people about things like bird poo droppings--in that--it's not something you can procrastinate on. If you see it, you have to remove it immediately within seconds, otherwise you risk damaged paint.

The acids in bird poo eat holes in your paint. If you're lucky, it eats through a portion of the paint--and you can polish it further to remove the bad paint--however you also thin the paint at that point.

If the acids ate through the paint completely, then polishing won't fix it. Just like my Swiss cheese analogy. I own a detail shop and when a customer brings etchings to me, I tell them the realities of it.

Here is a highly magnified image of an etching on black paint thanks to my high res digital microscope.



Richard

 

Beware the poo. I'm usually not a detail freak, but I had dried bird droppings sit on my bonnet in the hot summer sun for days. It left a permanent yellow stain underneath the clear coat. I attack bird droppings immediately now.