On an overcast, but pleasant Sunday afternoon, I got motivated to wash the fleet of cars sitting in our driveway. I started with the newest, the MINI Clubman, and worked my way through two others in age order.

After finishing the oldest, I turned around and noticed a bird had given its opinion on the job that I had done.... right on the side of the black roof just above the club door

I immediately grabbed my bottle of detailing spray, soaked the offensive pile, squirted some on a microfiber and gently scrunched the microfiber to grab the splat without rubbing it. After getting the offensive matter removed, I noticed that it had slightly etched the paint.

I took some Meguiar's ScratchX 2.0 to it and after about four or five squirts, it appeared to have been removed. Since then, it has been in the shop for a few days trying to track down a rattle. They washed it before giving it back and I noticed that the splat mark was still visible.

Anyone have any suggestion on how to remove this? Do I just need to keep going with the ScratchX?

Thanks for any suggestions you may have.

 

I'm interested in replies you get.

I found what I believe to be an old bird doo-doo stain on the hood of mt black R53 JCW when I detailed it this spring. It went away once I polished the hood with Griot's #3 polish, but came back a few weeks later. Wodnering if there is anything I can do to make the "stain" go away or if I have to live with what appears to be damaged clearcoat.

 

Hard to believe that bird crap etched your paint that fast, yet it sounds as if it did.

If you can't get it out with a mild hand polish like Scratch-X, then your recourse is to go to a more powerful weapon... a random orbital buffer and the least abrasive polish and pad that you have. Then go up in more abrasive pad/polish combo until you have it out. If you go to a pretty abrasive combo and it's still there, then you should just give it up. Better to have some slight etching that to dig too deep into your clearcoat/paint.

 

Good ideas. If you have a professioanl detailer with a good reputation close to you have him give your MINI some TLC. Have him do the whole car and show him the spot(s) your concerned about. I do my car that way once or twice a year. Just another option.

 

I have a BRG MCS that had a similar problem.
Came out of a class and saw the bird poop.
With the etching I had in only about an hour it took the PC and some M80 to get it cleared up.
First and only time but some birds poop must be worse that others.
If you don't have a PC, Harbor Freight has a good imitation.

 

So true... think it depends on what the bird ate that did the dirty deed on your paint. Some of it wipes right off after sitting all day in the hot sun. Others, as the OP found out, will etch your paint after just a few minutes.

And if you don't have a r/o buffer yet, get one ! You'll be amazed how nice you can keep your MINI looking with one.

 

CR&PW&JB,

I have a Porter Cable RO sander that I had used in decades past for woodworking. I imagine changing out the pad on this would be required, but what other sorts of modifications would I need to make to this tool? I am a noob to the detailing arena and want to keep my MINI in top condition.

Thanks.

 

David, I'm honestly not sure that a R/O sander is similar enough to a R/O buffer to work on your paint. Logic tells me that it's not suitable because a sander goes back and forth instead of in a circular motion. Me... I wouldn't try it.

You can get R/O buffers these days for a pretty small amount of cast. Griot's has one that doesn't look as sturdy as my Porter Cable one but very cash friendly:

http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/...dom+orbital.do

 

CR&PW&JB,

The PC R/O that I have is orbital, but I was unable to find the specs on the orbit diameter to compare it to the Griot's that you included in your reply. It varies in the same speed range as the Griot's and is not as powerful, but I'm thinking that it would do a similar job. I am not worried about the power on it because it is plenty powerful enough to put a nice scratch free finish on maple. The head on mine is shot from age, so I guess I need to research which pad I need to purchase.

Thinking about the etching issue more, I am sort of curious to understand what is actually happening here. It seems to me that once the offensive material is removed, it should not be doing any further damage to the paint surface. Why would it reappear later after having been buffed out with ScratchX?

I may not have a good comprehension of the makeup of the coatings of paint. Is there somewhere I can go to educate myself on this?

Thanks to all for your input.

 

Okay... it's good that it's orbital but are you sure its "Random" orbital ? If not, I would recommend a pro use it so as not to damage your paint. We amateurs need a Random Orbital to make sure we don't leave it in the same spot too long and go right thru the paint.

If you're sure it's okay for you to use, you need a backing plate and a set of pads to use it. The backing plate and pads have a very strong velcro surface and that's how you attack the pad to the buffer.

No... once the poop is removed, there's no more damage being done. What you're seeing is the etching that you just couldn't see from other angles or lighting. It was always there at the time you removed the poop.

 

Yes, it is a random orbital. I am pretty comfortable with the machine from using it in woodworking. I've always worked with a light touch, preferring to make several passes at an area rather than a full on, bear into it for any length of time.

What will be tricky is the small creases and edges. The cursed beast hit the vertical portion of the roof right over the club door. There is a half inch transition area that will require a very, very light touch. I may practice on our 15 year old minivan before tackling the MINI. Get my touch back and maybe do a bit of good for that neglected machine.

Regarding the etching, I'm pretty sure that I looked at it from many different angles and lighting conditions after hitting it with the ScratchX trying to get a light reflection from a raking angle that generally makes this show up. Does the ScratchX have some form of filling agent that wears off after a bit of time?