Reminder - Bird Droppings

[Greg@DetailedImage]

OMG!!!! Just showed those pics to everyone in the office, we've never seen anything like that before.

Greg @ DI

[Jaguar66]

Originally Posted by Greg@DetailedImage

OMG!!!! Just showed those pics to everyone in the office, we've never seen anything like that before.

Greg @ DI

Here are the other 3 pics from that first thread. My theory is based on the fact that a small lagoon is near my house, as I live close to San Francisco Bay. Canadian Geese at times flock into the lagoon, and do fly over my house periodically, as I do see and hear them. They must have some how, with bowels full of excrement, had a group flyover and with "flock mentality", let loose right over my car. And I was flocked, by some flocking geese.

One other culpret could have been pelicans, but while I see them occasionally around the Bay, they don't take to the lagoon much, and don't flock as much. I don't think it was pidgeons, crows, or blackbirds, who are other visitors around the place.

[PrimoM3]

OMFG! That's some serious poo... I'm in shock. It looks so deliberate.

I keep one of these in my trunk for getting it off the windows.

As well as "Invisible Glass" spray and microfiber towels. The razor blade won't scratch the glass and acts like a clay bar does on paint. Like new!

I also have a quick detailer spray for crap that lands on the paint.

[fwmcb]

how do you fix it once your clear is etched?

[BMW86]

Haha there is a spot like that in a suburb close by where I go with my mates to eat sometimes. Everyone knows not to park in 3-4 parking spaces in this busy carpark because your car will be covered in bird shit in less than half an hour. You can tell because the bitchumen is pretty much covered in white poop.

Funniest thing is my mate has parked there on at least 2 occasions that I know of and has come back to find his car barely recognisable. You would think he would learn his lesson by now haha.

[Tessio]

Wow! Does the neighbor own a Merc? Maybe he scattered some seed around your car That pics a classic.

[BlackjackMulligan]

Originally Posted by fwmcb

how do you fix it once your clear is etched?

You will need to polish.......do a search to find some good recommendations. I prefer Menzerna Super Intensive Polish but everyone has their own go-to product.

[Addict...Nah Im A Junkie!]

Honestly......Fuck the environment!!! I want paint that lasts. If they could make "friendly" paint that worked ok, I could support this, but this paint just sucks. I guess from now on we will need to put protective 3M material over the whole damn car and not just the bumpers/hood/mirrors.

End rant.

and fuck speed limits too.

[TOGWT]

It comprises; Ammonia and urine as white crystals of uric acid (pH 3.0 - 4.5) a small organic compound, which is produced by the breakdown of protein during digestion, and is excreted by reptiles and birds. Uric acid is also the end product of nitrogen catabolism in birds Ammonia is a mixture of nitrogen gas and hydrogen gas; with moisture as a catalyst it becomes Ammonium Hydroxide, which is caustic.

Heat and water act as a catalyst; a vehicle paint surface temperature of >90.oF creates a very aggressive reactivity of the Alkaline, Uric Acid and Ammonia. This will cause surface etching, so they should be removed without delay, at lower temperatures (> 40.oF or less) there’s no reactivity and therefore little or no etching.

Their main food source in summer is mostly insects and seeds, in the winter/ spring it’s berries, which are very acidic, and if left for any length of time the will cause the porous clear coat to occlude (a non-transparent ‘clouded’ area) or may cause etching (a depression in the paint or glass surfaces) Birds use gravel to help digest their food, predatory birds (owls, hawks, etc hunt and kill mice and small animals, so ground light weight bone fragments, sand and grit are some of the major components, which can cause scratching.

Even the newest nanotechnology silica (glass) coating cannot resist the acidic reaction of bird excrement >>

[TOGWT]

Originally Posted by fwmcb

how do you fix it once your clear is etched?

Remove from the paint surface asap by using the least abrasive product first-


1. Use a chemical paint surface cleaner (Z-PC Fusion Dual Action Paint Cleaner)
2. Try to dissolve the surface/etched deposits trying one or more of the following;
a) Use a 2:1 or stronger solution of distilled water/distilled white vinegar (Acetic acid)
b) Try a 2:1 solution of distilled water/Isopropyl Alcohol (adjust ratio as required)
c) Or equal parts distilled water/distilled white vinegar/Isopropyl alcohol.
3. Clean the effected surface with Klasse All-In-One or Zaino Z-PC Fusion Dual Action Paint Cleaner
4. Use detailing clay to remove any `hard' surface granules
5. Use a machine polish (Optimum Polish or Optimum Compound) and a cutting (LC White, Orange or Yellow) foam pad (speed # 4- 5.0) to level the surface
6. For Ceramiclear or other hard clear coats substitute Menzerna for machine polish; PO 203 S - Power Finish
7. Use the least aggressive polish/foam pad first, if this doesn’t remove the problem step-up to a more aggressive polish / foam pad set-up
8. Wet-sand with 2000, 2500 or 3000 grit finishing paper

Aves bomb First Aid Kit- use a 1:20 Optimum No-Rinse (ONR) / distilled water solution in a fine mist spray bottle. The surfactants it contains encapsulate and trap bird and insect excrement, dry surface dust, or light dirt particles making them virtually non-abrasive and it can be used without causing scratches (check contents periodically as heat will evaporate the contents if stored in the cars trunk).. Apply with a long nap micro fibre towel using very little surface pressure, dusting with long strokes in one direction only. For stubborn stains, soak the micro fibre towel and allow it to remain i n place for a few minutes and then wipe away the debris.

[JHZR2]

So what protective product does the best for clearcoat?

[TOGWT]

Protection- a polymer sealant forms a molecular bond with any paint surface it’s applied too, so when it’s attacked by environmental elements (acid rain, bird excrement, etc) it provides a direct conduit to the clear coat paint surface, causing surface etching.

Carnauba wax- molecules form a closed linked mesh like structure, which means that they only butt up together to protect the surface and the wax forms a shell like structure that adheres to the paint surface. When attacked by environmental elements they have to compromise the wax surface before they can reach the clear coat paint surface and cause surface etching.

Most organic waxes (Carnauba) are more resistant to environmental hazards then synthetics, an Acrylic polymer offers only limited resistance.
Being a sacrificial coating, the best way to avoid clear coat etching is too remove the environmental acid, along with the wax as soon as it’s noticed; but given enough time acid will compromise the clear coat whatever its protection.

No wax or polymer sealant can provide a permanent shield against acidic bird excrement, even the latest nanotechnology coating or CeramiClear only offers resistance to scratches, mars and acid etch, a product like Collinite 845 Insulator Wax is probably the most durable non-organic wax product, and but this will only provide enough of a barrier to enable it to be removed quickly before causing too much damage to the paint film surface.