Any ideas on how to get the etching off my paint that was left from some bird droppings? I have heard the clay bar doesn't work on this kind of problem. Any ideas would be appreciated.

 

A few coats of mequires body scrub and some good elbow grease, then a good coat of wax.

 

wash...rinse... wash....rinse

 

When you say etching, do you mean, light swirls or scratches left from when you cleaned it? Either way a bit of polish and wax should do the job.

 

Because bird poo is acidic if it sits on your car for as little as a couple of hours it will eat through the clearcoat and etch into the paint. This proves two things:

1. Nissan paint is pathetic
2. Birds will poo on your car (especially if you just washed it)

I was unable to remove the marks left by two unusually large splats despite trying a number of different things.

 

They say that a bird pooping on something is good luck.
I think a bird pooping on my car (or on me for that matter) is only good luck for the bird !!

 

You can't remove it. The paint is gone. Best that you can do is colorsand and buff the surrounding paint down to that level which will leave a nice smooth and shiny orange-peel free spot.

 

has anyone tried griot's fine hand polish? I have heard that will remove the etching? By etching I mean the mark that is left on the paint after removing bird droppings that have had a chance to sit for a while.

 

Also, for once, it seems we can't blame nissan for a paint problem. Even the Mercedes boards talk about the etching problem bird droppings cause.

 

I had a bird crap on my hood the other day and it left a white
discoloratin. I'm going to try some Kit Scratch out and see
what happends. Touch up paint may be my last resort, but you can
barely see the mark.

Jesse

 

Don't use sandpaper, unless you really know what you are doing. You can easily sand through the clearcoat, and the entire panel will have to be re-painted with clear coat to fix the problem. I would try 3m or meguirs swirl mark remover.

On preventing this problem in the future:
This article is from an automotive paint expert:

<<<In the many professional trade journal articles I have written, I have addressed the acids on paint concern several times.

For the last 15 of my many years in the business of vehicle paint, trim etc, I have studied, consulted, etc on this issue

Bird droppings are acid!
The paint, non clear or clear is porus!

It is a resin system and the system may be eaten apart by acids when H2O and heat are present.
The dark metallic basecoat colors are the first to experience etching, then the dark non metallic basecoat colors.

The use of QD's (Quick detailer spray) is not recommended by this writer!

You must get the acids out of the clear!
For this, you need a quick way to dry and draw them out.
Have a glass cleaner with a high Isopropal Alcohol content in the trunk!

There is a more certain way to get it out, but that is to involved for when you come out and find the dropping.
Even doing as I am about to write will not guareentee that you will not experience some etching!

As soon as you see the dropping, wet it throughly with the alcohol based glass cleaner, no ammonia, no butyls in it. Both will accelerate the reaction of the acids.

No waxes, no dimethal silicones, etc when you clean and attempt to draw out the acids, they will only serve to lock them into the porusity and allow them to concentrate, waiting for some heat and H2O to activate them.

You may even take a spray bottle and mix rubbing alcohol and water, at a 50/50 or even a 70% Alcohol and 30% water.

Soak the area!! Let it set for at least 2 to 3 minutes so it may penetrate and since the alcohol is a drying agent, it will pull the acids up and out , the water in the mix is not an issue!

Once it has liquified the dropping totally, wipe off with a soft cloth and respray and let set again for a couple of minutes, then wipe dry.

Will it stop it everytime, NO, but then the damage to the clear may already be in place, will it remove all the acids, that depends of so many factors that it is impossible to determine.

Nothing in the world is perfect, including this, but based upon my 15 years of working with vehicle manufacturers, the paint manufacturers, the port operations, the dealerships, detailers etc, it is has been found to be the most effective method.
Ron Ketcham >>>

 

The method above is basically compound. It will remove it if you work with it. I had a black car and a few birds did it good on my rear, spoiler. It left a bad mark, it took me a good week and a few coats of the bodyscrub and it came out and you can't tell!

 

whenever i see bird crap on my car i take it off as soon as i can even if its just a mcdonalds napkin (which i always keep handy in my glovebox) and some spit. but in your case try some bug n tar, some elbow grease, and a good ole coat of wax.

 

Some good info...

http://www.autopia-carport.com/forum...&threadid=8596

3M Swirl Remover works nicely.

 

try a claybar

 

Just carry a rifle with a scope, and shoot any bird in site !

 

I have four white marks from bird poop on my hood, I've tried different methods. What is working for you all? I have Klasse twins on my car, will that protect it? The poop got removed after 3 days but the residue remains. Ugh.

 

i had a bird crap on my freshly washed/waxed car. i wiped it off with water and it left a burnt orange spot. i was so ****ed. i clay barred it and washed that little area. then put some regular mothers cleaner wax on it. the paste that comes in the red jar. in a couple days the orange spot dissappeared. i cant even tell where it used to be now.

 

Just use an abrasive like 3m Swirl Mark Remover, if that don't work then step it up to 3m finesse it II or 3m perfect II they will get it out along with the swirls. But start with the mildest one first. Like someone post Autopia is excellent for car detailing pointers.

BTW, just carry some quick detailer in your trunk so you can remove stuff like that immediately, and won't have to worry about etching.

 

use Griot's Fine Hand Polish-works like a dream. So much so that I don't even worry about bird droppings anymore!

 

Bird pooped on my spoiler, also. Left a pretty bad mark. I've used Meguiars scratch-x and swirl remover and clay bar. Combination of all of these and lots of polish have finally removed it. Before I read the above reply, I probably would use the Quick Detailer for removal, but now I'm not sure. Bird poop is definitely a big PITA. Also when these places turn there sprinklers during the heat of the day and leave water spots all over you car.

 

I tried scratch x again today and it did the trick. the trick seemed to be wipiing the area with rubbing alcohol before to 'suck up' the acid from the poop. gosh i feel gross writing about this stuff but @ least it's fixed now. thanks for the help!

 

Leave lots of poison-laced bread around...

 

Once the poop is baked into the paint, the stain is there. There are things you can do to minimize the visibility of the stain, such as clay bars and polishes, but you will still be able to see it on certain angles. Especially if the car is dark. My 89 SE was black, and this problem drove me nuts. I wet sanded the whole car(which came out awesome!), but in doing so, you are removing quite a bit of paint. By the way, my brothers $60K CLK430 stains too, so don't blame the paint. Bird poop and acid rain are hell on our cars. The best defense is a good wax job. As far as orange peel goes, my new 03 SE has awesome paint. I was surprised when I took delivery. The color is Sheer Silver and the paint is like glass. I don't think I will need to wet sand this one.

RichK