white paint discolored by bird poop

[SandEagle]

fml. SO left her car under a tree for 3 weeks without driving it, washing it. the entire drivers side, hood, roof was bombarded by poop. maybe weeks ago who knows. we had very little rain, so that poop baked in 90 - 100 degree weather for weeks. i ran it through a powerful carwash today thinking it will be gone, but it looks like there are tons of orange discoloration marks. tell me this can be cleaned. i tried rubbing it off with a towel no.luck.

 

[xSkyDrAx]

Never let bird poop sit. That stuff will eat through your paint pretty quick. I learned that lesson with my beater when I let it sit with that stuff for weeks cause i was too lazy to wash it. Ended up with spots all over the hood that I couldn't get out.

 

[alevasseur14]

Bird poo is very acidic and that causes the stains you're seeing. The problem is when it sits for too long, the acid actually etches the clear coat and sometimes even the base away. I've had limited success using compound and then polish to remove some of the contaminated surface.

Good luck and let us know if you find the silver bullet that takes care of the doo-doo!

 

[JackBurton]

Sounds like she needs a car cover if she's going to leave her car parked outside for weeks at a time.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Its possible that wet sanding, compounding then polishing could fix it. 1500-2000 grit, followed by using Meguiars #105, then #205, then wax it. Depending on the color, you might not even need to use the 205, the 105 is an amazing product.

 

[mmntech]

Yeah, you really do have to wash it off right away. Worse thing is when you have to park under a tree like I do. They don't miss either. Never any poo on the surrounding driveway.

Sanding might work as long as it's just affecting the clear coat.

 

[Doppel]

Its possible that wet sanding, compounding then polishing could fix it. 1500-2000 grit, followed by using Meguiars #105, then #205, then wax it. Depending on the color, you might not even need to use the 205, the 105 is an amazing product.

yeah I second this idea that some time spent on it may fix things up.

Moreover, I suspect highly that a few months from now you'll have forgotten about the poop and it will no longer really bother you.

 

[thescreensavers]

OP Buy some ScratchX 2.0 found at Advance Auto Parts, you have what is called Clearcoat etching which a compound polish can lessen or remove it.

 

[wirednuts]

i would just spraypaint the tree with epoxy so all the birds that go there get it all over them and suddenly turn into ice sculptures.

 

[SandEagle]

OP Buy some ScratchX 2.0 found at Advance Auto Parts, you have what is called Clearcoat etching which a compound polish can lessen or remove it.

thanks, never heard of it, but I'll pick it up. If that doesn't work then i guess i'll have to spend a few hours polishing it. i've never used a claybar, but i've read that might help as well. we'll see.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

thanks, never heard of it, but I'll pick it up. If that doesn't work then i guess i'll have to spend a few hours polishing it. i've never used a claybar, but i've read that might help as well. we'll see.

Using clay wont do anything if the clear coat has been damaged by the acid in the droppings.

 

[alevasseur14]

Using clay wont do anything if the clear coat has been damaged by the acid in the droppings.

This. When you clay bar, you're trying to pick up little bits of sand and whatever else that has embedded in the CC. Your CC is no longer as thick where the stains are so you can't really do anything.

That's why you're going to need a compound and polish to sort of even the clear coat out around the blemishes.

 

[sontakke]

If you see the discoloration marks, I don't this it is salvageable by 105/205 twins.

 

[amdhunter]

Using clay wont do anything if the clear coat has been damaged by the acid in the droppings.

Yep. I tried to clay over an area that tree sap sat over for a bit too long and it took the paint off. lol. It's smooth as hell at that spot though.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Yep. I tried to clay over an area that tree sap sat over for a bit too long and it took the paint off. lol. It's smooth as hell at that spot though.

Tree sap is best removed with solvent or even some cleaners, polishes, that have solvents in them.

 

[nerp]

Tree sap slides off with rubbing alcohol with ease. 99 cents at CVS. Rinse. Done.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Tree sap slides off with rubbing alcohol with ease. 99 cents at CVS. Rinse. Done.

That works, but you should always apply wax afterwards.