# Best way to take care of bird droppings and



## joebry (Aug 21, 2004)

I have a metallic oxford green 2004 325. Bird droppings or smashed highway bugs pit the paint and leave a pitted spot which I cannot get out. Is there any good preventative thing, or product, I can do or use before the dropping or after the dropping to stop the pitting? :bawling: 

Or, is this just a problem with metallic paints?


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## Alex Baumann (Dec 19, 2001)

The only way to prevent this is to remove the bird poo as soon as possible.


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## johninjax (Sep 30, 2003)

joebry said:


> I have a metallic oxford green 2004 325. Bird droppings or smashed highway bugs pit the paint and leave a pitted spot which I cannot get out. Is there any good preventative thing, or product, I can do or use before the dropping or after the dropping to stop the pitting? :bawling:
> 
> Or, is this just a problem with metallic paints?


I have a Orient Blue 330, I had a bird dropping on my car 2 weeks ago for less than 18 hrs. The next morning I washed my car and coulden't remove the spot, after trying several products it was still there. I had the spot wet sanded then buffed,it was gone. Now I remove anything(Quick Detailer) on the paint as soon as I see it. Anal but it pays.


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## BahnBaum (Feb 25, 2004)

johninjax said:


> I have a Orient Blue 330, I had a bird dropping on my car 2 weeks ago for less than 18 hrs. The next morning I washed my car and coulden't remove the spot, after trying several products it was still there. I had the spot wet sanded then buffed,it was gone. Now I remove anything(Quick Detailer) on the paint as soon as I see it. Anal but it pays.


I keep a spray bottle of waterless car wash along with a microfiber in my trunk for this very reason.

Alex


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## AndDown (Jun 17, 2003)

I recall reading somewhere that bird poop can leave a mark from even as short as a 10 minute exposure. One advantage with a white car is that it doesn't show the etch marks unlike the black and darker colored cars - I have to be so much more anal with my OB 325 than with my white X5.


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## KP (Apr 16, 2002)

what others said, plus, try not to park under trees.


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## Malachi (Sep 30, 2003)

BahnBaum said:


> I keep a spray bottle of waterless car wash along with a microfiber in my trunk for this very reason.
> 
> Alex


Me too!


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## TOGWT (May 26, 2004)

~ One man’s opinion / observations ~

As previously stated remove it as soon as you can with water, if you don’t have clay with you provided you don’t rub it too hard and cause major scratching. The small scratches are easier to remove that the etching of the clear coat if its left on for too long

The theory, and ideal circumstances:
Bird Excrement: (Or insect excrement like Gypsy moth, June bug, etc) contains highly acidic concentrates, which if left for any length of time will etch the paint film or glass surface, so they should be removed without delay. Birds use gravel to digest their food and grit and sand are some of the major components, so take your time and be careful when removing, pre-soak contamination with Isopropyl Alcohol (to neutralize the acid) and use detailer's clay and a lubricant to remove any grit etc.

~Hope this helps~

Knowledge unshared is experience wasted
justadumbarchitect / so I question everything/ Jon


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## ///MDex (Dec 11, 2003)

johninjax said:


> Now I remove anything(Quick Detailer) on the paint as soon as I see it. Anal but it pays.


 What he said. I always keep a QD bag in the trunk just for episodes like theses. At the very leasy keep a bottle of QD and 3 or 4 MF towels.


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## jetstream23 (Mar 9, 2004)

Sorry, I had to bring this thread back to life for a bad reason. My car is 3 weeks old with 850 miles and today got bombed on the center of the hood by a bird who obviously has digestive issues !!!

The bird poop must not have been there for more than 3 or 4 hours by the time I got home, let the engine/hood cool down and went at removing it. First some quick background....the car is Jet Black and two weeks ago (5 days after delivery) I washed it, did a Klasse AIO application and 2 coats of SG over a 48 hour period.....Okay, back to today. So I let the car cool down and then hit the spot with 3 squirts of Sonus QD spray. I let it sit for about 3 or 4 minutes. I then do one more quick spray and slowly wipe with a MF cloth. The bird poop is completely soft and comes right off. I give the hood one more quick spray and then wipe 2 or 3 times.

The hood is now clean BUT I see a major cloud/etching where the poop was. I can't feel anything with my hand. The spot is as smooth as glass but has this small cloud on it that is visible from certain angles. Can I do anything to remove it? Should I just let it "air out" should I spot wash with Dawn and let it "air out" for a while?

I will try to post a picture.

Any help would be appreciated. If the car wasn't Jet Black this wouldn't be as much of a problem. It may not be a huge problem anyway because I don't think most people would even notice it but I know its there and that's what kills me.

Much thanks.


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## AndDown (Jun 17, 2003)

jetstream23 said:


> Sorry, I had to bring this thread back to life for a bad reason. My car is 3 weeks old with 850 miles and today got bombed on the center of the hood by a bird who obviously has digestive issues !!!
> 
> The bird poop must not have been there for more than 3 or 4 hours by the time I got home, let the engine/hood cool down and went at removing it. First some quick background....the car is Jet Black and two weeks ago (5 days after delivery) I washed it, did a Klasse AIO application and 2 coats of SG over a 48 hour period.....Okay, back to today. So I let the car cool down and then hit the spot with 3 squirts of Sonus QD spray. I let it sit for about 3 or 4 minutes. I then do one more quick spray and slowly wipe with a MF cloth. The bird poop is completely soft and comes right off. I give the hood one more quick spray and then wipe 2 or 3 times.
> 
> ...


This thread helped me: http://bimmerfest.org/forums/showthread.php?t=35652&highlight=bird+droppings

I can vouch for alee's recommendations. I too have an OB color and the etchings were very noticeable. After allowing the acids to evaporate, I used 3M's Swirl Mark Remover and did about 4 rounds of application...can't see the etchings at all now. :thumbup:


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## JAWJr (May 4, 2004)

I just carry a pack of Griots Garage speed shine wipes in my trunk for this very reason. It's a pack of twenty or so thin cloths that have the right amount of moisture and lubrication to remove bird spots, tar, etc., but not scratch your paint. Very easy.

~Jon


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## jetstream23 (Mar 9, 2004)

AndDown said:


> This thread helped me: http://bimmerfest.org/forums/showthread.php?t=35652&highlight=bird+droppings
> 
> I can vouch for alee's recommendations. I too have an OB color and the etchings were very noticeable. After allowing the acids to evaporate, I used 3M's Swirl Mark Remover and did about 4 rounds of application...can't see the etchings at all now. :thumbup:


Thanks. As I mentioned I did the QD spray and then spot washed with Dawn. Hopefully, in a few days it will dissappear. I will plan on doing a full wash tomorrow or Wednesday and probably hit those spots with some AIO after having given them a few days to breathe.

Keeping my fingers crossed...


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## ktc (Jan 10, 2005)

jetstream23 said:


> The hood is now clean BUT I see a major cloud/etching where the poop was. I can't feel anything with my hand. The spot is as smooth as glass but has this small cloud on it that is visible from certain angles. Can I do anything to remove it? Should I just let it "air out" should I spot wash with Dawn and let it "air out" for a while?


I would think that since you religiously waxed your car when it was virgin, as long as the wax / acrylic layer is "pinhole free" (so good if the waxing is multilayered), then the bird drop reaction should only affect the wax layers and not your car's clearcoat. I hope. That way upon the next full Dawn'ing and rewaxing, it should look brand new.

That's my theory, can anyone back this up?


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## jse (Dec 29, 2001)

*My experience...*

What is really bad in combination with bird droppings is heat (sunlight). Heat really accelerates the cheminal (etching) proces.

As somebody else wrote, it is really important not to rub the spot when cleaning. The best solution is to clean it of with a hard spray of water (make sure that is all gone). Next step is to clean it with alcohol on a microfiber cloth.

Leave it for a few days so that the acid can evaporate out of the paint. The do the rest (polish with swirl remover etc.). Last step is to wax.

BR.

JASE


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## jetstream23 (Mar 9, 2004)

Its been about 3 or 4 days and the etching still appears to be there, not much lighter either. It almost looks as if its part of the paint.  

Should I give it a few more days? Would a full wash and then swirl remover be the next step? I've never used a swirl remover but having a black car I guess I better learn sometime :dunno:


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## jetstream23 (Mar 9, 2004)

I can't believe it worked !!!  

I waited about a week after removing the bird-poop and spot-washing the area and it seems to have dissappeared. I did a full wash and then Sonus QD on the car this past weekend and now I can't really locate the spot anymore. (Sigh of relief)

For future reference here is now my definitive approach for dealing with bird droppings (thanks to several of the posters before me):

1. ABSOLUTELY remove the droppings as QUICKLY as possible but be careful when doing so....use a lot of QD spray and re-fold the towel multiple times. Be careful not to scratch the paint by wiping it hard. That nasty stuff can be gritty and contain sand and other crap that birds consume.

2. Give the area a good wash and DO NOT wax or apply any other coating. In fact, strip any wax or protectant you may have on that area if you can (Dawn or rubbing alcohol).

3. Give it time. This can be the hardest part but just wait.....and wait......and maybe wait some more, possibly a week or longer if you still see light etching/cloudiness where the droppings were. Allowing it to air-out or breathe appears to be the whole trick!

4. Once it seems that the spots have completely dissappeared go ahead with any surface treatments (i.e. do a full wash, apply sealants, waxes, etc.)

I invite any of the resident Detail experts to add to or modify the above but this approach seems to have worked for me on a one month old, JET BLACK car. Thanks fellas. :thumbup:


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## TOGWT (May 26, 2004)

Nothing wrong with the methods cited for removing Bird sh..
I would however add one thing, acid does not need to evaporate (outgas) it should be neutralised with an alkaline solution (that’s exactly what you did with the dishwashing liquid, it’s an alkaline)
Once you done that I would add a sealant / wax protection to the paint surface
JonM


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## Quicksilver (Dec 15, 2004)

joebry said:


> I have a metallic oxford green 2004 325. Bird droppings or smashed highway bugs pit the paint and leave a pitted spot which I cannot get out. Is there any good preventative thing, or product, I can do or use before the dropping or after the dropping to stop the pitting? :bawling:
> 
> Or, is this just a problem with metallic paints?


#1 Don't park under trees. #2 Before it happens apply a number of coats of wax. #3 if it does happen spray it with Meguires Final inspection. Let it sit then it will come off. Has worked well with all my cars metallic and otherwise.


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