What is this and how do I fix it?

[creaky]

Over the summer this blemish appeared on the hood of my wife's car. Sorry for the bad pic but it is the best I could do. It looks like something ate through the clear coat (but not the paint) and is shaped like a small, raised crater about the size of a pencil eraser.

What is this and how can I fix it?

[lyodbraun]

Hard to tell could be from a number of things, see if you can correct most of it and then either touch up with paint or seal it with a good paint sealant?

[wdmaccord]

Looks like bird poo etching. Hard to tell how bad it is with that pic but you'll probably need to compound it. If that doesn't get it all the way out you're probably stuck with whatever is left if it has gone all the way through the clear coat.

[creaky]

Thanks, my suspicion is that it is a bird etching as well.

I'm thinking I might try compound polishing it and see what happens. Eventually I'll be sealing with Ultima Paint Protection Plus.

I also have a Dr. ColorChip kit that I'll be using on some paint chips. If the compound doesn't help, do you think Dr. CC might?

[Mike Phillips]

Here you go... from my article list under the title Bird Droppings


Two Types of Bird Dropping Etchings (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/hot-topics-frequently-asked-questions/24924-two-types-bird-dropping-etchings.html)


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Two Types of Bird Dropping Etchings

Type I Bird Dropping - Topical Stain Etching
Type II Bird Dropping - Fractured/Wrinkled Etching


There are two common types of damage associated with bird dropping etchings;



Type I Bird Dropping - Topical Stain Etching
Type I Topical Stain Etchings are usually only topical, that is shallow enough that they can be completely removed or at least greatly improved to the point where they are difficult to see.

This type of etching can be removed using a clear coat safe compound or polish by hand or machine. Hand removal is almost always more efficient as you can exert more pressure to a small area and thus keep your work area isolated to just the affected area. By machine you can use a Spot Repair System, again to keep the work area isolated to just the affected area.

Photo courtesy of MeguiarsOnline.com
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/797/M105RemoveBirdDropping002c.jpg


Type II Bird Dropping - Fractured/Wrinkled Etching
Type II Wrinkled Etchings are usually too deep to fix safely. The problem is the paint fractures, (splits apart in tiny lines,), or wrinkles as the paint swells and bunches together. In both instances, the resulting defect is throughout the clear layer of paint and not topical. Thus trying to remove it will require removing so much clear paint that you will likely expose the basecoat, or colored layer of paint which has a dull appearance. For this reason it's not safe to try to remove a Type II Bird Dropping Wrinkled or Fractured Etching.

Photo courtesy of AutogeekOnline.com
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/719/BirdDroppingEtchingWrinkles.jpg


:)

[creaky]

Thank you, Mike for those helpful pics and link.

After looking closely again I'm not sure what kind of blemish this is, but here's another pic I took last night that is a little better.

Any advise? Should I just work on this with light compound and give up if it doesn't get anywhere? Don't want to take off any more than I need to....