Best AIO To Remove Etching From Bird Poop On A Metallic Black Car

[Darren F]

Can we see a pic, Darren?

Will take one tomorrow.

[acuRAS82]

Some paint etches easier than others. My metallic black X5 etched from a 12 hour bird poo (albeit in the sun on a hot summer day). The paint had a slew of titanium and SiO2 products protecting. When I bought the car 3 years used it had about 5-6 small etchings on the hood already.

My wife’s brilliant black car has had poop on it for days while parked at work and nothing can etch that paint whether wearing Sealant or SiO2 spray.

[Darren F]

Some paint etches easier than others. My metallic black X5 etched from a 12 hour bird poo (albeit in the sun on a hot summer day). The paint had a slew of titanium and SiO2 products protecting. When I bought the car 3 years used it had about 5-6 small etchings on the hood already.

My wife’s brilliant black car has had poop on it for days while parked at work and nothing can etch that paint whether wearing Sealant or SiO2 spray.

what did you do to remove the etching?

[dennis b]

I don't know what the birds are eating in South Florida (Boca Raton) but last month a bird (Egyptian Geese) left me a present that left a 2"x2" etched stain on my rear fender.

It took a Lake County CCS orange pad and Sonax cutmax to remove it. I followed up with Sonax 04-06 using a white pad. Actually it's 90% removed. My Audi has hard paint so you might not have to get as aggressive on your Ford. Try 04-06 first. If it doesn't work get more aggressive.

[acuRAS82]

what did you do to remove the etching?

I used every type of non-abrasive I could think of first (APC, tar remover, bug remover, then paint prep polish). I thought the paint prep polish solved it but it’s still noticeable in the sun. I’ve since polished with abrasives for hood tests and it’s never gone away. Still noticeable to me on bright days or swirl finder lights. Unfortunately it’s just one of 6-7 spots on the hood now. The other 5-6 etchings are all worse because I’m sure the previous owner did nothing at the time.

So my hood looks like crap to me when I look close, but I don’t think anyone else notices them unless they are two feet away. Even then, when the hood is shiny, the reflections help drown out the etchings. I’ve thought about having the hood repainted but who knows what new issues that may cause (fish eyes would be devastating on my hood). Not sure if the risk is worth the price.

[Darren F]

I don't know what the birds are eating in South Florida (Boca Raton) but last month a bird (Egyptian Geese) left me a present that left a 2"x2" etched stain on my rear fender.

It took a Lake County CCS orange pad and Sonax cutmax to remove it. I followed up with Sonax 04-06 using a white pad. Actually it's 90% removed. My Audi has hard paint so you might not have to get as aggressive on your Ford. Try 04-06 first. If it doesn't work get more aggressive.

That’s why I was asking about an AIO, don’t really want to go very aggressive

[dennis b]

I understand. I started out with 04-06 with a white pad and the stain didn't budge. I went to cutmax on a white pad and it still didn't budge. Finally the cutmax and an orange pad worked. Start with the AIO and get more aggressive if you have to. I'm not a fan of thinning out my clearcoat if I don't have to either. 04-06 isn't very aggressive but it's more aggressive than an AIO.

[Billy Baldone]

I have had bird poop penetrate a coating/clear in less than 12 hours. It can sometimes be just horribly acidic. OP needs to machine polish it to level the clear. Try Blackfire one step if you absolutely need an AIO. Otherwise a more aggressive compound may be in order

[Mike Phillips]

The bird poop was on there long enough to etch?

I have an article on this...

How long does it take for a bird dropping to etch paint?



Question: How long does it take for a bird dropping to etch paint?

Answer: A few minutes.


Remove Bird Dropping Etchings ASAP!

It's important that you remove a bird dropping off your car's finish as fast as you can before it can cause any damage. Bird droppings contain Uric Acid and Uric Acid is corrosive enough to eat past a coating of wax or paint sealant and then begin to etch your car's paint.

Here's a tidbit about the make-up of a bird dropping from

AskTheExterminator.com

Unlike mammals, birds have no bladder because they do not store liquid wastes. Birds pass their urine into a common chamber used for digestive and urinary wastes. This chamber, called the cloaca, also contains reproductive by-products. So, when a bird lets go with a "bomb" it contains white uric acid crystals and a bunch of digestive wastes like insect parts and seeds.

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.







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.







A little story...

Here's a real-world example on how quickly a bird dropping can cause damage to a clear coat finish from my own first-hand experience. For the 2002 Bimmerfest, I did a side-by-side, before & after on this black 1991 e34 BMW M5 with the original basecoat/clearcoat paint.


Here's what the paint looked like at the Bimmerfest







Here it is on display at the Meguiar's booth at the 2002 Bimmerfest




At some point during the day the hood was down and I just wiped off the entire hood to remove any light, accumulated dust to make sure it looked clean as people kept coming over and inspecting the before and after results.

After wiping the hood down, someone asked me a question, I was standing by the drivers front tire with my back to the car facing the person and answering their questions.


We talked for less than 10 minutes, probably less than 5 minutes.


After talking to the person I turned around to look at the hood that I had just wiped down previously and lo and behold there was a fresh bird dropping on the polished and waxed side of the hood.

I quickly used a spray detailer and an microfiber polishing towel to remove the bird dropping. After removing the bird dropping I inspected the area where it had landed for any signs of etching. To my surprise, the bird dropping had started to etch the paint, there was a spot where the paint had a definite stain and imprint from the Uric Acid in the bird dropping.


Less than 10 minutes and probably less than 5 minutes!

Don't know what the bird had been eating but this opened my eyes as to how fast the acid in a bird dropping can cause damage to a car's finish. The time I spent answering a question for an attendee of the show wasn't very long... but it didn't take very long for the acid to go to work corroding the clear layer of paint.



What's the best wax or paint sealant to protect against bird droppings?

This incident really drives home the point that on the topic of protection and that's ANYTHING corrosive enough to harm or etch a modern clear coat paint is strong enough and/or corrosive enough to eat through and obliterate any micron thin layer of wax or paint sealant from any company.


Think about it... the clear layer of paint is harder and thicker than the thin layer of whatever wax or paint sealant you apply, let dry and then wipe off your car's paint to protect it.


That's why it's so important to keep a bottle of spray detailer and some clean, soft microfiber polishing cloths behind the seat or in the trunk for emergencies because if you love your car and you actively maintain a show car finish, then bird droppings that land on your car's paint are emergencies!


Hope this helps explain how long it takes a bird dropping to etch your car's paint.

[Mike Phillips]

Probably should also reassess whatever LSP you were using ...

From the article I just shared,

What's the best wax or paint sealant to protect against bird droppings?

This incident really drives home the point that on the topic of protection and that's ANYTHING corrosive enough to harm or etch a modern clear coat paint is strong enough and/or corrosive enough to eat through and obliterate any micron thin layer of wax or paint sealant from any company.


Think about it... the clear layer of paint is harder and thicker than the thin layer of whatever wax or paint sealant you apply, let dry and then wipe off your car's paint to protect it.


That's why it's so important to keep a bottle of spray detailer and some clean, soft microfiber polishing cloths behind the seat or in the trunk for emergencies because if you love your car and you actively maintain a show car finish, then bird droppings that land on your car's paint are emergencies!

Keep in mind - I wrote this article in 2010 based upon an experience in 2002.

At this time, the paint coatings we have a available to us today had NOT been invented yet.