Whats With Bird Poo ?!

[Geo]

I have a black ES 300 (01).

Like most who have dark cars I have a love/hate relationship with it.

My latest "emergency" question is why does bird chit stain ?. This last week a bird poo'ed on it. I quickly cleaned it with a little warm water but there still is a "stain". A little "mark" where the chit was. The car has wax, whats up ?!

Any suggestions on how to remove the poo stain.

George

[lkirchner]

I have a black ES 300 (01). 

Like most who have dark cars I have a love/hate relationship with it. 

My latest "emergency" question is why does bird chit stain ?.  This last week a bird poo'ed on it.  I quickly cleaned it with a little warm water but there still is a "stain".  A little "mark" where the chit was.  The car has wax,  whats up ?!

Any suggestions on how to remove the poo stain. 

George

←

The bird stain is probably not a stain. The poo is very corrosive and if you do not remove it immediately, it will etch the paint. Try to buff it out with a polishing compound. If that doesn't work, the spot will probably have to be wet sanded with 2000 git sand paper and then buffed to restore the shine.

Lou K

[cruznroadking]

Bird droppings are highly acidic & will stain the paint. It shows more on black & dark colors. Sometimes wet sanding & buffing it will help. There are some waxes out there that will protect better than others.

[SW03ES]

Not much more I can add here as these 2 pretty much summed it up. Bird crap is nasty stuff and can etch into the paint in short order. Waxes generally won't help, sealants will but only to a point. I carry around a bottle of QD and a MF towel for cleaning up bird crap the second I see it.

That good news is black Lexus paint has no clearcoat and its very soft making it easier to remove things like this.

[Shaggz]

Good god, I thought all birds ate are worms and maybe some leaves or something? Why is their poo so destructive?

It's 2005 for crying out loud, I can't believe Lexus hasn't figured out a way to guard against the poo effect on paint. Birds have been around since long before cars. I would have thought the paints would be somewhat resistant to a little birdie dookie by now if it's known to be so dangerous.

[SW03ES]

Its not just Lexus, its car paint in general. Bird crap is highly acidic. You'd have to talk to a ornithologist to be sure as to why but birds eat all kinds of things, fruits and berries, environmental fallout etc plus the acids they have inside their bodies to digest those things. It may be 2005 but we can still be killed, scarred, die from the flu, etc why is it so hard to beleive that car paint is susceptible to damage by bird crap?

If you clean it off within a few hours you won't have a problem. All kinds of stuff stains car paint like that, its very delicate.

[Shaggz]

I don't know, they make dent resistant panels, why not poo resistant paint? Just seems like a logical progression in technology to me.

[SW03ES]

Who uses dent resistant panels though? Not most manufacturers because there are drawbacks to them.

Mercedes just came out with a new paint called ceramiclear which is much more resistant to scratching and to etching from fallout. Seems to be pretty good although its harder to polish out when problems do occur.

[Geo]

Well, I don't know what these birds in Sac-town have been eating but I removed the chit almost as soon as it fell and it still left a mark.

Sacramento is know as Tree City so I guess instead of looking for shade I'll be in the open. Black car in summer, mmm nice ! Damn birds.

George

[TOGWT]

Bird Excrement:

(Or insect excrement like Gypsy moth, June bug, etc) contain highly acidic concentrates (uric acid) which if left for any length of time the will cause the clear coat to ‘cloud (a non-transparent area) or etch (a depression in the paint) or glass surfaces, so they should be removed without delay.

Birds use gravel to digest their food so grit and sand become some of the major components, so take your time and be careful when removing them, pre-soak contamination with Isopropyl Alcohol (to neutralize the acid) and use detailer's clay and a lubricant to remove any grit etc.

To prevent any possibility of scratching, use a mesh sponge (Autopia Soft Scrub Insect Sponge) and plenty of soapy water for lubrication to remove excrement residue, thoroughly flush with clean water, re-apply surface protection. The sponge can also be used on glass, plastic, clear coat paint, vinyl, chrome and fibreglass

If the paint film or glass surface has been etched (a concave surface) it may require an abrasive polish to level the surface.

Removing etched bird excrement residue (below surface) from paint -

These can be removed by using detailer's clay to remove any hardened surface deposits and then using a machine polish, Iz Einzett TM Metallic Polish or Iz Einzett TM Paint Polish and a cutting (LC Orange or Yellow) foam pad (speed # 4) to level the surface, work on a very small area at a time (2-foot x 2-foot) until the polish has run out, you may have to repeat this process two or three times. Reapply surface protection once spots have been removed.

No wax or polymer sealant can provide a permanent shield against acidic bird excrement; they will provide enough of a barrier to enable it to be removed quickly before causing too much damage to the paint film surface.

Emergency kit-keep a QD spray (Iz Lackfinish) and a micro fibre towel in the vehicle.

jONm

[lkirchner]

Who uses dent resistant panels though? Not most manufacturers because there are drawbacks to them.

Mercedes just came out with a new paint called ceramiclear which is much more resistant to scratching and to etching from fallout. Seems to be pretty good although its harder to polish out when problems do occur.

←

I recently purchased a 2005 SL 55 in black. The car was on the showroom floor and naturally had the fine scratches where looky loo's had to man handle the car. I can attest that the ceramiclear paint is a real bear with which to work. It took me 1 1/2 hours using Menzerna Intensive Polish, followed by Menzerna Final Polish and finally Meg's #16 to work out small scratches on the trunk lid. This was all done using a dual action buffer. I hope the advantages to the hard clear coat are worth the effort to correct minor blemishes.

Lou K

[Geo]

Jesus !

This bird poo is like some sort of chemical/bio-hazard attack !!

Pretty soon I'll have to learn chemistry just to keep the car clean !!

George

[SW03ES]

ikir- Are you an Autopia member?

There are actually a few polishes out now directly designed to work with the Ceramiclear paint. I have heard that it does help guard against swirls and things of that nature.

[TOGWT]

ikir- Are you an Autopia member?

There are actually a few polishes out now directly designed to work with the Ceramiclear paint. I have heard that it does help guard against swirls and things of that nature.

←

PPG Industries Inc and Menzerna have formulated aftermarket abrasive polishes (PO-106, CAS= 5/10, PO-85RD, CAS= 3/10) for removing surface imperfections like scratches and paint defects for the (2004) ceramic clear coat.

(CAS = comparative abrasion scale 1-10)

JonM

[lkirchner]

ikir- Are you an Autopia member?

There are actually a few polishes out now directly designed to work with the Ceramiclear paint. I have heard that it does help guard against swirls and things of that nature.

←

Yes, I am an obsessive detailer and have been since I was a teenager (more years back than I would like to admit). I am continually amazed at the new products that are constantly being released; polymer sealants, polishes such as Menzerna, micro fiber towels, etc. It has come a long way from Simoniz and baby diapers.

Lou K

[SW03ES]

Whats your name on Autopia? I'm "GoodnClean"

[lkirchner]

Whats your name on Autopia? I'm "GoodnClean"

←

Rather unimaginative "lkirchner.

[SW03ES]

Boring ;)

[lexus ls430]

i have a 01 sequoia probaly would remove it as soon as possible

[ArchieES350]

Not much more I can add here as these 2 pretty much summed it up. Bird crap is nasty stuff and can etch into the paint in short order. Waxes generally won't help, sealants will but only to a point. I carry around a bottle of QD and a MF towel for cleaning up bird crap the second I see it.

That good news is black Lexus paint has no clearcoat and its very soft making it easier to remove things like this.

I hate birds. I would wash my Honda Accord and step back into the house for two minutes, come out and find that that the stupid birds did their number on my roof. (Its a dark green Accord).

Now I just got a Black Sapphire Lexus ES (newbie to Lexus & the forum) and just read various discussions about bird poo which makes me not want to leave the car out in front of my house ever even for a second (pull it out of the garage and drive off and if I forgot to bring something with me, drive the car back in the garage, get what I forgot and then backout and drive off.)

I have two questions:

a) SW03ES, you mentioned you carry around a bottle of QD. What is QD? Is that a Quick Detailer spray? So I should keep some in a small spray bottle along with a microfiber towel in my trunk in case this happens when I'm out in order to wipe off the poo?

B) you also mention that black Lexus paint has no clearcoat. Does this apply to other very dark colors such as Black Sapphire which is a dark blue? Does this 'affect' my choices when it comes to polish, sealants, waxes, etc.?

c) I've seen a few members mention that some waxes provide a little more protection and sealants may help (I guess giving you more time to get the poo off), but no one mentions any specific product names? Can anyone suggest some brands.

thanks.

[SW03ES]

A: Yep, Quick Detailer spray. Just carry around a small bottle and a nice plush MF. Use your best judgement on whether the car is too dirty to use the QD.

B: Lexus black paint historically has no clearcoat, around 2001 they started using a clearcoat and apparently in 2007 they stopped again. I haven't done one, but I know colleagues that have detailed an LS460 and an ES350, both black, and niether had a clearcoat. Dark metallic paints like yours will have clearcoat. It doesn't effect your choices for cleaning products, it just effects the types of detailing you'd need to do. Clearcoat is just like colorcoat, its just clear.

C: There's no real specific product that helps resist bird damage, I've found carbuaba waxes are better than this than sealants.