95_993

Quick question...

I've noticed that bird droppings are leaving "witness" marks on my paint within hours. As soon as the droppings are noticed, I remove them with quick detailer, but still leaving marks.

Paint is black. Normal care is regular waxing with Zymol carnuba wax.

Will a sealant like Optiseal prevent this?

TOGWT

Bird Excrement
(Or insect excrement like Gypsy moth, June bug, Honeybees, etc) contain highly acidic concentrates (uric acid (pH 3.0-4.5) which if left for any length of time the will cause the porous urethane clear coat to occlude (a non-transparent ‘clouded’ area) or may cause etching (a depression in the paint or glass surfaces) Heat (vehicle paint temperature of 90oF+) creates a very aggressive reactivity of the acids that are present, which causes surface etching, so they should be removed without delay, at lower temperatures (40oF or less) there s no reactivity and therefore little or no etching.

Excrement Removal
To remove bird excrement without causing scratches; apply very little surface pressure, dusting with long strokes in one direction only, use a product that contains a surfactant; this will lessen surface scratching as they ‘lift’ dust etc into the media used avoiding surface friction (use a solution of Optimum no-rinse (ONR) diluted 1:20 / distilled water in a fine mist spray bottle) Use a long nap micro fibre towel to ensure the dust lifted from the paint surface will remain in the nap and not on the towel surface thereby causing surface marring. Shake the towel occasionally to ensure any particles picked up will drop out rather than come to the surface while you’re using it

Do not scrub hardened/dried excrement residue as it is very abrasive and will scratch the paint surface, once they are softened (re-liquefied) it enables their removal with less likelihood of damage to the paint surface Do not use on a hot paint surface (soon after driving) as this will cause streaking?.

If the paint or glass surface has been etched the surface can be levelled with a suitable polish (Zaino PC Fusion Dual Action Paint Cleanser) and then apply a paint protection.

Marine Blue

I have yet to find a wax/sealant that will protect against bird droppings. All you can do is hope that etching is not too deep and can be corrected with a polish as noted by TOGWT.

95_993

Thanks guys. I also talked to Phil yesterday and it sounds like my current protection method is fine as long as I stay up on the wax.

detailersdomain

yup get the polish to remove it, protect it again and make sure you get to them fast so it doesn't get etched in.