Bird poop

[nhernandez]

My friends car got bombed on by a bird and he left it sitting for a few days. Well when he washed it off the paint was dull in that one spot. Any suggestions on how to bring it back? The car is black.

[LnkPrkSoldier]

bird residue, if left unattended to for a long period of time, will etch into the paint making it nearly unsalvageable. that happened to mine and i tried #80 numerous times with only minimal results. how long has that residue been left on the paint? hopefully it has been washed off with car wash or quick detailer. i would suggest #80 or maybe even scratchX. i wouldn't start yet though, i would wait until mike chimes in with his information

*edit*

sorry i did not see that this was your first post. to Meguiars Online and i hope you enjoy your stay

[05PhillyStang]

I would say use ScratchX, but w/out seeing the amount of damage, it's hard to tell. Any pics?

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Bird poop

Originally posted by nhernandez
My friends car got bombed on by a bird and he left it sitting for a few days. Well when he washed it off the paint was dull in that one spot. Any suggestions on how to bring it back? The car is black.

Hi nhernandez,

Welcome to Meguiar's Online!

Read the below how-to article and remember the key to getting good results with a gentle paint cleaner like ScratchX is to put a little passion behind the pad and apply more than one application. After you've worked the defect out to your liking, don't forget to apply some wax over the area as a paint cleaner is not a protecting product, it's a defect removal products.

How to remove a defect by hand with ScratchX

Best of luck to you...

[RamAirV1]

Scratch X does seem to work well for bird droppings. If they are really severe though you would be better off with #83 applied with the DA polisher. That works just about every time. I had some really bad bird damage on my '98 TA and it took six machine applications of MPPC (Medallion Paint Cleaner) to remove the majority of it. Using Scratch X by hand would have taken a lot longer, maybe between 10 and 20 applications. It just depends on how severe the damage is.

When the birds eat berries and do the purple thing that is very bad. You need to get that off as soon as possible. It is better to prevent and minimize than to remove bird dropping etchings. I keep some Final Detail QD at work for such emergencies.

RamAirV1

[nhernandez]

Thanks for all of the advice guys.

[yndio]

Normal??

Hey Mike, this weekend I was trying to remove certain scratches from my Avalanche's tailgate but after (not sure how many passes) I started feeling the pad getting very hot as well as my fingers, let alone the paint. Is it advisable to stop and let it cool down or is my technique wrong?? I mostly use left to right or angled up and down swipes (depending on the scratch I go with the scratch or should I swirl around it??) By Passion I assume you mean elbow grease right? Any help on this will be wonderful. I stopped because I thought I might be causing more harm than good by heating things up.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Normal??

Originally posted by yndio
Hey Mike, this weekend I was trying to remove certain scratches from my Avalanche's tailgate but after (not sure how many passes) I started feeling the pad getting very hot as well as my fingers, let alone the paint. Is it advisable to stop and let it cool down or is my technique wrong?? I mostly use left to right or angled up and down swipes (depending on the scratch I go with the scratch or should I swirl around it??) By Passion I assume you mean elbow grease right? Any help on this will be wonderful. I stopped because I thought I might be causing more harm than good by heating things up.

The paint shouldn't get so hot you cannot touch it and be comfortable. Sounds like too much passion. Are you working a very small area? If so, slow your hand movement down a little so you don't' generate as much heat.

Meguiar's teaches you can go any direction you like, as for myself, I have a tendency to move the pad across the scratch to start with, and then follow up with circular motions to even things out.

[yndio]

too funny, first time I've heard I'm TOO passionate!!, Yes, small section maybe 5x6" sections at a time. Will try to slow up a bit.

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by yndio
too funny, first time I've heard I'm TOO passionate!!, Yes, small section maybe 5x6" sections at a time.

That's what I figured...

[yndio]

I'll do what you suggested and tape off a section the size of the microfiber towel

[the garage guy]

earlier this week, i had a big purple splatter which i foolishly decided to ignore! i just finished cleaning up & was amazed to see how much damage was left from the berry splat.

given that i can't get my hands on a polisher on the weekends, i decided to have a go with scratchX and see how it went. first, i clayed it to remove the surface junk & that removed the stain. the first application of scratchX removed 50% of the etching. about 15 applications with a wax applicator pad brought it to an acceptable point, however it is still visible at an angle. if the car were not silver, it would be much worse & a dark colour would be unacceptable. fortunately, it hasn't gone through the clear & i will be able to save it at a later date with a light compound & polisher.

for the home detailer, scratchX did a great job.

[RamAirV1]

The purple stuff is the worst! You need to remove that right away! I keep some QD (Final Detail) at work for those kinds of emergencies.

Scratch X is good for touch ups. But don't expect it to do what a PC and some #83 can do. Since you have a rather severe etching, you will need some #83 and a G100. On one of my cars, I had etching so severe (from the purple stuff) it took six applications of MPPC with a G100a to remove 90% of it. The Scratch X had minimal effect on it.

RamAirV1

[Ranger72]

For this reason, among being a general car nut, I always keep either final Inspection, quik detailer, or NXT spray detailer with me in my truck.