Bird Crap Removal

I’ve got this huge bird shit stain on my hood right in front the drivers seat. I’ve tried Turtle Wax Bug & Tar Remover, various waxes, and clay bar to no avail.

Help me out this is bugging me.
Thanks

 

It etched the clear coat / paint

I am interested in knowing if anyone has been successful in removing it witout causing more issues

 

I think you are correct.

 

The part that pisses me off is that I wax that truck regularly.

 

Wax won’t protect from bird shit etching.

 

As you've already heard, etching of the clear coat from acid bird poop is a common problem - and hard to fix. Depending on how deep the etching goes, you might be able to polish it out. I detail cars (Toyotas) all day long and have seen more than my share of etching. Probably 80% of the time, the best I can do is minimize the effect. Removing it all together involves removing far more clear coat that I'd comfortable with - or a little luck. If you're not comfortable with polishing, I'd suggest taking it to a professional detailer you can trust to see what they say. That said, sadly, there is no miracle cure.

 

Just to add a bit to this 100% correct statement, anybody who thinks wax will prevent etching is a dreaming. Just look at what the bird poop can do to a fully cured / hardened painted surface that's many times thinker and more durable than wax. Mike drop.

 

I saw this youtube where a guy used a heat gun on it. Man, I dunno about that!!

 

Yea, and everything on the internet is true. Some of the detailing "expert advice" I've seen on YouTube curls my hair.

 

Remember being a young kid in the early 70s and my grandfather parking his mid 60s Chevy truck in the shade. He would tell me "sun and bird shit are hell on a paint job".

I'm 51 years old and still wipe off bird poop as soon as I see it....just like he did.

 

Sorry OP. Shit happens. And bird shit is terrible.

Try Meguiars Scratch X 2.0- it's a light polishing compound and you can apply by hand or with a buffer. I've had great luck with waterspots and other blemishes.

Hopefully you can minimize the mark. Try and wipe the poo off ASAP in the future. Quick detail spray and a microfiber work well to wipe off the poo.

 

Bird shit is doubly problematic not only the acids in the shit but also there are abrasives in the shit. So as it dries it digs into the soft clear coat. Same with water with heavy deposits in it but much worse. It's when the paint heats up and cools throughout the day/night.

I believe this wasn't necessarily bad advice if speaking of older automotive paints. Modern clear coat not so much. Or you just toe that line of making it slightly better and then you've got it too hot and now it's worse than where you started.

 

This is the reason I ALWAYS have a couple microfibers towels and a bottle of ONR or ADG Wipeout in the truck! Plus I hate dirty/streaky windows and those 2 work great for that.

 

Does a product like Meguiars Hybrid Ceramic work better on etching prevention than say Meguiars Ultimate??

 

I could be wrong, so please correct if I am. But the way I understand it is this. A traditional "wax" is lowest on the list as it is a mostly organic material. Then a Sealant is a synthetic base, lasts longer and is more resistant to bird dropping. A ceramic coating is the next step. These are all very generalized statements as there are far too many products that vary widely to make a pinpoint statement. However the Megs Hybrid Ceramic is still fairly new so there aren't very many real world long term reviews on it.

The issue is that bird dropping are VERY acidic (Uric acid specifically) at a pH of 3-4, for reference Coke is about the same and we've all seen what that is capable of. The compounding issue is the sun.... It heats it and it becomes more of a problem, then it dries, baking it into the surface, and so on. A wax under high heat gets softer, so thats already an issue. Sealants and Ceramic coatings generally have UV resistant properties and don't really soften under normal heat conditions.

Again, these are pretty generalized statements. But Acid is bad...we all know that. Unfortunately there isn't much you can do other than to neutralize it and wipe it up when you notice it. Thats why I like ONR or ADG Whipeout, they both "encapsulate" dirt and debris (though it has it's limits, it is the safest way I know for a spray and wipe) and have a neutral pH level.

 

While multi year coatings are slightly better at resisting the bird shit overall I wouldn't put any faith into off the shelf products protecting. You've got to step up to paint protect film to really be protected. Then again it's not like every bird shit or dead bug gut will start eating into the paint right away.

However with a decent "lite" coating or DIY/prosumer coating you'll likely find you can practically remove bird shit by spritzing it with water or rinseless wash solution like Fergie said. Keep a 16 oz spray bottle of that in one of the rear door bottle holders and a plush microfiber towel. Saturate the area around the shit, spray the towel with the solution and it should come right up with one swipe. While it would rinse off with water, i'd not recommend as you've got the issue of hard tap water leaving spots (isn't detailing fun!). Rinseless wash by design makes the water solution very soft and not prone to leave spots. Even if you spray it on and get caught up walking away you should be able to re-wet the area and wipe it right off.

 

You can try Stoner Terminator.

 

Stoner's Tarminator is an awesome bug & tar remover. From personal experience though, it's better at tar than it is at bug removal. Since it's solvent based, I really don't think it will do much of anything to remove bird poop. With the real damage from bird poop being clear coat etching, it won't do anything at all to address that.