# Bird Bombs and waxing



## nicmcs

Hi, 
In the carpark at the petrol station/convienence shop I run there are alot of trees and these are infested with birds of all sorts, this is all well and good but since spring has started here the birds are crapping all day on everyone's cars.

Now my question is what effect does bird poop have on a waxed car's finish as it has been said that bird poop car be harmful to clearcoats?
It is usually dried on by the time I finish work.

what effect will these bird bombs have on the waxed finish of my car and will it break down the wax immediately??

Thanks for any help guys on this.
Regards
Nicholas

just for reference this is my detailing regime for my caris basically this
wash and dry
detarr and clay if neccessary
AG ultra deep shine
dodo juice lime prime lite cleaner
CG EZ creme glaze
followed with 
Dodo juice supernatural wax.


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## Mike Phillips

From an article I wrote...

*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.

Photo courtesy of MeguiarsOnline.com









*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.

Photo courtesy of AutogeekOnline.com


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## Mike Phillips

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

From another article I wrote...

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

*Copyright ©PBMA - AutogeekOnline.net® All Rights Reserved*​
*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;

*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.


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## Mike Phillips

*How to safely remove a dried bird dropping*

Here's another article on this topic...

*How to safely remove a dried bird dropping*

*Copyright ©PBMA - AutogeekOnline.net® All Rights Reserved*​
If you have a completely dried bird dropping on your car's finish, and you DON'T have access to a water hose with free flowing water, then instead of wiping it off with a spray detailer or worse, scrubbing it off, do this instead,


Take a clean microfiber polishing cloth, fold it four ways to create a thick, plush wiping cloth.

Next, spray one side with your favorite spray detailer, the idea is to hyper-lubricate the entire face of one side.

Next place it onto the dried bird dropping.

Wet the cloth with water until the entire cloth is saturated but not to the point where water is running down the hood. The idea is to have plenty of water present to soak into the dried bird dropping.

Let the wet cloth stand on the dried bird dropping for 5-10 minutes.

Now, carefully enclose the wet-microfiber around the bird dropping using your hand and fingers , you're trying to carefully bunch-up the microfiber and then *LIFT* the bird dropping off the paint. Don't simply wipe the bird dropping over the paint.

Simulated bird dropping that has landed on the middle of the hood. In the real world, bird droppings contain Uric Acid and if not removed in a very short period of time they can actually eat through a coating of wax or paint sealant and etch or eat into the paint.









Simulated bird dropping using Meguiar's M205 with a little Wolfgang Finishing Glaze mixed on top for visual effect. Note, because the focus of this how-to article is on technique, we did not let the polishes dry as that's not a good practice but we think you'll get the idea.









Mist on a wet or heavy application of your favorite spray detailer detailer to hyper-lubricate one folded side.









Gently place the wet side of the microfiber onto the bird dropping.









Now add water to saturate your microfiber but don't add so much that you have water running off the hood. Allow 5-10 minutes to pass so the water can soak into the dried bird dropping in an effort to re-liquefy to make it soft so as to reduce the potential of instilling any swirls and scratches from dried bird dropping being rubbed against the paint.









Now carefully use your hand to scrunch or bunch up the microfiber around the now liquefied bird dropping and then lift the bird dropping up and off the paint. Don't simply wipe the bird dropping over the paint.



























Give the area a final wipe using a new, clean fresh microfiber polishing towel using your favorite spray detailer.









*Bird Dropping Etchings*
If you notice any etching in the paint left by the bird dropping you'll need to use a compound, paint cleaner or swirl mark remover by hand or machine to carefully remove the etching and then afterwards polish the paint to a high gloss and re-apply your favorite wax or paint sealant.


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## Daryl_mk4coupe

what a right up,thanks very much,this is mega helpful,and will be emailed to atleast half a dozen people.


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## ITHAQVA

Thanks for the info Mike :thumb::thumb:


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## nicmcs

Hey Mike,

Thaks for theserious write up, thats way more info then I was expecting.

Guess I should rewax the car, not the kinda excuse I wanted but it's gotta be done:detailer:

Sorry could'nt help the smiley..

Thanks again Mike,

Nic


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## Spirit Detailing

Carnauba has very little protective qualities against bird-droppings. Best are sealants, either amino-functional silicones or else carbon-silicon "glass" products. Then regular silicone fluids are okay, but u need to layer them for better protection.


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