norman1294

How do you get bird dropping off your car without leaving a permanent mark?
Also, how do you get rid of hairline scratches?
Any help would be appreciated.

JGA5Cab

FIRST, pressure wash the bird droppings. If you don't have the right nozzle, hold your thumb over the end of the hose. It will create some pressure. the droppings may be gritty and can scratch the paint if rubbed on. Use a polish that is "safe for clearcoat finishes". Use the softest rags you can. Wax afterwards to bring out the shine.

I know there is more to it than that but I see people rub at bird droppings which is very harmful. I wanted to make that clear.

s5_vroom

Before you do anything, we need to figure out 2 things

1. How long has the bird crap been on the car?
2. How long has the bird crap had direct sunlight and/or how long has it been exposed to hot weather?

If the bird crap is relatively recent, you can use the method the prior poster described. What does recent mean?. Well, that depends on the weather conditions, and the size of the bird crap. Usually within less than a day in moderate to cold weather, and you'll be fine.

Otherwise, you have to wet sand, and even that might leave a permanent etched bird crap marking on the paint.

Bird crap is the devil for paint. It eats through the clear SO fast and quickly, its ridiculous.

This same concept applies to water spots, especially from suburban areas that have really dirty water loaded with minerals and other deposits.

scottacus

I would actually suggest a different approach, which has the advantage that you can use it when you're not at home.

Keep a bottle of a high-quality quick detailer in your trunk, as well as a microfiber cloth. If the bird droppings are very fresh (i.e., not yet dry), you can spray on the quick detailer, wait a few seconds, spray a bit more detailer on and gently wipe the droppings off. Go over again with the quick detailer, being sure to use a clean part of the microfiber cloth/towel. If the droppings are dried on, use a slightly larger amount of the quick detailer and let it soak in for a few minutes before wiping. You may need to spray it on again after a minute to further soak the droppings and make sure they are fully wet.

If you use enough quick detailer, make sure the droppings are fully wet before you wipe, always use a clean part of the towel, and wipe gently, you should be able to avoid scratching the car.

Hobbes

This is the exact method I use. By addressing the droppings as soon as I see them there is less chance for them to etch the clearcoat. The key is to deal with the dropping immediately, and not wait until later.

rocknS4

I too have used all the methods previous posters have mentioned. The only other method for removing dried on bird crap, that I've heard of, is to spray WD40 on it and let it soak for a few minutes. Supposedly it will prevent scratching. Having said that, and that I've used all methods, including WD40 I've still been left with etching in my paints. The one true method.. take it to your friendly detailer and let him buff it out for you. Price may vary, but to me its worth every penny to get those ugly swirly etchings out of my paint.

keman

For water spots, I use no-scrub bleach-free shower cleaner. I had them so bad, that all the glass was not scrubbing clear no matter what I tried from my garage. Not even chlorinated brake cleaner would touch it. Then I remembered where I saw waterspots like this before... in my shower. I tested on a small part of the paint first (the glass was fine) and let it soak. No changes. Not all shower cleaners are made the same, test somewhere first. But in the end I made the leap of faith. Sprayed down my paint. Waited a minute. Sprayed down with lots of water. Water spots... gone.

This was after trying to mcguires 3 step them out of the paint with a D/A orbital buffer. The science behind it is that the calcification is harder than your paint, your wax, and the grit you use in your wax/polish/whatever.

Moral of the story: Stay away from parking near sprinklers that have signs "Do not drink, recycled water" in the hot summer.

When it wouldn't come off my glass on my brand new car I was freaking out for sure.

Bird droppings... use a good wax first. Protection is about all you can do before they drop a load from the sky. Where I used to live, birds had a very acidic diet and it etched into everything within a day right around my house. It was like a scene in "Aliens".

It ate deep enough and looked bad enough after a fresh wash that bringing it to the dealer to complain about my blackbird-pox scars didn't perk the usual load of BS about how the paint isn't defective and/or they're not responsible for what birds drop on your car. Instead they said "Wow, it's not supposed to do that!" and a few days later I had a professionally detailed and sanded/rubbed out (thinned!) paint finish. Ready to accept the next round of crap. My orbital buffer didn't do jack, it needed a rotary to cut through. And since I don't know how to use a rotary buffer without "cutting through" (the paint!) ... I left that to the pros to fix. They did. But I don't think they could do that too many times..

I haven't had to deal with that for some time, I'd suggest moving or parking elsewhere. Or a lot of fresh wax.