Finished Etched from Bird Droppings

J

javis20

Active member
 Hershey, PA USA
My silver paint has some dull spots, here and there, that appear to be areas where bird droppings may have etched the clear coat. Is there a sealant or some other way to repair the finish, rather than polish it away?

John
 
Afraid not, the acid in the droppings eats at the clear coat so depending how bad the etching is the only way is to machine polish. I have heard applying heat to the affected area can expand the clear coat and make it less obvious.

Tim.
 
Even a machine polish won’t get it back to the gloss level of laquer. The only remedy is to apply more clear coat. Pretty hard to get a good result if you don’t have the proper gear. You could try your hand with a rattle can but watch out for the runs!
 
With my od MINI Cooper s which had a black roof, I had some bird Sh1t nicely dolloped on it, it was only there for a few hours and it made a right mess of the clearcoat which had crinkled shrivelled to a size of 50p piece. I tried machine polishing but literally took away the clearcoat completely, the etching was that deep. Ended up getting a Union Jack roof flag :) I always carry some bird poop removal foam now, spray it on and leave it a few minutes and gently wipe off.

Tim.
 
Bird s**t is awful. Especially seagull s**t as not only is it massive & very acidic but is also extremely abrasive. I remember once doing an emergency clean up with an old cotton t-shirt and just wiping it off with water from a water bottle left a ton of fine scratches. Still, at least that CAN be polished out. Less so the dissolved clear coat.
 
TitanTim said:
Afraid not, the acid in the droppings eats at the clear coat so depending how bad the etching is the only way is to machine polish. I have heard applying heat to the affected area can expand the clear coat and make it less obvious.

Tim.
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Applying heat may work, I’ve seen it done (by a professional) with a heat gun very close for a few seconds. You’d need to be brave to do it yourself 😉
 
Heat is what causes the marks in he first place. White bird cr%p heats up and cools down at a completely different rate than clear coat,. It also sets like concrete, as it gets hotter, just as the clear coat is at it's softest. So on a baking hot sunny day it can take just a couple of hours to completely wreck your paint work. The same cr%p on a cool cloudy winter day could be there ages and do next to no damage. So I can quite understand how warming the clear coat could literally melt the problem away. Simple Physics :wink:
 
A wash and polishing compound would be your best bet. I couldn’t take a heat gun to the paint myself and I’d find it difficult to watch someone else do it too :cry:
 
Silverzedtom said:
A wash and polishing compound would be your best bet. I couldn’t take a heat gun to the paint myself and I’d find it difficult to watch someone else do it too :cry:
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tom i think the damage has already been done, and i believe we are discussing how to rectify the damage to the clear coat.
 
I'm wondering if dabbing on some thinned clear coat and then wet sanding and polishing would do the trick.
 
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