Paint work: how’s it holding up?

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Statten
Posts: 23
Joined: Tue Mar 09, 2021 8:39 pm

Post by Statten »

Got hit by a few seagulls about 4 days ago, just went to wash it off (despite having some torrential downpours the last couple of days) and it’s left some pretty stubborn marks.

I’ve used hot soapy water and a microfibre towel but you can see the stains quite clearly!

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sausageroll
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Post by sausageroll »

Corrosive bird poo.

Contains high levels of nitrogen so will have damaged the lacquer. Quite normal - you need to either have appropriate protection on the paint so that it can't "grab" easily, and/or remove it as soon as possible.

4 days is just way too late to not have damage.


Sometimes you can reflow the damaged layer with a heat gun or hairdryer (if you know what you're doing), otherwise it'd be corrected as any other paint damage.
Statten
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Joined: Tue Mar 09, 2021 8:39 pm

Post by Statten »

I’ve heard WD40 can help in removing the stains, anyone had experience with using it to remove the leftover marks?
sykick
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Joined: Sat May 29, 2021 7:04 am

Post by sykick »

Heat works for sure, I had a similar mark on the roof. Left it out in direct sunlight on a very hot day and it has completely disappeared. If you do try a hair dryer/heat gun be very careful and go slow......
Statten
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Joined: Tue Mar 09, 2021 8:39 pm

Post by Statten »

Any experience with polish in helping buff it out?
AndyMorgan
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Joined: Thu Jul 29, 2021 6:30 pm

Post by AndyMorgan »

I don't have any specific advice, but thanks for posting this topic. A bird (probably a pigeon, some live 2 doors down) shat on my roof a day or so ago & thanks to this post I've just gone and washed it off. Paint was fine.
So.
Thank you!
150kw Life Pro Performance, standard kit, Manganese Grey, July 2021.
Airdrie, Scotland
Statten
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Joined: Tue Mar 09, 2021 8:39 pm

Post by Statten »

I’m sure there’s a study out there that tells us the scale of potency of bird poor from pigeon to seagull to… eagle?! 😂
monkeyhanger
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Post by monkeyhanger »

sausageroll wrote: Thu Jul 29, 2021 5:52 pm Corrosive bird poo.

Contains high levels of nitrogen so will have damaged the lacquer. Quite normal - you need to either have appropriate protection on the paint so that it can't "grab" easily, and/or remove it as soon as possible.

4 days is just way too late to not have damage.


Sometimes you can reflow the damaged layer with a heat gun or hairdryer (if you know what you're doing), otherwise it'd be corrected as any other paint damage.
Air has high levels of Nitrogen, but my lungs work just fine when breathing it in. The level of nitrogen has nothing to do with it - plenty of neutral compounds contain nitrogen. Mammalian poo (high in nitrates) is generally mildly alkaline, mammalian wee is very mildly acidic.

We pee a weak urea solution, urea isn't particularly soluble. Birds take on hardly any water, so they can't get rid of their waste as urea, they instead produce uric acid (which is very soluble in water, only needing a little to make the paste-like poos they drop everywhere), which is quite acidic. It etches the clear coat of your paintwork, turning it opaque if left on too long.

Sealant or wax will provide a barrier. I would go down the polishing route rather than using a heat gun if the paintwork is scarred.

If the etching is mild or only on your sealant, it might clear up on its own - I had very minor scarring from a recent poo and expected to polish it out at the weekend, but it had cleared up itself a few days later, my paintwork is sealed with G-Techniq C2V3.
Cupra Born V2 e-boost 230ps Aurora Blue, replaced ID3 PP Family

Audi S3 - because I hate rapid charging for long distance driving.

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sausageroll
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Joined: Mon Jul 12, 2021 11:01 pm

Post by sausageroll »

monkeyhanger wrote: Thu Jul 29, 2021 8:41 pm
sausageroll wrote: Thu Jul 29, 2021 5:52 pm Corrosive bird poo.

Contains high levels of nitrogen so will have damaged the lacquer. Quite normal - you need to either have appropriate protection on the paint so that it can't "grab" easily, and/or remove it as soon as possible.

4 days is just way too late to not have damage.


Sometimes you can reflow the damaged layer with a heat gun or hairdryer (if you know what you're doing), otherwise it'd be corrected as any other paint damage.
Air has high levels of Nitrogen, but my lungs work just fine when breathing it in. The level of nitrogen has nothing to do with it - plenty of neutral compounds contain nitrogen. Mammalian poo (high in nitrates) is generally mildly alkaline, mammalian wee is very mildly acidic.

We pee a weak urea solution, urea isn't particularly soluble. Birds take on hardly any water, so they can't get rid of their waste as urea, they instead produce uric acid (which is very soluble in water, only needing a little to make the paste-like poos they drop everywhere), which is quite acidic. It etches the clear coat of your paintwork, turning it opaque if left on too long.

Sealant or wax will provide a barrier. I would go down the polishing route rather than using a heat gun if the paintwork is scarred.

If the etching is mild or only on your sealant, it might clear up on its own - I had very minor scarring from a recent poo and expected to polish it out at the weekend, but it had cleared up itself a few days later, my paintwork is sealed with G-Techniq C2V3.
Sorry but that's just pedantry. Bird poo is most definitely nitrogen rich, and nitrogen is a key element in Uric acid.

The thread didn't really need a passive aggressive elaboration on that, let's be honest.
Statten
Posts: 23
Joined: Tue Mar 09, 2021 8:39 pm

Post by Statten »

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I’ll try some polish and see how that goes.

And now I know more than I thought I’d every know about bird poo 🙏
Warminster id
Posts: 149
Joined: Sun May 02, 2021 2:26 pm

Post by Warminster id »

I had a bird poo on my car the other day…
Last time I take her out for a drink! 😂
Life pro performance grey/steels standard car
monkeyhanger
Posts: 1273
Joined: Sat Mar 20, 2021 1:33 pm

Post by monkeyhanger »

sausageroll wrote: Thu Jul 29, 2021 8:48 pm
monkeyhanger wrote: Thu Jul 29, 2021 8:41 pm
sausageroll wrote: Thu Jul 29, 2021 5:52 pm Corrosive bird poo.

Contains high levels of nitrogen so will have damaged the lacquer. Quite normal - you need to either have appropriate protection on the paint so that it can't "grab" easily, and/or remove it as soon as possible.

4 days is just way too late to not have damage.


Sometimes you can reflow the damaged layer with a heat gun or hairdryer (if you know what you're doing), otherwise it'd be corrected as any other paint damage.
Air has high levels of Nitrogen, but my lungs work just fine when breathing it in. The level of nitrogen has nothing to do with it - plenty of neutral compounds contain nitrogen. Mammalian poo (high in nitrates) is generally mildly alkaline, mammalian wee is very mildly acidic.

We pee a weak urea solution, urea isn't particularly soluble. Birds take on hardly any water, so they can't get rid of their waste as urea, they instead produce uric acid (which is very soluble in water, only needing a little to make the paste-like poos they drop everywhere), which is quite acidic. It etches the clear coat of your paintwork, turning it opaque if left on too long.

Sealant or wax will provide a barrier. I would go down the polishing route rather than using a heat gun if the paintwork is scarred.

If the etching is mild or only on your sealant, it might clear up on its own - I had very minor scarring from a recent poo and expected to polish it out at the weekend, but it had cleared up itself a few days later, my paintwork is sealed with G-Techniq C2V3.
Sorry but that's just pedantry. Bird poo is most definitely nitrogen rich, and nitrogen is a key element in Uric acid.

The thread didn't really need a passive aggressive elaboration on that, let's be honest.
What you wrote stated that it's high nitrogen content that will damage lacquer, which is simply untrue. Its the chemical structure of the functional end groups of uric acid that gives the bird poo its acidic nature, not it's overall Nitrogen content. Just correcting a half-truth, you may see that as pedantic.

I wouldn't take offense at something incorrect that I wrote being corrected.
Cupra Born V2 e-boost 230ps Aurora Blue, replaced ID3 PP Family

Audi S3 - because I hate rapid charging for long distance driving.

Octopus referral: https://share.octopus.energy/lush-fawn-565
Deleted User 314

Post by Deleted User 314 »

We have pigeon issues, polish each week after a wash and I still have a few scars as I call them.

When outside, the car is in intense heat and I’m sure that doesn’t help the damage caused by the aerial bombardment.
DanWill
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue May 02, 2023 1:09 pm

Post by DanWill »

Not sure this is the correct place for this....
4000 miles in, is the paintwork and plastic to the front bumper and bonnet area made of cream cheese! Seems like everyday there is a new mark or chip.
Heard a stone hit on the M1 this morning, impact mark in the bumper, not just the paintwork. I think its really poor, had an A4 previously and the paintwork was bullet proof.
MotMot
Posts: 1211
Joined: Fri Jun 11, 2021 2:04 pm

Post by MotMot »

Hmm - mine has been fine (12k in) its the dark metallic grey one. My previous ID3 was moonstone grey - and it got a few chips on the front (over 15k miles) but generally looked fine... Certainly no worse than previous motorway mile crunching cars I've had (V40, Mk6 golf, 320d)..
JohnEG
Posts: 94
Joined: Wed Nov 24, 2021 8:00 pm

Post by JohnEG »

I've been using Autoglym Bird Dropping Wipes for years.
They come in individual sealed sachets and work a treat.
Never had a problem removing droppings.
I suspect a rather better option than a heat gun!!
Life Pro Performance, White/Black, East Derry Alloys.
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