Without a doubt, one of the most dreaded car care problems we face is the bird. Birds in the air are beautiful to watch fly, but vile to our car's finish. A bird's droppings can quickly cause damage to your paint.
Bird droppings are very acidic (pH 3.5 to 4.5). When bird droppings fall on your paint, the acid begins to burn and etch the paint's surface. The longer the bird droppings remain, the greater the damage.
I've had bird dropping incidents with my current vehicle where it was only on there a day or two and caused damage to the clear coat which is still there.
The result of bird dropping damage is a dimple in the paint's surface, often as large as an inch or more in diameter. This damage is permanent, but can easily be repaired.
While it's not really possible to keep birds targeting your car with their dirty little surprises, you can take steps to limit the damage. The most obvious protection is a car cover (please, not while you're driving!). To limit the damage when you get hit, you need to remove the offending slime as quickly as possible. Don't wait. Get it off of your car.
I've found the best way to clean up after a bird is with a good detailing spray or waterless wash product and a microfiber detailing towel. As I'm a clean car fanatic, anyway, I keep a little detailing kit in the trunk of my car. It holds a spray bottle of quick detailing spray, a couple of towels, and my favorite rubber and vinyl dressing. That's all it takes for me to keep the car looking great. When a bird gets me, I spray the bird droppings with a few shots of detailing spray and wipe it off with the towel, turning the towel as necessary to keep a clean wipe on the car.
Another way to protect your paint from bird damage is to keep your car waxed or sealed. When your car is properly protected with a wax or sealant, it makes cleanup much easier. The surface becomes slick with a protective coating that when caught early enough, the bird droppings will be a breeze to remove. Just catch it early enough to avoid the potential problems. While wax offers limited protection against an attack, it makes cleanup much easier. You still need to remove the mess as quickly as possible.
Maintaining your car's paint in perfect condition, especially if it's a daily driver, can be quite a challenge.
Bird droppings on cars are a simple fact of life. Just be aware that, in addition to looking really nasty, they are very damaging to your car's paint. Take care as soon as possible to remove bird droppings. If your paint is damaged, use a little polish to restore the surface or bring it in to Grayson to have our experienced detailing expert look at the surface.
While tar, sap and bugs are not immediately harmful to your paint like bird droppings, if not removed, they will deteriorate your car's paint finish. When regular washing does not remove the tar, sap or bugs from your car's paint, feel free to contact us here at Grayson for the next step in bringing back your vehicle's luster.
Regular polishing is the best way to remove water spots and swirl marks. Choose a good polish, good tools, and be patient. To keep spots to a minimum, try using a detailing spray after you wash. A good detailing spray contains wax or silicone for protection and gloss. The wax will condition your paint and reduce hard-water-deposit spot formation. To keep swirl marks to a minimum, make sure you have good wash and dry tools, never wipe, rub or polish in circles (straight-line motions only), and be very careful with the use of buffers and polishers.
Make sure keep your car clear of these things that are harmful to the paint of your automotive investment and remember to remove them from the paint of your vehicle as soon as possible.
