bird droppings...emergency help

N

novataco

New member
New to the forum here. I had a very bad attack of bird droppings on my brand new Tacoma today, and was called into work early before I could hose it off. I know I am supposed to clean it off ASAP so I am cutting to the chase here before I search the forums.



What steps should I take to minimize the damage? I dont want to do the wrong thing and damage the paint. It is a blueberry, dark and gritty concoction, not the white creamy variety. It happened about 5 hours ago and can get to a hose in a couple more hours.



Thank You.
 
Go get it off your paint right now! Use what ever you have to get it off, if you carry QD with you and a towel that would be the best bet, otherwise some water and a towel will work. Just pour some water on it and let it soak in for a sec and then remove the bird dropping with a towel. If you put some minor scratches in the paint doing this then its still better than letting a bird dropping etch your paint. You can remove minor scratches, but etching is a whole nother story.
 
Welcome to Autopia, Novatco. :wavey



Here's a long winded, but quite effective approach:



Spray the areas down with isopropyl alcohol mixed 50:50 with distilled water. Let it dwell. I even use gauze pads to hold the solution in place. From the sounds of it, you might have several on the car and it will look likes it's getting first aid :D. Let it dwell for about 5 minutes. Remove the pads, spray a mixture of baking soda and water, again use some gauze pads to hold in place. Let that sit for about an equal amount of time. Now, hose off the area after lubricating it with some car wash solution mixed in a bucket or spray bottle. Never, never scrape any stubborn left overs with your fingers. Wash and dry. If there are stubborn, left over residues, try some tar remover or a clay bar. Once everything is clean, clay the area and inspect for etching. If it present, polish, by hand first, if that isn't enough, by PC. Then, finally, reseal. ( You can re apply some sealant the next day if you wish)



Luckily, this time of year, the risk of acid etching from the droppings is pretty low.
 
WHat is QD? I can get to an Autozone in the area within the next couple hours. I am stuck at work for the moment...
 
I am totally new to this. Clay bar? Can I get that at Autozone? Also PC? what is that. I ahve no detailing products yet...



Will the clay bar have instructions or can you give me a quick explan.?



Tnx



BTW, yes...tons of droppings all over the hood and roof. The truck bed is plastic composite so not worried about that. I was under a tree and it was an all out aerial assault...
 
If I were you I would go out there with water and a rag or paper towel, then clean up the light scratches later with some Megs scratch X.



QD is short for quick detailer spray. Yes you can get it at autozone. If you wait...either get Mothers Showtime (only OTC I used and liked) or another brand of quick detailer and a couple microfiber towels and spray the bird sh!t and remove with a microfiber towel.



novataco said:
I am totally new to this. Clay bar? Can I get that at Autozone? Also PC? what is that. I ahve no detailing products yet...



Will the clay bar have instructions or can you give me a quick explan.?



Tnx



BTW, yes...tons of droppings all over the hood and roof. The truck bed is plastic composite so not worried about that. I was under a tree and it was an all out aerial assault...
Click to expand...

A clay bar is just that, a bar of clay. It is used to remove contaminants on the paint's surface. Yes you can get this at autozone, I would recomend the Mothers Clay bar kit.

Here is a lot more info on clay: http://www.guidetodetailing.com/articles.php?articleId=14



Oh ya and PC stands for Porter Cable random orbital buffer, something you'll learn more about as you visit and search this site. Here is a link to learn a lot about it: http://www.guidetodetailing.com/articles.php?articleId=47
 
Bird crap certainly isn't good for your paint, but leaving it on there until after you get out of work is not the end of the world (usually). Just hose it off or use a QD when you get home - no sense in dwelling on it.



Stuff happens to daily drivers. I have become quite a bit less OCD in that regard lately, and just clean it as much as possible. Worrying about it at work, etc. is a waste of energy.
 
OK I am going to follow your suggestions and I will get the clay and QD spray. I will start with the alcohol misture and baking soda spray. Once I use the clay on spots do I then have to lay down some wax? I will focus on getting the stuff off and attacking any etching first. I wont park under that tree any more. I may need a couple more pointers for this job, then I will read up here on what to do to better protect the new car. Im sure I will have to do a little more on this tomorrow to replace whatever wax/clearcoat I may be removing tonight?





Thanks mucho and I will check this thread once or twice more before I tackle the initial removal...so keep the suggestions coming.



Also, what about oxi-clean and water en lieu of baking soda? Is that good or bad...?
 
Hey...thanks for the help. I rounded up some supplies and took Bill's advice of distilled water and alcohol, then water and baking soda. There were just too many hits to use any gauze...I probably could have sponged on the solutions...as spray bottles don't work well at an angle.



Nevertheless, when I got to a Meguire's bath with a microfiber mitt, the poop just dissolved. The few spots I missed felt hard and I just let the Meguire's soften it up. I gently hosed that off (10:00 PM at this point) and will survey the damage in the morning and work from there...



I have the Mother's clay bar and QD spray as well as Mother's Power Polish now (best of what I could find in the store, for my untrained eye), a microfiber polishing cloth and applicator and some Scratch X. I will probably get a PC and start a proper maintenance routine. My question is when should I do this: now or later? The truck (2006 Toyota Tacoma) is 3 weeks old, and I don't now what is on it when it leaves the dealer.



The bird poop (I know this particular gang of birds, they terrorize my neighborhood) is usually like a blueberry epoxie with a coarse sand and pebble texture. However, on closer inspection, it seems to be their winter fuel mix is brown with curled open seed husks, which are maybe sharper. Careful neutralization and a soaking removal seem to be the best plans and I thank you for the advance help you all gave me. In addition, I noticed that the shitt debris on the roof was softer than that which seemed to be more baked by the V6 engine



Here are some pics to give you a better understanding of these bandits' handiwork. This all happened in about two hours...this is just the hood; the roof was maybe half as bad...



2241706_20_full.jpg




2241706_21_full.jpg




2241706_22_full.jpg
 
That looks really awful! Yikes! I can imagine what the results would be like in summer! Was there any etching? When we're talking berries and grit, that sounds like a disaster that I would be surprised polishing by hand with OTC polishes, several of which just contain fillers, can remove it 100%



Oh yeah, do get that PC ( or Cyclo ;) ) ASAP. There is a wide assortment of pads for them and if you become like us, you'll soon be working your way to owning drawer fulls :o :D



Again, welcome!
 
also the secret is to seal the paint with a quality sealer. Usually then with a wet MF towel the bird droppings will pretty much slide off. Now if it is during the Summer and the hood is baking hot it may be harder.



Cheers and good luck.



Nick
 
Would a new Toyota Tacoma coming off the lot have good protection on it or should I lay something down on it right away?
 
Nope, unless they sell you that way overpriced "protection package" crap, off the lot, it's not going to have any protection and is going to need, at minimum, a complete claying, better yet, use of the Valugard ABC decontamination wash sytem, and then protection with a quality sealant.
 
Sorry for the long delay, but Bill D, I just wanted to say your advice was great, and here is a pic of the truck right after I cleaned the poop off.



2241706_32_full.jpg




No etching at all, and now I keep a bottle of QD spray and a micrfiber cloth the the door compartment, and any time I come out to the car and find bird poop, I carefully break off any big chunk, then soak it then wipe off. I no longer park under that tree, but when working on the truck I park about a car lentgh away from it and it never, or rarely, gets hit. If it does it is cleaned off immediately.



I am going to clay bar and apply a sealant very soon. Going to buy a PC for applying the sealant and will wait about six month to do an actual polish and resealant, unless you think I should do a polish now. The truck is two months old, so I didn't tink it needs a polishing yet, just clay bar treatment. Any thoughts?



Thanks again...
 
natebood said:
I've never heard someone analyze bird crap, let alone post close ups of it. :bolt
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hehehe, Hey, whatever works :) If it'll help me keep it from damaging paint, I'd post a chemical analysis of the bird crap :)
 
Novataco,



I'm glad to hear. I keep a small bottle of IPA:water,baking soda mixture ,and some gauze pads to hold in place on me for such events. I follow with some car wash solution mixed up and spray it all off with water once all of that has had proper time to dwell. Of course a more extensive treatment will follow once I'm home.



As it's getting closer to the hotter months,acid in the crap combined with the heat, especially concerning dark colors, can be quite dangerous in a shorter time than one may think. I try to be prepared/take as many precautions as possible. The reward often is saving the paint from etching.
 
Glad you guys enjoyed the fettish description of the poop. Maybe I should shop my pics to "Poop Illustrated" magazine...?



Bill, the bottle you keep in your car is IPA+distilled water+baking soda, or is ittwo bottles: one with IPA and water, the other with baking soda and water...?



How much does the IPA cut through sealant or wax? Do you adda a little sealant or wax to that areas after its washed?



Tnx
 
15951 said:
Bird crap certainly isn't good for your paint, but leaving it on there until after you get out of work is not the end of the world (usually). Just hose it off or use a QD when you get home - no sense in dwelling on it.



Stuff happens to daily drivers. I have become quite a bit less OCD in that regard lately, and just clean it as much as possible. Worrying about it at work, etc. is a waste of energy.
Click to expand...



Oddly, I'm getting more OCD by the week....it's the kitchen appliances....all that stainless steel.........must polish......valve covers..must clean......
 
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