Ahhh, look at that, your coated car is glistening. But the local birds have noticed and whilst you’ve been away from your car, they’ve left a reminder on your paintwork that your car won’t always be clean… it’s almost like they know!
This shouldn’t alarm you if this is the case. So, why shouldn’t you be worried and what should you do?
Thanks to your ceramic coating, your paintwork will be protected from the acidity of the bird dropping(s), meaning it won’t cause long-term damage and ruin the paint. Phew!
You are, however, going to have to remove this and you may notice some etching. Let us walk you through it;
First Things First;
Let’s get that bird poo off of your car as safely as possible.
If it’s hot, allow the paintwork to cool off first. So, park it in the shade or wait for a cooler part of the day if you don’t have anywhere shaded to park the vehicle.
Next grab yourself a bucket (or x2 if possible, one for rinsing and the other for the fresh water & shampoo), a Microfiber Wash Mitt, then fill the bucket with some Gwash Shampoo and some cold water.
We recommend softening the bird poo first before trying to remove it, as most will find it hardened or dried onto the surface. Softening the poo makes it easier to remove and reduces the chance of the paintwork being scratched.
Ensuring the panel is cool and out of direct sunlight, spray the bird dropping(s) with W8 Bug Remover or W5 Citrus All Purpose Cleaner. Leave this to dwell for a short time (30 seconds – 1 minute) then rinse off.
Failing the above, you’ll have to moisten the contaminant with water & a damp microfiber cloth or wash mitt – please note, this may take longer.
Wash the area with your Microfiber Wash Mitt & GWash to ensure all the bird dropping(s) have been removed.
Now the bird poo has been removed, dry the car off.
In some cases, this is all you will need to do! So visually inspect the area and if there are no marks, you no longer need to read on.
If, however, after inspecting the paint you notice some etching, read on.
Bird Poo Etching. Here’s What To Do
So, there’s etching, even after cleaning the car. Has the coating failed? Well, you’ll be pleased to hear that this isn’t the case and that there is a quick and easy remedy for the marks/etching.
What you will need to do is simply pour hot water onto the area where the etching has occurred and repeat the process until it has disappeared.
Why is this happening and how does this work?
In short, the paintwork goes through heat cycles throughout the day, which causes the paint to expand and contract.
The paintwork is subject to rising temperatures throughout the day and as a result it expands.
When a bird poo’s on the paintwork, this keeps the paintwork under the poo cooler. This causes the paint underneath the bird dropping to expand at a slower rate to the paintwork around it, this resulting in etching. Which will look like outlines when the poo has been removed.
By pouring hot water onto the area, you are imitating the effects of temperatures rising and falling, this is known as re-flowing the paintwork.
You may need to try this a few times until the etching disappears.
