Some bird poo has marked the paint on my car, despite it only being on there for less than 24 hours. I have tried cleaning it and using MER polish but it's marked. It's hardly noticably but if it had been on there for longer then it might be really bad.
So be warned, if a bird deposits yesterday's dinner on your paint, clean it off quickly.
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And off your fabric convertible hood!
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I had the paintwork noticeably marked by "bird lime" on my old Mk3 Golf, luckily only on the roof. On my current Saab which I only rarely polish, despite having to park in under a tree at work and it getting regularly bombed, I've not noticed any paint damage.
Was your car parked in the sun? I wonder if the heat could have made it worse, either by the paint being hot, or by the deposits being baked on?
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Apparently this paint problem is closely related to the introduction of water based paints. Bird stuff attacks and marks them more and more quickly. I think the same probably applies to tree sap etc. Motto, remove it asap!
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It was parked in the sun all day.
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Bird lime wrecked the roof of a R5 we had in a tree-lined street in London. Unless cleaned off while wet it etched the top layers of paint. Not called bird lime for nothing.
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Whilst appreciating that paints are more environmentally friendly these days, they should really be able to withstand bird lime for a short period.
You shouldn't have to go and check your car every 3 hrs to make sure the paint is bird lime free.
If my car was dumped on by a bird when parked whilst I was at work I would remove it that night. I would think it very unreasonable if it had marked the paint in such a short time.
Surely standards should exist for paint for this type of thing.
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I have never had problems with paint work on any previous Renaults.
Does anyone know when the water based paints became law?
And is there anything we can do to protect the car, for example a good polish? I use MER which I like but obviously even this is no match for the bird droppings. Just as well my car has a glass roof...
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Mmm ... I've heard about about the damage caused to cars by birdlime before but, so far, it doesn't seem to have damaged mine or SWMBO's car. They have metallic finishes and I just wonder if the lacquer affords an extra degree of protection over 'standard' paint finishes.
At our last house, birdlime used to wreak havoc with the finish on our oil tank - and that was painted with 'highly-protective against the elements etc' bituminous paint.
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Does anyone know when the water based paints became law?
Not before 1992 because I've got a publication from VW which had a copy of a then recent article about the environmental assessment of all major car manufacturers. The press pack to which it came with is dated 09/91 (Autocar article was published on the 12/06/91). In the Autocar re-printed article, all manufacturers were asked "What percentage of paint used is water based. If none, how and when are you planning to introduce it?". Many either didn't answer or hadn't yet introduced it.
And is there anything we can do to protect the car, for example a good polish?
Nah, doubt it. If it can work its way through the lacquer, then a few microns of wax probably wont stop it.
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I don't know any dates, however my other half has a 93 Clio and that had a number of bad birdlime etchings on the bonnet until it was resprayed. I used to have a 94 Clio and that had an etching on it too.
We're now much wiser and remove bird lime asap. I have a new Audi and carry a bottle of water and some kitchen roll in the boot to soak any off that I see. Simply wet the kitchen roll and leave it on the bird lime until it is soft and falls off - don't scrape it off!!! I know of some people on Audi forums that have had very bad experiences with bird lime on their new cars, hence why I carry the kit!!!
Sure I read somewhere that it can be as low as pH3. From what I've read, waxes will only offer limited protection if any.
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That's the trouble with shiny impeccable cars. It becomes a nightmare worrying about every little mark.
A navy blue Ferrari Daytona parked in Bruton Street in the sixties was the best-kept car I can remember seeing. It was basically clean but the front was covered with stone chips and splattered with flies, as it had obviously recently come from somewhere quite quickly.
I like an urban car to have scuffed bumpers at least, and a coating of filth including bird droppings seems perfectly respectable to me.
Of course it's quite a good idea to wipe the windows and mirrors from time to time.
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I don't have a problem with the car being dirty, I just would like the paint not to get wrecked quite so soon on a two year old car.
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My MG usually lives in my garage. Recently, it was parked outside my gf's place overnight. Obviously, a bird had been caught short just above the bonnet (and me a member of the RSPB, too!).Typical! By the time I could remove the offending item, it was bone dry (hot day, in the sun all day). It was HARD to remove, but did in the end. No mark. COunt myself lucky! The car has been recently refurbished in Tartan Red- looks great (got 4 separate compliments last night- one ubiquitous one from an older chap who told me the wheels weren't original- as they're rostyles on a 71, I begged to differ..)
Anyway. Question is then: when a car is resprayed, does the legislation covering water-based paint apply?
Cheers,
Alex.
--
Dr Alex Mears
MG BGT 1971
If you are in a hole stop digging...unless
you are a miner.
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Anyway. Question is then: when a car is resprayed, does the legislation covering water-based paint apply?
Yes. Although car paints have become more environmentally friendly, the laquers used on metallic paint and the like isn't water based and is still as harmeful as ever to the environment.
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>> Anyway. Question is then: when a car is resprayed, does the legislation covering water-based paint apply? Yes. Although car paints have become more environmentally friendly, the laquers used on metallic paint and the like isn't water based and is still as harmeful as ever to the environment.
So that's the stuff you need to coat yr motor with to keep the bird poo outside where it belongs?
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So that's the stuff you need to coat yr motor with to keep the bird poo outside where it belongs?
Not really. Bird poo is very corrosive and will still damage the laquer. Bird whoopy doo doo once landed on the bonnet of my old metallic blue Cavalier. It had been there for less than 4 hours and when I washed it off, the laquer had already become pitted.
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A lot may depend on what the bird has eaten. I found droppings from birds eating elderberries or raspberries or other soft fruit to be very corrosive in their action. Perhaps it's acidic?
Seagulls by the sea - presumably fed on a diet of fish - seemed much less acidic...
Anyone care to do a degree course in "bird droppings and their impact on paint finishes2? :-)
madf
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Abrasive grit seems to be the staple diet of the avians which use our cars for target practice. A less-than-careful past attempt at removing droppings from car bonnet resulted in some nasty scratches.
Ed.
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This happened to my daughters (new) metallic black Seat Ibiza - a huge stain that seem to cover half the bonnet!
I thought it would polish out but even T-Cut didn't make any difference.
I then tried AutoGlym paint restorer. It's a bit scary at first if you've never used anything harsher than T-Cut, but it polished out the fade marks easily. I probably stopped a bit soon, but I didn't want to rub away the paint!
My car has a paint treatment type stuff on it, and it never seems to mark. So maybe they are worth it?
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I've also got a current model SEAT Ibiza and the paint is shockingly prone to stone chipping - easily the worst in this respect that I've owned in over 30 years of motoring. I almost suspect that a hailstorm would cause peppering.
I always wash off bird muck as soon as possible after it appears.
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Definitely worth it.
I've added "Turtle Wax Gloss Guard Top Coat Sealer", after having polished with the Autoglym Super Resin. What a difference! Rain doesn't stay on the car, and washing off bugs and bird-do etc. is a doddle. Previously I never added anything after the AG treatment, and the benefits eroded just weeks later....not now though. Undoubtedly it won't stay this way for ever, but so far so good..even used it on the alloys and that makes the brake does easy to remove, when it remembers to stick!
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This happened to my daughters (new) metallic black Seat Ibiza - a huge stain that seem to cover half the bonnet! I thought it would polish out but even T-Cut didn't make any difference. I then tried AutoGlym paint restorer. It's a bit scary at first if you've never used anything harsher than T-Cut, but it polished out the fade marks easily. I probably stopped a bit soon, but I didn't want to rub away the paint! My car has a paint treatment type stuff on it, and it never seems to mark. So maybe they are worth it?
I dont think you should use abrasive polishes on metallic paint finishes becauuse it destroys the lacquer layer that is on top of the paint
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>>>Just as well my car has a glass roof...
I recall one glorious summer's day driving down a tree-lined road, stopping for the lights, and having a large bird make its daily deposit RIGHT through the sunroof, onto my head and down my shoulder...
delightful.
On a serious note, a mixture of bicarb of soda and warm water, soaked into a rag or spnge, and left on top of the offending muck to soak, works wonders.
The acidity in the guano is reduced, and the muck softens.
The bicarb also acts as a gentle abrasive.
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