Bird Bombs (The Straight Poop

Auto Paint Care

Repairing Bird Poop Damage

The only way to repair the damage caused by bird droppings is to polish

The paint. You must use the polish to blend the surrounding paint,

Bringing it down to the same level as the damaged area. This may sound

Drastic, but it works very well. The only concern is that you're making

The paint thinner, so you must be careful not to polish all the way

Through to the primer. Do so, and you'll have a more noticeable problem

Than the one the bird left behind.

Any good paint polish can be used to fix the damage with a fair amount

Of rubbing. I've found that it's better to start with a fine polishing

Compound (a scratch remover formula works well, too), followed by a good

Hand polish.

This diagram shows how the burn from a bird dropping looks on the paint

Surface. In most cases the burn won't be very deep, but you will see it

On the surface of the paint. Polishing helps to level the surrounding

Paint so the etch mark no longer shows.

Preventing Bird Poop Damage

While it's not really possible to keep birds from bombing 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 and a cotton terry cloth 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. While wax offers limited protection against a juicy attack, it

Makes cleanup much easier. You still need to remove the mess as quickly

As possible.

CLEANING TAR, SAP & BUGS

Summer is tar, sap and bug season. In the summer months, bugs are at

Full population, trees produce more sap, and the heat softens the

Asphalt, producing tar balls on tires. While tar and tree sap can be

Difficult to remove, they do not present a threat to your paint's

Finish. Bug stains, like bird droppings, are very acidic and represent

A significant danger to the beauty of your paint and trim.

Removing Road Tar

As you drive, your car is bombarded with small specks of asphalt, tire

Rubber, grease and oils kicked up by the cars and trucks in front of

You. Left on your car's finish, these petroleum-based contaminants will

Firmly affix themselves to every exterior surface. Soap-and-water

Washing will do little to remove these ugly black spots.

To remove road tar, you need a solvent or strong detergent. Most

Commercial tar removers contain kerosene, mineral spirits or another

Petroleum distillate combined with lubricants to surround and buffer the

Road tar from your paint. Of the petroleum distillate products I've

Tried, I like Autoglym Intensive Tar Remover

<http://autopia-carcare.com/ag-19325.html> the best. A more modern

Solution for tar removal is detailing clay

<http://autopia-carcare.com/detailingclay.html>. If the tar is

Extremely stubborn on your painted surfaces, you can also use a paint

Cleaning polish, like Sonus Paintwork Cleanser

<http://autopia-carcare.com/detailingclay.html> or Ultima Paint Prep

Plus <http://autopia-carcare.com/ult-4012-120.html>.

Removing Tree Sap

Removing tree sap from a car's finish is a bit more difficult than

Removing tar or bird droppings. Incorrectly removing hardened sap can

Scratch your paint. I've found that by hand rubbing the sap spots with

Mineral spirits, I'm able to easily remove the sap without damaging the

Finish. Mineral spirits acts as a solvent to break up and dissolve the sap.

If there is a large amount of sap on the car, or if the sap has been

Left on the finish for an extended period of time, it can be a lot of

Work to remove. For these cases, I discovered that going over the

Affected areas with a light-duty rubbing compound removes the hardened

Surface of the sap spots. Then I can hit the sap with the mineral

Spirits to remove it. The light-duty rubbing compound softens the sap

So the mineral spirits can do its job. The goal is to use the least

Pressure possible, to reduce the risk of scratching the paint. After

Removing heavy sap, I always buff the treated areas with a good polish

To clean up any marks created during hand rubbing with solvent. The

Treated area must also be re-waxed.

Removing Insects (Darn those little bugs!)

What's the last thing that goes through a bug's head when it hits your

windshield? His rear end, of course! All joking aside, the head-on

collision of that juicy June bug on your car's beautiful paint and trim

is far from one-sided. As the bug's exoskeleton explodes, acidic fluids

are firmly embedded in the surface of your car's paint.

Did you know that shellac is a bug byproduct? Think of it, that

beautiful old antique table you love is covered with dried bug juice

(yuck!). Bug splats on your car amount to little more than shellac

mixed with nasty bug parts. Any attempt to remove the calcified remains

without the use of a special cleaning solution could result in scratched

paint.

The secret to removing insect remains is to loosen and dissolve them

with a solvent that will cut through the shellac. Autoglym Intensive

Tar Remover <http://autopia-carcare.com/ag-19325.html> does a great

job. For bugs with a little extra grip, agitate the paint with a

paint-safe insect sponge.

Here I'm using a paint safe insect sponge and cleaner to remove tar and

bug specks from the front of this Porsche Boxster.

If you have a particularly large bug mess, I have discovered a trick

that seems to work pretty well. If you use a pre-wax cleaner, such as

Sonus Paintwork Cleanser <http://autopia-carcare.com/son-400.html>,

apply a small dab to the offending bug splat. Next, cover the spot with

a wadded-up tissue. Let it sit for a few minutes, then pinch up the

mess and give it a soft wipe with the backside of the tissue. Voila!

The bug mess is gone.

After Removing Tar, Sap & Bugs

All of the chemicals used to remove the aforementioned road stains also

remove your wax or sealants. After removing tar, sap or bugs, plan to

spot wax or re-wax your vehicle. If you don't have time to wax right

away, use a quick spray wax like Sonus Acrylic Glanz Spray Sealant

<http://autopia-carcare.com/son-250.html>. This products is great for

touch-ups or a quick waxing after the weekly wash.

WATER SPOTS & SWIRL MARKS

I get a lot of questions from people regarding water spots and swirl

marks. Water spots and swirl marks are different problems, but most

often the solution is the same: polish the paint. I'll address each

problem separately.

Water Spots Will Ruin Car Paint!

The same water you use to bathe your car can also damage your cars

paint. The minerals in the water cause the spots and damage.

When water evaporates off of your car's paint, it leaves behind the

trace elements it contains. Calcium and metals are the most damaging

ingredients found in your tap water. Rainwater may contain damaging

acids from air pollutants.

Getting rid of water spots is easy if you chase after them. The best

solution is to use a quick detailing spray after you wash, or as soon as

you discover the spots (i.e., when your neighbor's sprinkler gets you).

If the spots are allowed to dry and bake on, they will attach to and

harden on your paint. When this happens, you need to use a mild acid to

get them loose. Believe it or not, the best acid is also the least

expensive and most available: a gallon jug of distilled white vinegar.

Expert car detailers have known this secret for years. If you take your

car to a pro, they will tell you about the "magic acid bath" and charge

you $60 or more for the pleasure of smelling like a pickle. Save the

$60. Put on some gloves and get to it.

To give your car the magic acid bath, first wash your car with your

normal car shampoo, rinse, and then use the distilled vinegar. Just

wipe it on with a sponge, and rub it in. Do one section at a time. Let

it sit 30 to 60 seconds, and then rinse. When you're done, wash the car

again with shampoo, and then rinse. By the way, vinegar will remove

your wax, so be prepared to re-wax your car after the vinegar treatment.

Sprinklers showered this car with hard water. The car then sat in the

sun for several days, causing the hard-water deposits to harden.

Vinegar will remove the spots from the aluminum bumper, plastic

taillights and rubber trim, but the paint will need to be polished and

buffed with a buffer.

If water spots are allowed to stay for more than a week or so, the

minerals will etch the paint. In this case, using vinegar will remove

the mineral spots, but the paint will have etched spots (dimples). It

is necessary to use a polish or mild polishing compound to restore the

paint surface.

How-to Remove Swirl Marks

Swirl marks are nothing more than micro marring in the paint surface.

Under a microscope, they appear to be scratches; however, you can't feel

these scratches with your fingers or fingernail.

The reason swirl marks and other micro marring show up so prominently

on black and other dark colors is because the sides of the marring

reflect light. When you polish, the edges are rounded and reduce

reflection.

This diagram shows what severe micro marring might look like in a cross

section of paint.

A buffer in the hands of a pro can do wonders on a car that has heavy

oxidation or minor scratches. Most body shops can use a buffer to blend

touch-ups to perfection. Unfortunately, many detail shops and buffer

owners don't know how to use the tool, or they use the wrong buffing

pads or compounds.

Incorrect use of a buffer or polisher is not the only cause of swirl

marks. Every time you wash or wipe down your car, you create micro

marring. The severity of the micro marring depends on your tools and

the contaminants present. Here are the ten most frequent causes of

micro marring (swirl marks):

* Polishers/buffers with the incorrect pad or an untrained operator.

* Harsh polishing compounds and paint cleaners.

* Towels and applicators containing polyester threads.

* A dirty chamois or a chamois that has not been properly maintained.

* Wiping down a dusty or dirty car with a dry towel.

* A dirty car duster or a car duster used on a car with too much

dirt on the surface.

* Not keeping your wash mitt or sponge properly rinsed.

* Automated car washes with brushes and other wipers.

* Not rinsing your car completely before washing, or not washing

your car thoroughly before drying.

* Using a car cover when the car or the cover is not clean.

The most noticeable areas for swirl marks are the hood and trunk. On

dark-colored cars, they might also show up on the doors and fenders.

Bright colors do not show swirl marks as much because they reflect more

light. That doesn't mean they don't get swirl marks; the marks just

show up more readily on dark colors. Black, of course, is the worst of

all colors for displaying swirls and other imperfections.

This picture, taken by Scott Borders prior to detailing, clearly shows

buffing marks and other micro marring created by an inexperienced

dealership detailer with a buffer. No doubt the Ford truck looked great

when the owner took it home, because most buffer jockeys use a

high-gloss wax that temporarily fills the buffing marks and other minor

scratches.

After buffing and polishing, the swirl marks and hazing are no longer

visible, and the paint surface has a deep, wet look. Scott did a great

job, and the truck owner is very pleased.

Swirl marks can be removed by polishing. Polishing out swirl marks

without a buffer is a lot of work. I recommend polishing your car one

small section at a time so you can see the progress.

To remove swirl marks, use a good polish or "swirl remover." Many

polish manufacturers market a special polish for removing swirls. Swirl

remover polish formulas typically contain fillers and oils to help hide

swirl marks. With regular polishing, over time, swirl marks will

diminish. It's very difficult to completely remove swirl marks. Even

the best towels and wash tools cause some micro marring.

Polishing to Remove Water Spots & Swirl Marks

If your water spots or swirl marks are severe, I recommend using a

product like Sonus Restore (SFX-1)

<http://autopia-carcare.com/son-410.html> to knock them down. Follow

the application of SFX-1 (or any other cutting polish) with a