Had the roof of the A3 full of bird poo today. Just hosed it off a few hours later. My gf's dad seems to think I did right and shouldn't leave the poo on for more than a day. Do all of you guys clean it off straightaway?? What about tree sap?
Bird poo
- Thread starter sat1983
- Start date
d3fy
Registered User
Bird poo I remove the same day I notice it. Tree sap, not bothered really. That will come off at some later. The bird poo will damage the paint if you leave it on and burn into the laquer
yeah, should remove it as soon as possible but I don't carry a bottle in the boot for that, but the sooner the car is cleaned, the better...
Pedro
Pedro
cold water until is soft enough to remove with the washing mitt without scraching the paint work. Not recommend hot water as temperature can act as a catalyst to the chemical reactions between poo and lacquer... Plenty of water to soften it and then gently with the washing mitt and some light shampoo...
Pedro
Pedro
To be honest on my Passat I have always cleaned it off when I got chance, sometimes weeks later if its a small bit (I only wash it every month lol) and there has never been any damage.
My mate has a Vauxhall Zafira and after two days with poo on his door it took a patch of paint about 5" across from the door, right down to the primer.
Never again will I leave poo on my paintwork.
My mate has a Vauxhall Zafira and after two days with poo on his door it took a patch of paint about 5" across from the door, right down to the primer.
Never again will I leave poo on my paintwork.
I always remove it from my car as soon as I notice it. Bit of damp kitchen roll (cold water), and just rub gently in circular motion until it comes off.
same - i have some quick detailer in the car at all times for moments like that
even big splattered bug marks are removed asap!
try moving it off in a straight line to avoid swirls
even big splattered bug marks are removed asap!
try moving it off in a straight line to avoid swirls
powerplay
Grrrr
What a coincidence. Have had some bird poo woes this weekend.
Left car parked at work for a couple of days while away, came back and the ****** seagulls had been using it for target practice. Washed the muck off with water, but now (for the first time since having the car) there are clear stains of bird-poo shaped splats across the bonnet.
Can't shift it.
A bit disappointed to say the least, as I had the Autoglym lifeshine treatment when I bought the car hoping it would prevent this sort of thing.
Left car parked at work for a couple of days while away, came back and the ****** seagulls had been using it for target practice. Washed the muck off with water, but now (for the first time since having the car) there are clear stains of bird-poo shaped splats across the bonnet.
Can't shift it.
A bit disappointed to say the least, as I had the Autoglym lifeshine treatment when I bought the car hoping it would prevent this sort of thing.
Well, cleaned the car this morning, and it’s clearly burnt the lacquer. 
I've had the car 3 weeks, and this happens... I mean why oh why can't manufacturers find a way of toughening up the paint! I cleaned it off in less than a day, I consider myself a perfectionist with paintwork, and still it killed the lacquer. How many people will leave the poo mark on for days or weeks!!?? Their car must look a right state. Makes me sooo angry, I could shoot every bird I see and hear!!
I've had the car 3 weeks, and this happens... I mean why oh why can't manufacturers find a way of toughening up the paint! I cleaned it off in less than a day, I consider myself a perfectionist with paintwork, and still it killed the lacquer. How many people will leave the poo mark on for days or weeks!!?? Their car must look a right state. Makes me sooo angry, I could shoot every bird I see and hear!!
soak a towel in tar remover or something and set it on it - it should soak in and help loosen the shiiite!!
I got home yesterday after a running up a good number of kilometers over the weekend. My car was spotless as it has not rained in about two weeks, with the exception of the odd bit of dust, one large blob of bird stuff on the bonnet and about a million flies across the front bumper, grille and windscreen.
It wasn't worth putting the car through a wash again since only the front of it was in **** (so to speak), so I decided to dig out the bucket and sponge.
One full kettle of boiling water, and two kettlefulls of cold water from the tap appears to give a nice temperature. Dip the sponge in the bucket, wring it out, and then rub gently in a circular motion until flies\birdshit disappears. I found that by holding the sponge up at one end, and just letting the other end rest on the bonnet applied the correct amount of pressure to remove the dirt. When finished dry it off with chamois\microfirbe cloth.
By wringing the sponge out before applying it to the car you eliminate the streams of water running down the car.
It wasn't worth putting the car through a wash again since only the front of it was in **** (so to speak), so I decided to dig out the bucket and sponge.
One full kettle of boiling water, and two kettlefulls of cold water from the tap appears to give a nice temperature. Dip the sponge in the bucket, wring it out, and then rub gently in a circular motion until flies\birdshit disappears. I found that by holding the sponge up at one end, and just letting the other end rest on the bonnet applied the correct amount of pressure to remove the dirt. When finished dry it off with chamois\microfirbe cloth.
By wringing the sponge out before applying it to the car you eliminate the streams of water running down the car.
We used the wife's car for our holiday,so my car's been sitting in the sun with bird poo all over it since Wednesday of last week.
It was a right mess and it was really baked on.
It's washed now,zero paint damage.
It was a right mess and it was really baked on.
It's washed now,zero paint damage.
sat1983 said:So how come it made a mess on mine?
Always my luck!!
You don't say what colour your car is,so maybe my paint is just 'tougher' than yours,being metallic and all.
There is the possibility that the wax I use affords the car better protection (collinite 476S),but I only started using that in the past year or so.
The only car I've ever owned that has had a problem with bird poo is a black Honda HRV my wife had.
It got a bad 'burn' on the bonnet.
Aberdeen is renowned for it's damned seagulls too,so bird poo is a BIG fact of life up here.
BTW,the white stuff is actually their urine.
I carry a bottle of water and some kitchen roll in the boot. Scrunch the kitchen roll up and soak it in water (aka mungies at school!) and leave it on the poo. It soon softens it and it glides off. If necessary re-wet the kitchen roll after 5 mins.
I would never rub the poo, some can be quite gritty and scratch the paint.
One detailing site said it can be as low as pH3.
I would never rub the poo, some can be quite gritty and scratch the paint.
One detailing site said it can be as low as pH3.
sat1983 said:Well, cleaned the car this morning, and its clearly burnt the lacquer.
I've had the car 3 weeks, and this happens... I mean why oh why can't manufacturers find a way of toughening up the paint! I cleaned it off in less than a day, I consider myself a perfectionist with paintwork, and still it killed the lacquer. How many people will leave the poo mark on for days or weeks!!?? Their car must look a right state. Makes me sooo angry, I could shoot every bird I see and hear!!
Might as well do the whole roof now. I'd try some Megs clay with QD, a little SRP and then a coat of the #476S. I've a feeling the #476S is bomb proof.
The offer still stands if you want to borrow. I'm off on holiday on Friday so I'm not going to need it for a while. PM me your number if you want. As you said, you're only down the road.
well my last moro blue A3 was awful for bird poo - in the summer when the bodywork was hot 30-60 minutes was all it took for the crap to etch the paint - leaving a mark which could only be 90% polished out - so mettalic doesn't make it any better! however i did notice that one year was worst than the other - not sure why! Not had any bird muck on my new A3 yet in dolphin grey so dont know abou that but have had a bug splat on front bonnet for a couple of weeks cause some etching but its very hard to see. Paint on audis definately isn't the best. I don't even chance leaving bird muck on for a day now - i alwys clean it off the minute i notice it to reduce the time its in contact with the paint - the longer its there the more damage it does.
rich1068 said:
My 476S has run out (kept loaning it to people !) so I've bought their next product up,which they claim has something like 20% more carnabau (sp) wax.
I'll let you know what I think.
If it's even slightly better than the 476S,I'll be well impressed.
I'm not loaning this to anyone !
Can you believe it happened again first thing this morning!!!!!!!!!!!! Its just crazy... First new car i've had and i've never had so much trouble with it (bodywork wise).. Neighbours must think i've lost it as I'm always out with the hose!! Trust all the old bangers not having a spec of poo on em. I'm sure the birds know you know...
I was getting into the car yesterday to go home from the station and some bird had managed to **** on both driver's side windows, diagonally across the roof, down the passenger side of the windscreen and onto the bonnet. It looked like it just happenned too, because it had a somewhat runny consistency. By the time I got home the wind had blown some of it along the windows so I had some nice streaky bits on it. Dug out the bucket and sponge straight away. Like sat1983 my neighbours probably think I'm a bit mental too. That's three times since the weekend I've been out cleaning bits of the car.
haha i wouldnt worry marc - if i had the facilties at my flat to wash the car i would do so nearly every day
its like what i tell people who ask me why i clean my car so much... "would you go outside, to work, to a meeting with food stains or much on your clothes??"
impression is key now a days!
at my work the main parking spaces are under trees which **** out dust and sap! really ****** me off having to go home with a dustysappy car!
its like what i tell people who ask me why i clean my car so much... "would you go outside, to work, to a meeting with food stains or much on your clothes??"
impression is key now a days!
at my work the main parking spaces are under trees which **** out dust and sap! really ****** me off having to go home with a dustysappy car!
Certain colours will attract bird poo,as they use it as a form of attack.
Shiny cars will get them 'bombing' too.
It's weird how it works,but it was perfectly demonstrated on our double driveway last week.
My car (silver) was covered in it the following morning.
The wife's car (black) wasn't touched.
Just the merest hint of 'fallout' from my car.
Bright and/or shiny is perceived as 'danger'.
A bloke I know's house was being attacked by birds bouncing off one of his kid's bedroom windows.
Honestly,he said it was like something out of a hitchcock movie and scaring the bejesus out of his kids.
He got hold of an expert who said the way the sun was hitting the window was causing reflections and making the birds see themselves,so they were attacking what they thought were 'intruders'.
Who knew birds were terretorial,but they are !
He got a window made with an anti-reflection coating and the attacks stopped.
I'd shoot the lot of them,but apparently that would mean the end of mankind in some funny roundabout kind of way...
PS,we get bothered with sawdust in our work carpark (crate makers next door) and several people have bought cheap elasticated covers from Argos that seem to do the trick.
Only takes them seconds every morning and night.
Shiny cars will get them 'bombing' too.
It's weird how it works,but it was perfectly demonstrated on our double driveway last week.
My car (silver) was covered in it the following morning.
The wife's car (black) wasn't touched.
Just the merest hint of 'fallout' from my car.
Bright and/or shiny is perceived as 'danger'.
A bloke I know's house was being attacked by birds bouncing off one of his kid's bedroom windows.
Honestly,he said it was like something out of a hitchcock movie and scaring the bejesus out of his kids.
He got hold of an expert who said the way the sun was hitting the window was causing reflections and making the birds see themselves,so they were attacking what they thought were 'intruders'.
Who knew birds were terretorial,but they are !
He got a window made with an anti-reflection coating and the attacks stopped.
I'd shoot the lot of them,but apparently that would mean the end of mankind in some funny roundabout kind of way...
PS,we get bothered with sawdust in our work carpark (crate makers next door) and several people have bought cheap elasticated covers from Argos that seem to do the trick.
Only takes them seconds every morning and night.
ok i wont go that far to puttin a cover on my car - anyways im in and out of the office some days without warning!
we too get lots of birds hitting our kitchen windows because we have a lot of bird feeders in the garden! it does scare the crap out of you when it happens!
we too get lots of birds hitting our kitchen windows because we have a lot of bird feeders in the garden! it does scare the crap out of you when it happens!
I tend to think car covers tend to draw attention, so don't think i'd buy one either, although in an ideal world it's what we need to protect our cars. Until then, I'll battle the world of birds with the hose!
plus, dust/grit that is already on the car will only scratch the paintwork if you are putting a cover on!
your not the only ones...
got my bumper resprayed perfectly a number of weeks ago.... today a bird poos on it... I react and take a wet paper towel and remove it as gently as I can....
Guess what.... lots of tiny scratches on the laquer, which on a newly laquered bumper looks awful...
I honestly think the more you care and spend on the bodywork of your car, the more it will get ruined.. its called sods law !
Im now hoping i can remove the scratches on the laquer somehow, maybe with this scratch X.. But then I will probably end up making it even worse with my track record of trying to fix paintwork....
ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Paint on cars is *****
got my bumper resprayed perfectly a number of weeks ago.... today a bird poos on it... I react and take a wet paper towel and remove it as gently as I can....
Guess what.... lots of tiny scratches on the laquer, which on a newly laquered bumper looks awful...
I honestly think the more you care and spend on the bodywork of your car, the more it will get ruined.. its called sods law !
Im now hoping i can remove the scratches on the laquer somehow, maybe with this scratch X.. But then I will probably end up making it even worse with my track record of trying to fix paintwork....
ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Paint on cars is *****
I always remove bird muck or tree sap as soon as I can. Both eat into the laquer, I had a fiesta once that had the laquer stripped of in big patches due to leaving tree sap on it. I normally remove it by leaving a bit of kitchen roll soaked in luke warm water on the muck for five minutes then it just wipes off with a soaked soft cloth. For some reason Audi paint and laquer does seem to be really soft. I have a few dents in the paint work were the paint is so soft it dented with stones hitting the car(have a couple of chips too).
I have used Swissol sheild wax that has PTFE in it to help stop bugs and muck sticking to the car since we bought it. It works really well and with a wash near enough everthing just wipes off with a wash mit.
I have used Swissol sheild wax that has PTFE in it to help stop bugs and muck sticking to the car since we bought it. It works really well and with a wash near enough everthing just wipes off with a wash mit.
I reckon the birds round my way sh*t sulphuric acid!!
No bird crap on the car Sunday afternoon. When the missus comes home on the car on the Monday I notice some on the rear wing, so wash it off ....... too late the surface of the laquer is already marked!!
No bird crap on the car Sunday afternoon. When the missus comes home on the car on the Monday I notice some on the rear wing, so wash it off ....... too late the surface of the laquer is already marked!!
well last few days ive had some bird bombs on my car and each and every one of them have damaged the surface of the paint - even tho i removed it the second i discovered it (which could be a couple of hours after it happened tops) so after having two different colours of audi split apart by 3 years i can quite honestly say audi paint is very poor in this respect. I think its simply down to their particular supplier of paint to the factory cos my mum has a seat altea (fair bit in comon with a3) however it is obviously built in adifferent country (spain i think??) at a different factory - they have had bird muck and left the rain to wash it off (they hardly ever bother to was the car as older ppl do) and absolutely no damage.
I approached audi about this with my last A3 and they simply brushed it off saying they cant be held responsible for 'acts of nature' i said what a load of rubbish and bird muck is just as likely to fall on a cars surface as water - now if a car wasn't waterprrof there would be a serious issue! and thats an 'act of nature'
Anyway i have invested on a couple of sheets of 3000 grit sandpaper to refinish the bird muck stains as this is the only way of completely removing them proiding they havent gone all the way through the laqueur (ie been washed off quickly and just left a light mark) leave on for a day or more and you have serious problems. I find its the black in bird muck that does the damage and not so much the white, so if its black you gotta get it off sooooo quick its untrue.
I approached audi about this with my last A3 and they simply brushed it off saying they cant be held responsible for 'acts of nature' i said what a load of rubbish and bird muck is just as likely to fall on a cars surface as water - now if a car wasn't waterprrof there would be a serious issue! and thats an 'act of nature'
Anyway i have invested on a couple of sheets of 3000 grit sandpaper to refinish the bird muck stains as this is the only way of completely removing them proiding they havent gone all the way through the laqueur (ie been washed off quickly and just left a light mark) leave on for a day or more and you have serious problems. I find its the black in bird muck that does the damage and not so much the white, so if its black you gotta get it off sooooo quick its untrue.
thankfully I've managed to get any bird poo off quickly enough that it's not damaged the paint although one lot eat right through the wax - at least it sacrificed itself to save the paint!
Have had a few bug splats on the front which have been left long enough to etch into the clear coat
Have had a few bug splats on the front which have been left long enough to etch into the clear coat
but given that these 'things' do attack the paint - they should be designed into the paints structure to resist. Clearly it is possible because you get cars from manufacturers where there is no issue... so surely that points to a brand who has a reputation of having impeccable build quality when the reality is they don't.
It really does make my bloodu boil and I would love to be left alone in a room with the one person at audi who makes decisions on these things. I would rip him to pieces.
It really does make my bloodu boil and I would love to be left alone in a room with the one person at audi who makes decisions on these things. I would rip him to pieces.
We must have a better quality of bird round my way. Whenever I get bird droppings on the car it's gets left until the next time I wash the car, usually weekly. I used to use a product called Simoniz Liquid Diamond on the bodywork when the car was new but it seems to be no longer available so for this car I've used AutoGlym Super Resin Polish.
My car is silver and when I wash it with VAG car wash in bucket of warm water, using a soft Gardena car wash brush to start with, all the dropping etc just come off without leaving any marks at all.
I have used the Super Resin Polish on the alloy wheels as well and again all the brake dust and general muck just washes off again with a brush (not the same one as I use for the car!) and a small sponge as I've got the '16-spoke' design alloys.
My car is silver and when I wash it with VAG car wash in bucket of warm water, using a soft Gardena car wash brush to start with, all the dropping etc just come off without leaving any marks at all.
I have used the Super Resin Polish on the alloy wheels as well and again all the brake dust and general muck just washes off again with a brush (not the same one as I use for the car!) and a small sponge as I've got the '16-spoke' design alloys.
A week????????????????! You sure you've got any lacquer left??!!
Well I've got silver metallic paint with no marks or sign that anything has been on the paintwork once I washed it!
I usually keep my cars around 3 years and the dealers always comments how good the exterior of the car looks when I trade-in and gives me top book or over, so I must be doing something right. If it's wrong then I think I'll keep doing it wrong!
I usually keep my cars around 3 years and the dealers always comments how good the exterior of the car looks when I trade-in and gives me top book or over, so I must be doing something right. If it's wrong then I think I'll keep doing it wrong!
