A seagull sh** on the side of my truck this week,after I washed,polished,and waxed it last Saturday.
I didn't have a chance to wash it until today.I thought just washing it would remove it,but no,it stained! After washing I used my Meguiars polish to remove the stains,but had to rub very hard to remove it! Why didn't the polish/wax job I did last Saturday protect my paint? Or,is this normal,after leaving it on for that long?

 

Bird Bombs
A bird’s droppings are very acidic (pH 3.5 to 4.5). When bird droppings fall on your paint, the acid begins to burn and etch the paint’s surface. The longer the bird droppings remain, the greater the damage.

The result of bird dropping damage is a dimple in the paint’s surface, often as large as an inch or more in diameter. This damage is permanent, but can easily be repaired.

Repairing Damage

The only way to repair the damage caused by bird droppings is to polish the paint. You must use the polish to blending 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 what 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 mild compound, as you would find in a “scratch remover” (Eagle One Scratch Remover is a good example), followed by a good hand polish.

Preventing 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). But, even the cover won’t help you when you’re driving. To limit the damage when you get hit, you need to remove the offending slim 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 my trunk. It holds a spray bottle of quick detailing spray, a couple 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 a standard carnauba wax offers limited protection against a juicy attack, it makes cleanup much easier. Acrylic polymer sealants protect a little better against the harsh acids, but it’s not enough to create a damage-free barrier if the bird poop sits too long. You still need to remove the mess as quickly as possible.

by David W. Bynon Copyright (c), 2000, Autopia Car Care -- All Rights Reserved (www.autopia-carcare.com)

Glad you were able to get it rubbed out!

 

I think i'll make up one of those detail kits for my truck,and add a big bottle of Alka-Seltzer just for the seagulls!

 

Knowing seagulls, I don't think it'll help much...

Good idea to carry a small detail kit with you though, I've done it for years. Just the basics: QD, glass cleaner, a few clean microfibers....etc. Usually stuff I pickup at car shows... The freebies.

 

I got what looks like Godzilla crap on my hood. Theres 3 big spots where something took a lovely crap of the year on the hood and left to bake in the sun. It ate through my clear coat

 

LmAo this is a funny topic but good info !

 

I have a few ostridges unload on my truck and its a real pain to get off unless I get it right away.

 

The only thing that would make this thread better would be pictures of the enormous droppings on your trucks!!

 

Even worse--I just paid Ford's $330 to fix a scratch on my passenger door. My truck was gone Thursday-Tuesday and when I picked it up there was an enormous amount of bird crap on the door I got fixed! We thought nothing of it as I was going to wash it anyway but when I sprayed it off and wiped it I could see that it stained the fresh paint. I took it back to the body shop and the guy used rubbing compound to remove most of the stain and then polished the whole door to even it out. Nearly everything was gone with the exception of a little mark that can barely be seen without the right angle...he said that should come out when I bring it back in a month for polishing.

 

I know about the seagulls. I washed and waxed the truck and the next day took the kids to a water park in Galveston. Just got on the ferry and got hit twice. Now th kicker is we sat for a hour at the dock wait and never go hit. All I had were baby wipes to clean off the truck. My wife thought this whole thing was funny. Also had all these people looking at me like I was crazy. Well let them stare................. I like a clean truck.