If you are the kind of person who hates dirt on their cars, especially that coming from animals – in this case, furry and chirping little flyers – this is the article for you. However funny it may sound, bird poop is a serious thing, not only because it makes your car look ugly even though you’ve just washed your car, but also since it can damage your car paint. Read on to find out exactly why and how.
Bird poop contains acids and other chemical substances that eat away at the surface of your car. Since it’s quite sticky, it dries on hard – almost cement-like if baked by the sun – so it can etch the clear coat of paint on your car.
But the problem isn’t in the poop’s effect on your car’s paint, per se. The problem arises when you try to remove it – and fail in doing so.
The problem here is twofold.
First, as with any type of excrement, you won’t feel pleasant while you clean bird poop, so you’ll want to do it fast. You’ll rush, you will hurry, you won’t be as careful as you should be. To top it all off, you’ll probably even use the wrong stuff to remove the offensive matter from your car and you will probably try to scrub off the poop – and pretty aggressively at that.
That’s where the second problem enters – bird poop is abrasive. Since birds eat sand, pebbles, seed-shell fragments, scrubbing the poop off will have the effect of doing it with sandpaper. This is only okay if you intended to peel the paint off your car – otherwise, that little bird doing its business where it shouldn’t have, just cost you a hundreds-of-dollars-worth paint job.
Nevertheless, don’t be discouraged. There is a wrong way to handle bird poop removal and the right way to do so.
Here are some of the wrong ways you can address this problem:
- DO NOT wet a paper towel and start wiping.
- DO NOT attack the poop with a direct pressure washer blast.
- DO NOT apply just any household cleaner to the poop.
- NEVER EVER SCRUB BIRD POOP.
On the other hand, there is a -step bird poop removal process that will ensure you don’t damage car paint:
- Relax and calm your hands before you approach this delicate operation.
- Gather several clean, soft rags or a wash sponge, a pail, car-wash soap, and the hose.
- Get your car in a cool and shady spot, mix hot water with concentrated car-wash soap and soak the poop by pouring and gently dabbing the mixture onto the poop.
- Soak the poop really well and leave it on for at least 30 minutes.
- Soak the rag or sponge, and wet the poop again with the mixture.
- In the gentlest possible way, wipe the edge of the poop stain. If it starts to come off, continue with gentle scrubbing.
- If not, resoak the poop, leave it on for another 30 minutes and try again. Repeat as needed.
Remember – as the soaking eventually softens and dissolves the poop, you’ll be able to remove it with a very light touch. Make sure you always keep the poop wet, keep your touch light, and rotate or fold your cloth or sponge to ensure you’re always working with a clean surface.
Finally, DO NOT – we repeat DO NOT – scrub the poop. Work as if you’re trying to remove a very abrasive, very sticky substance from your paint at all steps – since this is precisely what you’re doing.
If, however, you find yourself out of your depth with car care, you can always come to CRS Automotive. trHamilton.
