Bird droppings can spoil the look of your vehicle. Those bird splatters are more than an annoyance. While they might seem like a harmless mess, the droppings can cause damage to your vehicle’s paint. Before it gets to that point, you can do a few things to protect your paint from bird droppings.
Why Are Bird Droppings Bad?
You might think that bird droppings are no big deal, but they can damage your car’s paint. There is uric acid in bird droppings. When birds excrete that, it will eat away at your vehicle’s clear coat. Eventually, the paint will become damaged, exposing the metal chassis. Remember that metal will expand in the heat, making the bird droppings seep deeper into the paint layer.
Bird droppings have a pH level of 4, making them acidic. These acidic substances will try to reach a neutral state. During that process, these substances eat away at alkali objects, such as your paint. Uric acid can partially dissolve in a neutral substance like water. If you want to remove the bird mess, you will need to use more than water for the job.
Types of Bird Dropping Damage
There are several levels of bird-dropping damage. Most of the damage depends on the dropping’s size, how long it remains on the vehicle’s surface, and whether it has wrinkled.
Fresh Bird Droppings
If you are lucky, you can remove the bird droppings immediately after they have landed on your paint. In most cases, you can prevent damage to the vehicle’s surface. Paint damage often occurs within 48 hours of exposure to bird droppings.
Wrinkled Droppings
Allowing the bird droppings to remain on the vehicle’s paint can fracture or wrinkle the paint. That makes it harder to clean, and the feces can bond to the car’s paint.
Topical Stain Etching
This type of bird dropping will have a faded appearance. If the bird droppings have not soaked into the paint, you may be able to wipe these droppings off with a cloth. If they set into the paint, you might need to use harsh chemicals from a professional cleaning company.
How To Clean Bird Droppings Off Your Car
If you notice bird droppings on your vehicle, you need to take action. When you wait to clean the surface, it will start to eat into the layer of paint. Once the droppings begin to fracture or wrinkle, you will need a professional cleaning product to remove them.
When the droppings are wet, take a microfiber cloth or damp paper towel to the car’s surface. You should be able to wipe it off the surface easily. If the droppings are dried, take a damp paper towel and leave it on the stain for about 10 minutes. After that time, use the cloth to wipe off the mess. You might also want to use dishwashing soap for those stuck-on stains.
Old stains might need help from a professional cleaning solution. You could put some club soda on a cloth. It will neutralize the acid in the droppings and dissolve that solid matter. If you cannot remove all of it, apply a paint protection formula to slow down the erosion process. For those wrinkled or fractured droppings, take your car into a professional auto body shop for repainting.
If the droppings have been scrubbed without the desired result, you might want to talk to a professional auto body shop. By continuing to scrub, you can cause more damage to the paint.
Protecting Against Bird Dropping Damage
If you don’t want damage to your vehicle’s paint, think about parking your car inside a garage. Make sure to stay away from trees. These trees provide food, shelter, and nesting material for birds. Parking in those spots will leave your car vulnerable to damage.
Wherever there are trees, you will find birds, leading to droppings. Look for those telltale signs of bird droppings. As you can guess, you want to stay away from any areas with a large population of birds. Parking near these spaces will put a bullseye on your car’s paint.
You should try to park in a garage or carport. Any space that gives you a little cover will help to prevent bird damage to your paint. Not only are covered areas a great way to avoid bird droppings, but they can stop other elements from damaging the vehicle’s painted surface.
Consider using a car cover for your vehicle. These covers can protect your vehicle from damaging elements, including bird droppings. You should not use them as a long-term solution, but they can help prevent some damage, especially in the spring. Car covers are not very convenient since you will have to remove them and replace them throughout the day.
Finally, keep your vehicle clean. Yes, it seems like birds will soil freshly clean cars. However, you can easily wipe off those fresh bird droppings by keeping the surface cleaned and waxed. With a clean cloth, you will be able to wash any stains from the vehicle’s surface.
Birds can be destructive, but you can take steps to protect your paint. If you see any droppings on your vehicle, take a cloth and wipe it away. The longer you wait, the more damage these droppings can cause.
At Elmer’s Auto Body, we can help repair any damage from those bird droppings. Our team will work hard to return the paint back to its pre-damage conditions. When you need an auto body shop near me, call us at (856) 218-0202.