Bird poop paint damage

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XSR

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Hello,

Bird droppings etched my car paint.
I tried to polish by hand using Meguiars Polishing Compund, but it didn’t help.
How can I remove it? Any tips please?

See the attached pictures.
Thanks!

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View attachment 72923

View attachment 72921

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They aren't likely going to polish out. You'll need to use a heat gun to carefully warm and re-flow the clear just a bit. Not difficult but you'll have start slow and be careful.
 
sudsmobile said:
You cannot melt the clear in modern paint. The old wives tale told many times. Not my opinion either the opinion of rupes.
Tech Tips with Todd – Heat, Paint Swell, and Scratch Return – RUPES USA
Click to expand...

I agree !!!

I tried this a while back hoping to get rid of bird poop etching. It was a failed. I heated the area to around 180 degrees and nothing happened.
I ended up doing it the old way.. wet sand then came back with a DA.

To OP:
Before you consider doing this, its a good idea to see how thick your paint is. Lately, Mazda and Subaru have some of the thinnest factory paint.
 
Polish it and live with what's left.

You can try to sand it out and then polish but there are risks involved with sanding and you're essentially trading one defect for another. Even if you are successful in sanding out the etching you now have an area with diminished clear-coat and a "spot" smoother than the surrounding finish. Being an old painter, consistent and uniform paint texture is high on my list of priorities, and a smooth spot in the sea of texture of the original finish is a major pet-peeve of mine.

For this reason I refrain from sanding to remove most defects unless you're sanding the entire panel/vehicle.
 
sudsmobile said:
You cannot melt the clear in modern paint. The old wives tale told many times. Not my opinion either the opinion of rupes.
Tech Tips with Todd – Heat, Paint Swell, and Scratch Return – RUPES USA
Click to expand...

psnt1ol said:
I agree !!!

I tried this a while back hoping to get rid of bird poop etching. It was a failed. I heated the area to around 180 degrees and nothing happened.
I ended up doing it the old way.. wet sand then came back with a DA.
Click to expand...


YMMV as I use it on a lot of vehicles with success. Just did one this weekend on that 2019 911 GTS as there was an etching on roof. I go really slow but once it starts to fade it happens quick. I max out the surface temp at 150°-165°F measured with an Infrared Thermometer.

FWIW on heat / self healing clear coat Nissan uses it on a lot of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles. The GTR IIRC is where it started. My Q50 RedSport 400 had it too. The paint code on mine was under the hood on the pass. side. It does work. I used it on it several times.
 
TTQ B4U said:
YMMV as I use it on a lot of vehicles with success. Just did one this weekend on that 2019 911 GTS as there was an etching on roof. I go really slow but once it starts to fade it happens quick. I max out the surface temp at 150°-165°F measured with an Infrared Thermometer.

FWIW on heat / self healing clear coat Nissan uses it on a lot of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles. The GTR IIRC is where it started. My Q50 RedSport 400 had it too. The paint code on mine was under the hood on the pass. side. It does work. I used it on it several times.
Click to expand...

Interesting.... I went to 180 degrees with the heat gun while aiming the infrared thermometer at the spot. Didnt do it for me but granted...the etching I was dealing with was at least a year old and it was on black paint. Not sure if that played a part for the failed.
 
I'm not a chemist, but chemists say it's not possible. They additionally say that any change you see is temporary from the metal expanding.
 
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