Bird lime marking clear coat!

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Any good ways of sorting this?



I've washed and done a lot of polishing with Autoglym SRP but it still looks bad.


It was only on there a couple of days!


Thanks!

[kds keltec]

You will need to establish the amount of clear coat with paint depth gauge, and if there is enough scope then heavy machine correction followed by refining , or maybe wet sand and then the same correction process.

Once car paint hits temps 60 deg c or above the reaction time to damage clear coat can be just a few hours.
And dark coloured cars will hit 80 deg c on 25 deg c day.

Bird bombs win as the most damaging contaminant you can get.

Kelly

[blank]

D'oh, sounds like a job for someone with more experience than me then!


And quicker reactions to removing the stuff in future...

[kds keltec]

A few new / clean micron fibres in a sealed zip lock bag in the boot of the car is a good idea.
Along with some quick detail spray and remove as soon as possible.

if dried in then some pre cut little square micro fibre cloths are good too , you can soak them with water based QD then lay it on top of bird bomb to soften before careful removal.

I have a free downloadable how to look after your car

http://www.kdskeltec.co.uk/images/kds/pdfdocs/kds-...

HTH kelly

[Miracle]

Chris,

If you ever in the Surrey area, feel free to give me a call/email and I'd be happy to inspect your paintwork for free and measure the affected area and give you some suggestions on how to fix it.

Kind Regards
Paul Dalton
(mod edit; less of the signatures please )

Edited by TonyHetherington on Wednesday 10th July 11:56

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Thanks for the replies, folks.

Kelly that document is great!


Once I've got it sorted I'll make sure I keep on top of it rather than taking lazy shortcuts!

I usually use very wet toilet roll to remove bird bombs, it seems to soak it up quite well to get it off without scratches. An emergency kit in the boot sounds like an idea!

Edited by blank on Wednesday 10th July 12:12

[kds keltec]

blank said:

Thanks for the replies, folks.

Kelly that document is great!


Once I've got it sorted I'll make sure I keep on top of it rather than taking lazy shortcuts!

Glad it can be of help , its why i spent the time writing and producing it to help people without having to travel distances , spend ages searching on the internet.

Will be doing same on youtube too, and this will be in far more depth and cover many more things including paint tech.

Kelly

[Nedzilla]

Ive had a few similar marks to the one in the photo on my car caused by bird poo but the strange thing is that they tend to dissapear after a few days. The paint on my car ( nissan GTR) is apparently very soft compared to most cars and i have also heard it refered to as 'self healing paint'.

So,a question for the detailing experts on here. Is there such a thing. I usually get any bird muck off within 10 hrs or so as i always check it morning and night but it has marked several times in the past,usually in hot weather but like i said,within a few days usually by the next wash the damage has gone.

Any explainations?

[kds keltec]

Nedzilla said:

Ive had a few similar marks to the one in the photo on my car caused by bird poo but the strange thing is that they tend to dissapear after a few days. The paint on my car ( nissan GTR) is apparently very soft compared to most cars and i have also heard it refered to as 'self healing paint'.

So,a question for the detailing experts on here. Is there such a thing. I usually get any bird muck off within 10 hrs or so as i always check it morning and night but it has marked several times in the past,usually in hot weather but like i said,within a few days usually by the next wash the damage has gone.

Any explainations?

The simple are "yes there is self healing paint" like their is self healing paint protection films.

These both need high'ish heat to self heal or low heat will prolong the self healing process.

In fact its a detailers nightmare as when you machine correct/polish paint the abrasion process creates heat, the heat make the paint try and heal the damage that you are inducing from the cutting action of correction.

The cure is to change your technique to a process that creates little or no heat.

described in the trade as sticky paint as it dries up the cutting oils very quickly as it tries to heal.

Only a few cars are actually self healing and then only to a small degree , they cant repair say after a key been run down the side of the car.

In your case it works well as bird bombs only / mostly hit top surfaces which are subjected to highest temps.

The OP's car is not self healing paint , and i bet when he reads will be gutted.

The harder more dense the clear coat and to some extent older (cured longer) will be more resistant to bird bombs , new cars all seem to be heading or have headed toward soft paint from the factory with the exception of Merc when they have ceramic clear coat applied.

so its far more common to have heavy wash marring , defects , water etching , bird bomb marks on brand new cars , which has an effect to for the detailing trade.

Detailers a very busy correcting brand new cars .
Product companys are selling more and more durably coatings to help slow down the weather process.

HTH kelly

[SMB]

blank said:

Any good ways of sorting this?



I've washed and done a lot of polishing with Autoglym SRP but it still looks bad.


It was only on there a couple of days!


Thanks!

Looks like a black paint so the worst of heat retention, I carry a trigger spray on the boot with a dry wash/water mix and a towel that I use as soon as I see any lime. The dry wash helps lift even dried bird lime and the trigger spray help shift it with minimal towel use to avoid scratches from rubbing. I then accept the white residue from the dry wash until I next wash the car, at which point that just washes off.

[Nedzilla]

Thanks for explaining that Kelly. Is that the reason why the paint is so soft then ie. its meant to be so it self heals?
Everyone complains about it on the GTR forum saying it is just poor quality paint and pretty unaceptable on a top end car like that.

It might self repair bird poo damage but the dowside is that it chips and swirls very easily,you have to be so very,very careful washing them,as im sure you are aware!

Cheers.

[kds keltec]

Nedzilla said:

Thanks for explaining that Kelly. Is that the reason why the paint is so soft then ie. its meant to be so it self heals?
Everyone complains about it on the GTR forum saying it is just poor quality paint and pretty unaceptable on a top end car like that.

It might self repair bird poo damage but the dowside is that it chips and swirls very easily,you have to be so very,very careful washing them,as im sure you are aware!

Cheers.

This won’t be exact tech but based on.

Soft paint will be medium solid paint,
Harder paint will be high solid paint,
Hard paint will be ultra-high solid paint.

This all to do with chemical reaction, and let’s say UHS (ultra high solid) paint will be different from maker to another as it’s their interpretation.

for factory cars the baking, curing process should and will be tightly controlled, as in the case of your car.

Aftermarket paints then thats a whole different thing.

If the correct application and baking process is not controlled then it’s possible that the paint will MISS its window of opportunity for full cross linking curing this will make paint softer and easier to damage , BUT fresh paint that’s been cured properly will still be CURING (not drying as that’s happened) for many weeks after application , actually it never stops and at some point paint becomes that hard more so less flexible and brittle it fails.

Soft paint stone chips less than hard paint too.

Some medium solid paints when young can still move around when subjected to hot and cold cycles “self healing” ,

wash marring is sharp and deep so cuts the surface of paint so has trouble self healing , where as flat slow etched in marks are not sharp even thou they look worse so sometimes good results are possible

But as I said this is very brief and basic way I have answered as there is much more to it.

I best pack up and go home before i get in trouble

kelly

Edited by kds keltec on Wednesday 10th July 20:56

[Squiggs]

Kelly - just to be clear (no pun intended) but you keep saying 'paint' ... I take it you really mean 'lacquer'?

[kds keltec]

Squiggs said:

Kelly - just to be clear (no pun intended) but you keep saying 'paint' ... I take it you really mean 'lacquer'?

Of course , the trade know it as lacquer , the public know it as only paint.

never had any ask me is my lacquer hard or soft when this is correct,
public always just ask "why is my paint soft?" "what makes sticky paint?" "why does the paint wash marr so easily?"

this is the same for detailers and my pupil i train , they ALL call it paint same goes on detailing world.

so wrote it in a way that the readers can relate to it better

kelly

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Update:

Had these marks taken out with a machine polish from a bodyshop friend.



All well and good until today...

A few more random spots of bird poo and I've got the same issue - with a great big patch on the bonnet!


Can anyone recommend a good detailer around Milton Keynes / Aylesbury that can sort this out and then apply something that might offer a bit of protection?


I've never had this happen before (including with a very similar colour black Skoda) so don't know if the Audi paint isn't very good, or if I've just been lazier with washing/waxing.