Discussion
Taken from another source
Paint vs Bird excrement
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It contains highly acidic and alkaline concentrates; Ammonia and Uric acid, pH 3.0 - 4.5, Uric acid is a small organic compound which is produced by the breakdown of protein during digestion, and is excreted by reptiles and birds. Uric acid is also the end product of nitrogen catabolism in birds Ammonia is a mixture of nitrogen gas and hydrogen gas; with moisture as a catalyst it becomes Ammonium Hydroxide, which is caustic.
Heat and water act as a catalyst; a vehicle paint surface temperature of >90.oF creates a very aggressive reactivity of the Alkaline, Uric Acid and Ammonia. This will cause surface etching, so they should be removed without delay, at lower temperatures (> 40.oF or less) there’s no reactivity and therefore little or no etching.
Their main food source in summer is mostly insects, in the winter/ spring it’s berries, which are very acidic, and if left for any length of time the will cause the porous clear coat to occlude (a non-transparent ‘clouded’ area) or may cause etching (a depression in the paint or glass surfaces) Birds use gravel to help digest their food so grit and sand are some of the major components, which can cause scratching.
Protection- a polymer sealant forms a molecular bond with any paint surface it’s applied too, so when it’s attacked by environmental elements (acid rain, bird excrement, etc) it provides a direct conduit to the clear coat paint surface, causing surface etching.
Carnauba wax- molecules form a closed linked mesh like structure, which means that they only butt up together to protect the surface and the wax forms a shell like structure that adheres to the paint surface. When attacked by environmental elements they have to compromise the wax surface before they can reach the clear coat paint surface and cause surface etching.
Most organic waxes (Carnauba) are more resistant to environmental hazards then synthetics, although an Acrylic polymer offers limited resistance. Being a sacrificial coating, the best way to avoid clear coat etching is too remove the environmental acid, along with the wax as soon as it’s noticed; but given enough time acid will compromise the clear coat whatever its protection.
No wax or polymer sealant can provide a permanent shield against acidic bird excrement, even the latest nanotechnology coating or CeramiClear only offers resistance to scratches, mars and acid etch, a product like Collinite 845 Insulator Wax is probably the most durable non-organic wax product, and but this will only provide enough of a barrier to enable it to be removed quickly before causing too much damage to the paint film surface.
kelly
Paint vs Bird excrement
____________________________________
It contains highly acidic and alkaline concentrates; Ammonia and Uric acid, pH 3.0 - 4.5, Uric acid is a small organic compound which is produced by the breakdown of protein during digestion, and is excreted by reptiles and birds. Uric acid is also the end product of nitrogen catabolism in birds Ammonia is a mixture of nitrogen gas and hydrogen gas; with moisture as a catalyst it becomes Ammonium Hydroxide, which is caustic.
Heat and water act as a catalyst; a vehicle paint surface temperature of >90.oF creates a very aggressive reactivity of the Alkaline, Uric Acid and Ammonia. This will cause surface etching, so they should be removed without delay, at lower temperatures (> 40.oF or less) there’s no reactivity and therefore little or no etching.
Their main food source in summer is mostly insects, in the winter/ spring it’s berries, which are very acidic, and if left for any length of time the will cause the porous clear coat to occlude (a non-transparent ‘clouded’ area) or may cause etching (a depression in the paint or glass surfaces) Birds use gravel to help digest their food so grit and sand are some of the major components, which can cause scratching.
Protection- a polymer sealant forms a molecular bond with any paint surface it’s applied too, so when it’s attacked by environmental elements (acid rain, bird excrement, etc) it provides a direct conduit to the clear coat paint surface, causing surface etching.
Carnauba wax- molecules form a closed linked mesh like structure, which means that they only butt up together to protect the surface and the wax forms a shell like structure that adheres to the paint surface. When attacked by environmental elements they have to compromise the wax surface before they can reach the clear coat paint surface and cause surface etching.
Most organic waxes (Carnauba) are more resistant to environmental hazards then synthetics, although an Acrylic polymer offers limited resistance. Being a sacrificial coating, the best way to avoid clear coat etching is too remove the environmental acid, along with the wax as soon as it’s noticed; but given enough time acid will compromise the clear coat whatever its protection.
No wax or polymer sealant can provide a permanent shield against acidic bird excrement, even the latest nanotechnology coating or CeramiClear only offers resistance to scratches, mars and acid etch, a product like Collinite 845 Insulator Wax is probably the most durable non-organic wax product, and but this will only provide enough of a barrier to enable it to be removed quickly before causing too much damage to the paint film surface.
kelly
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