The paint on these trucks stains easily from Bird poop

alazar14

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Hi all,

So, this is either a post on the uselessness of Meguiars Hybrid Ceramic Wax, or a post detailing how delicate the paint is on these trucks. Long story short, last week I washed my truck, followed the instructions to use Meguiars Hybrid ceramic Wax, applied it (early morning to avoid any sun) and it looked fantastic. I then drove up to Riverside, where the temperature can reach about 100 degrees during the day. Without knowing, a bird must have pooped on the roof of my truck at some point between the time I left from San Diego to Riverside, and the time I came back. Essentially, the poop remained on the roof of the truck all day (impossible for me to see unless I got up on the running boards and looked deliberately, something I do EVERY day at least once a day). Once I noticed the bird poop at around 5:30 p.m., I tried removing it, but it was too late. The poop has now left a permanent staining (paint etching I think its called?) on the clear coat. Luckily it is on the very top of the truck (center of the roof), so its virtually invisible in all instances. Still, I'm shocked that, after washing, waxing, and trying my best to keep the paint in good conditions, a mid-afternoon bird poop has caused permanent damage to the clear coat. It is something that I can definitely have wet standed and polished out quickly, as the area feels the same as the rest of the paint around it (its not deep) but I don't think I will bother getting it taken care of given the location. Still, I just wanted to let folks know (those of you who don't know already) that (1) Meguiars Hybrid Ceramic Wax does Fu#K all to protect your car from things like bird poop acidity, and (2) The clear coat / paint job on these is rather weak.

Maybe its because every car I have ever owned before this truck has been White, so these imperfections do not really show, but I honestly do not remember EVER having paint damage this quickly from a bird dropping. Maybe its just Ford's paint? Maybe its contemporary car paint? My newest car before this truck was a 2002 Camaro, which I never felt the paint to be of such poor quality / delicate.

Anyways, just wanted to let folks know of something that (most likely) many here already knew. Here's a quick video of the process for getting rid of these stains, though in my case, its about the size of the tip of my finger, so I won't bother until there are (inevitably) a few more over the years.
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joeb427

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Bird crap etches paint. So no wax or sealant would help. Maybe a ceramic seal would protect better but I doubt it.
 
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alazar14

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Bird crap etches paint. So no wax or sealant would help. Maybe a ceramic seal would protect better but I doubt it.
I guess it just shows more because my truck is blue then? I did hear that darker colors make imperfections stick out more, especially those related to the clear coat.
 

CoastieN70

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I don't know.... It would seem that several hours of such exposure would not necessarily have cause your paint to be etched. I live in Coastal Georgia and we have every kind of bird you can imagine from Cardinals to Osprey and it is not unusual for me to find that a flock of Condors (ok Seagulls) have strafed my truck and I have yet to have it etch my paint. And before you mention temperatures, we regularly have triple digit temps for weeks on end here. Oh and did I mention my driveway is basked in Sun from very early morning to late evening in the summer? I have a neighbor that lets me use his shady driveway to wash my truck it's so freaking hot and sunny in my driveway. Black truck BTW and vehicles owned for the last 10 years are black.

I suspect that your new "Hybrid Ceramic Wax" was not cured and did so under said bird droppings. I'd try a clay bar and if that didn't help I would get a buffer and compound the effected area...

Edit: I have not put any "exotic" coatings on my truck but I have clayed, polished and waxed it with Maguire's products...
 

Ric

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Hi all,

So, this is either a post on the uselessness of Meguiars Hybrid Ceramic Wax, or a post detailing how delicate the paint is on these trucks. Long story short, last week I washed my truck, followed the instructions to use Meguiars Hybrid ceramic Wax, applied it (early morning to avoid any sun) and it looked fantastic. I then drove up to Riverside, where the temperature can reach about 100 degrees during the day. Without knowing, a bird must have pooped on the roof of my truck at some point between the time I left from San Diego to Riverside, and the time I came back. Essentially, the poop remained on the roof of the truck all day (impossible for me to see unless I got up on the running boards and looked deliberately, something I do EVERY day at least once a day). Once I noticed the bird poop at around 5:30 p.m., I tried removing it, but it was too late. The poop has now left a permanent staining (paint etching I think its called?) on the clear coat. Luckily it is on the very top of the truck (center of the roof), so its virtually invisible in all instances. Still, I'm shocked that, after washing, waxing, and trying my best to keep the paint in good conditions, a mid-afternoon bird poop has caused permanent damage to the clear coat. It is something that I can definitely have wet standed and polished out quickly, as the area feels the same as the rest of the paint around it (its not deep) but I don't think I will bother getting it taken care of given the location. Still, I just wanted to let folks know (those of you who don't know already) that (1) Meguiars Hybrid Ceramic Wax does Fu#K all to protect your car from things like bird poop acidity, and (2) The clear coat / paint job on these is rather weak.

Maybe its because every car I have ever owned before this truck has been White, so these imperfections do not really show, but I honestly do not remember EVER having paint damage this quickly from a bird dropping. Maybe its just Ford's paint? Maybe its contemporary car paint? My newest car before this truck was a 2002 Camaro, which I never felt the paint to be of such poor quality / delicate.

Anyways, just wanted to let folks know of something that (most likely) many here already knew. Here's a quick video of the process for getting rid of these stains, though in my case, its about the size of the tip of my finger, so I won't bother until there are (inevitably) a few more over the years.
I have Oxford White paint and I used the hybrid ceramic wax. Bird poop stains the paint. The trim around me the wheel wells are stained too.
 


CoastieN70

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I have Oxford White paint and I used the hybrid ceramic wax. Bird poop stains the paint. The trim around me the wheel wells are stained too.
Wow! those California Birds must have a really strange diet!
 

CoastieN70

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Hybrid Ceramic Wax seems to be the common link (besides the Bird Poop) here. Again I would Clay the affected area or machine compound if clay didn't work and switch to a more traditional or at the very least a different product. Bird Poop should not stain as quickly as you have indicated, it should take several days at the very least...
 

DIYAndy

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I have Oxford White paint and I used the hybrid ceramic wax. Bird poop stains the paint. The trim around me the wheel wells are stained too.
In Ohio, the miniature sparrow is a common bird which does not produce a lot of poop. Having two layers of Meguiar's Hybird Ceramic Wax on my Ranger - their "small poop" is an easy cleanup. Must be the type of bird which determines how bad the acidic stain will be?;)
 

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The best, and really the only protection against bird poop, is #7 bird shot.
 

Roofhopper

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The best, and really the only protection against bird poop, is #7 bird shot.
Poop on my Ranger I come back hard :sunglasses:
 

P. A. Schilke

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The best, and really the only protection against bird poop, is #7 bird shot.
Hi Folks,

Our White Winged Doves are prolific poopers...We are plagued with these birds that have established themselves in our area as they are originally from Mexico...We root for the Hawks to reduce their population...Octopus Car Wash is the solution for us...needless to say Octopus is rooting for these darn frickin' flying rats...

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired
 

rang19ca

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Our local bird issue here is the flying garbage truck, seagulls. 1 of these can leave 4 or 5 splotches the size of an English muffin. I have been using Maguiar's spray wax to help protect, but if you don't remove the muffin soon, it can still etch the clear coat.
 

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Mequiars D301 finishing wax is great at removing light etching and much gentler than rubbing compounds. Although it's part of their professional lineup it's not expensive.
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