Paintwork stains from mud and bird poo

[garbage]

Went to wipe off some mud and bird poo using a microfibre cloth and found that the stain is stuck. Went and did the same thing on my other car, a white Jazz, and it came off with little effort. My D4 is Fuji White.

Are the Disco's paintwork more susceptible to stains? Any suggestions on how to remove it?

[MR LR]

Polish or buff it off.

But anything you leave for a long period of time will eventually eat right into the paintwork, sometimes to the point it can't be buffed out.

Always wash bird poo off ASAP, it's highly acidic and ruins paint.

And keep your car waxed, at least 6-monthly.

[Pickles2]

Don't rub too hard.
If it has stuck, then just try to gradually soften it with water,...just keep trying to get the water soaked in, and with reasonably gentle rubbing, it will come off.
If that fails, soak it with eucalyptus oil, which should get it off.
After you've removed it, polish the aflicted area to give it a bit of protection.
Unfortunately there aren't any waxes/polishes on the market that give any real protection against bird poo if it's been on a while specially on a hot day.
The only real remedy is to remove it as soon as it's dropped!!
I got a bird poo hit on Gracie's bonnet recently, and although she's regularly polished, and I got to it within a couple of hours, it took a while to properly remove it without trace,...gently gently is the way.
Pickles.

[phl]

Had some mud stains from my recent High Country trip that didn't come off after pressure washing recently.

Left it out in the recent Sydney rains, and it's now all gone.

[Narangga]

Don't rub too hard.

I got a bird poo hit on Gracie's bonnet recently, and although she's regularly polished, and I got to it within a couple of hours, it took a while to properly remove it without trace,...gently gently is the way.
Pickles.

Absolutely. Less is more.

[BMKal]

MyD4 is also Fuji White. It cops its fair share of red mud & dust (particularly from iron ore mine site visits occasionally) and bird poop if I leave it parked under the trees out the back yard. I've tried a couple of different products for cleaning / polishing / protection and have settled on these.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2016/01/672.jpg (http://postimage.org/)

For cleaning off any marks from the paintwork (including bird poo stains), RePo Paint Doctor is the best I've found. Have tried Meguires and Auto Glym similar offerings, and found them not to be as good as this one.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2016/01/673.jpg (http://postimage.org/)

For polishing - any of the Auto Glym polishes (they have a few different types). I've found this one easy to apply and to buff off, and it leaves a good finish.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2016/01/674.jpg (http://postimage.org/)

For protection - can't beat Auto Glym Extra Gloss Protection. Easily applied as a clear liquid and dries as a white "haze" - and then buff it off. It uses "nano technology" to apply a fine protective coating to your paint and polish (a bit like "heavy duty" rainex).

I've found that about once a year for the polish and protection is plenty. I've just done mine again last week - the last time it was all done was nearly two years ago. The roof and bonnet definitely needed doing again, but came up well with only a light polishing and buffing. The sides and rear end didn't really need doing at all, but I did the whole vehicle anyway. ;)

All glass is done with "NanoKote" (very similar to Rainex but lasts a hell of a lot longer between applications), and black plastic / rubber trim is done with Auto Glym Bumper & Trim Protection.

Looks all nice and clean now and ready to head off to Tassie again in a few days time.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2016/01/675.jpg (http://postimage.org/)

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2016/01/676.jpg (http://postimage.org/)

[AnD3rew]

Take it out in the bush, scratch it and pinstripe it and then after a while you don't care anymore:)

[josh.huber]

Wax wax wax. Polish is not wax cleaner wax is not wax you need to use wax it's hard work but the finish is excellent. The other thing to remember is polish is harmful to paint so you don't want to buff your car too often wax prevents this

[garbage]

Thanks so much for the replies everyone. Sorry I never came back but I was away for the weekend then got busy with work. Some really good tips in this thread.

Just a tad disappointed that an $85k+ car is so susceptible to poop stains smudging in the act of wiping it off. I now can't get the smudges off with water / vigourous scrubbing, so I'll try some of the products BMKal has recommended. My Honda Jazz doesn't drive ANYWHERE near as nice as the D4, but at least the poop stains come off easily.

[jonesy63]

There's bird poop... and then there is flying fox poop - dark orange/brown in colour, and it is the worst to get off. :mad: I usually put the hose on it for a good while before attempting to remove it.

[garbage]

There's bird poop... and then there is flying fox poop - dark orange/brown in colour, and it is the worst to get off. :mad: I usually put the hose on it for a good while before attempting to remove it.

Lol. Actually that's a very good point. I now have orange coloured stains on my car so you're probably dead on there. Anyway, I am now armed with the products recommended above. Wish me luck!

[theresanothersteve]

Might be a bit late but have a look at using detailing clay...

Meguires does a kit that contains a clay block and one of its magic sprays to use as a lubricant. Costs (from memory) about 30 bucks. Removes contaminants and will leave the paint very smooth.

Our car detailing bloke uses clay, but he uses the suds from the wash to lubricate before he rinses.

[Pickles2]

Might be a bit late but have a look at using detailing clay...

Meguires does a kit that contains a clay block and one of its magic sprays to use as a lubricant. Costs (from memory) about 30 bucks. Removes contaminants and will leave the paint very smooth.

Our car detailing bloke uses clay, but he uses the suds from the wash to lubricate before he rinses.
Yes, "Clay" is brilliant stuff, but IMHO it takes a bit of skill to use it. I've never had that skill, but for sure, it does produce AMAZING results.
Pickles.

[Meken]

My detailed uses cornuba wax - should only have to redetail once a year - othertimes it just wash & chamois

[curryinahurry]

Might be a bit late but have a look at using detailing clay...

Meguires does a kit that contains a clay block and one of its magic sprays to use as a lubricant. Costs (from memory) about 30 bucks. Removes contaminants and will leave the paint very smooth.

Our car detailing bloke uses clay, but he uses the suds from the wash to lubricate before he rinses.

+1

At work, where I park, I get this pollen drop in spring. Add a light shower and the pollen was in the paintwork

No car wash or hand wash could remove it... My neighbour gave me some clay and this with slight car-wash-soapy water worked... but took some time to do it (one whole afternoon!)

Then I got the above Meguires kit.. works fine both on the D4 and my motorbikes

Cheers
Bala

[LandyAndy]

I polished Snow White today,its only the second time Ive done it since new(17 months old).
How often do you blokes polish??? Mine lives in the shed so except for dust remains very clean,it gets a good hose down every time it comes out,I wash it regularly.Only had a few birdie doo doos left after the wash yesterday.Ive been using the Autoglym Brian reccomends.Nice polish to use,no hard rubbing to remove it.I assume it lasts well as water was still beading on the paint from the last polish around 12 months ago.
Andrew

[Pickles2]

Gracie is kept undercover, and she has just a yearly polish on her birthday.
Pickles.

[jonesfam]

You blokes have "Car Detailers"?
I have kids that get $5 for washing the car, other than that it stays dirty.
Jonesfam
PS $5 on top of their pocket money.

[MR LR]

You blokes have "Car Detailers"?
I have kids that get $5 for washing the car, other than that it stays dirty.
Jonesfam
PS $5 on top of their pocket money.
Car detailers are cheaper than kids :wasntme:

Not that I have either... :p

*ok, maybe I paid to have some really deep scratches buffed out once...*

[Epic_Dragon]

even an $85 k + car needs its paint work to be looked after and maintained :) it is a better quality paint used on more expensive vehicles and a more correct application. if the poop was left on for even a couple of days and car was parked in sun anywhere, it is bad news for your paint. auto glym is fantastic, professional grade and is what we used at work. wash your car and apply that regularly after a wash. be aware that if a cutting compound is ever used, it takes a thin layer of paint away each time. polish and wax adds a film. what ever you do, do not use a scotch bright pad or the likes (you know the hard side of your dishwasher sponge type thing) as that scratches and scuffs paint. haha the amount of times cars would come in as people had used those to get stuck into stains, tree sap, bird poop etc! i am over the top with my paintwork. been slack lately. but i normally like to apply auto glym high res polish every second month after a wash. and every time i do the quick wash using the wash bay things i always use the spray wax afterwards just so i know there is some sort of barrier protecting my cars paintwork. i am a fully qualified spray painter though so always carry water and soft rags in the car (or baby wipes) just to wipe bird poo especially off as soon as it happens. nasty stuff that comes out of birds! :O
the clay bars work well too as will not harm your paint. especially for industrial downfall. can find normalyl find those cheaper at paint supplies shops.

[BMKal]

Should have dropped in to clear the remains of a bird from mine Leonie. We drove past Mt Barker yesterday morning on the way across to Tassie.

I hit a crow the other side of Adelaide on the way across. It bounced off the windscreen, then hit the bottom of the roof rack, and spread itself all over the roof under the rack. All cleaned up now though. :D

[Dagilmo]

Should have dropped in to clear the remains of a bird from mine Leonie. We drove past Mt Barker yesterday morning on the way across to Tassie.

I hit a crow the other side of Adelaide on the way across. It bounced off the windscreen, then hit the bottom of the roof rack, and spread itself all over the roof under the rack. All cleaned up now though. :D

You hit a crow! That's hard to do!

[Pickles2]

even an $85 k + car needs its paint work to be looked after and maintained :) it is a better quality paint used on more expensive vehicles and a more correct application. if the poop was left on for even a couple of days and car was parked in sun anywhere, it is bad news for your paint. auto glym is fantastic, professional grade and is what we used at work. wash your car and apply that regularly after a wash. be aware that if a cutting compound is ever used, it takes a thin layer of paint away each time. polish and wax adds a film. what ever you do, do not use a scotch bright pad or the likes (you know the hard side of your dishwasher sponge type thing) as that scratches and scuffs paint. haha the amount of times cars would come in as people had used those to get stuck into stains, tree sap, bird poop etc! i am over the top with my paintwork. been slack lately. but i normally like to apply auto glym high res polish every second month after a wash. and every time i do the quick wash using the wash bay things i always use the spray wax afterwards just so i know there is some sort of barrier protecting my cars paintwork. i am a fully qualified spray painter though so always carry water and soft rags in the car (or baby wipes) just to wipe bird poo especially off as soon as it happens. nasty stuff that comes out of birds! :O
the clay bars work well too as will not harm your paint. especially for industrial downfall. can find normalyl find those cheaper at paint supplies shops.
Yes, We always have a very damp cloth kept in a plastic bag in case of "emergency".
Pickles.

[BMKal]

You hit a crow! That's hard to do!

There was a group of them. Must have been startled and flew off a bit of road kill. All but one got out of the way. ;)

[theresanothersteve]

You blokes have "Car Detailers"?
I have kids that get $5 for washing the car, other than that it stays dirty.
Jonesfam
PS $5 on top of their pocket money.
Yes, its a sinful pleasure! We're on tank water, so during a drought can't spare the water for something non-important like washing cars. His hourly rate is a lot less than mine, so I reckon its worthwhile.

One of the things I always get the detailer to do is apply the paint treatment sold by the stealers...

He charges a couple of hundred dollars. Interestingly he contracts for the stealers for the same thing. He was telling me one stealer he works for charges $1800 for what he does, on very high end performance cars normally painted red. The same stealer was also the LR dealer.

[SBD4]

Yes, its a sinful pleasure! We're on tank water, so during a drought can't spare the water for something non-important like washing cars. His hourly rate is a lot less than mine, so I reckon its worthwhile.

One of the things I always get the detailer to do is apply the paint treatment sold by the stealers...

He charges a couple of hundred dollars. Interestingly he contracts for the stealers for the same thing. He was telling me one stealer he works for charges $1800 for what he does, on very high end performance cars normally painted red. The same stealer was also the LR dealer.
yes

[garbage]

Just thought I'd update you all on my battle against the bird poo. It turns out the car was never delivered with a layer of polish. Would a layer of polish be expected as part of the dealer delivery charge? There were signs the plastic protective layer had simply been removed and the car washed. I ended up getting a detailer to go over the car with a clay layer and the car has been as resistant to mud splashes and bird poo as my other non-Land Rover cars.

[rar110]

Polish doesn't protect paint it makes it shinny. Buy some spray on wax. It will help protect the paint.