Painting Bird
Birds Destroy Cars by Paul Savident
In the readers’ Q&As section of In Gear, the motoring section of the UK’s Sunday Times, one of the recent questions asked was on how to deal with bird poo (or poop!) on a car. Russell Meadows, who is founder and MD of one of the UK’s leading mobile car valeting operations, offers here a step-by-step guide to the removal of bird poo on cars, explains why bird poo is a problem, and also the way his company best deals with this issue.
We all know the story. Having had your pride and joy vehicle valeted you park up and pop into a shop on a leafy, tree-lined street. Though you are gone only a matter of minutes when you return, there, in the middle of your windscreen or sitting slyly on the bonnet of your car, is a deposit from a bird who is wryly smiling down from the tree above.
The questions is, what is the best way to clean bird poo off a car?
Well, if the bird poo is ‘fresh’ then it is likely to be possible to simply wipe it off with a damp cloth or by using one of Autoglym’s Bird Dropping Wipes. Alternatively, if the offending deposit has been on the surface of the car for some time, or if the weather is hot and it has become encrusted onto the bonnet, then other actions need to be taken for its safe removal.
Bird droppings have an acidity and a content that can be both corrosive and, when wiping it off the surface of the vehicle the small particles in the droppings can leave tiny though noticeable scratches on the surface of the layered paintwork. If the bird dropping is not cleaned off quickly and correctly, then the acidity is likely to cause a bleaching and scratching of the top surface of the paintwork. The longer the offending deposit is left without attention, the more corrosive and damaging it can become.
It is actually the lacquer (a clear or coloured varnish which forms the final layer in the curing process of car paint finishes and which dries to form a hard and durable finish) that initially becomes damaged rather than the actual paint layers. This lacquer layer is to an extent flexible and this is where long term damage can be caused. During a car’s daily use it is heating or cooling and this constant action causes the lacquer layer expands and contract. As the car cools the lacquer contracts and fragments of bird poo get trapped, and these particles then harden within the lacquer. The longer the bird poo is sitting on the surface while this heating and cooling process is happening, the worse the damage is likely to become. Eventually this damage can be visible as a dulled area or visible milkiness on the paintwork and the surface is likely to appear etched.
www.carvalet.co.uk, one of the UK’s leading mobile car valet operations for prestige vehicles, believes that the best way for customers to rid a car of corrosive bird poo is to:
1. Act quickly – the longer the bird poo is sitting on the surface of a car the worse the damage will eventually be
2. If still damp, remove carefully with a wet, soft cloth or Autoglym Bird Dropping Wipe
3. If the bird dropping is dried, cover the offending deposit with a wet cloth and leave for half an hour
4. If you have one, use a pressure washer to blast away the bird poo and then use a wet cloth to wipe away any remains and buff with a soft, dry cloth
5. If a pressure washer is unavailable then wipe away the bird poo with a wet cloth and then dry with a soft, dry cloth
6. Dispose of any dirty cloths and wash your hands as bird droppings, apart from being corrosive to cars, can also harbour disease
Russell Meadows, who is founder and MD of http://www.carvalet.co.uk, says “Bird droppings is a common problem for our customers, and it is one that we are knowledgeable in dealing with. As many of our customers have prestige cars they do not wish the paintwork damaged so we ensure that these corrosive deposits are dealt with in the right manner so that the paintwork is as little disturbed as possible. We recommend that customers safely remove bird droppings as soon as practicably possible. As part of my company’s car valeting services we use only quality cleaning products and cloths to ensure a pristine finish each time. Additionally our valeting services includes inspecting paint and lacquer blemishes and, where necessary, maintenance through paint correction. In this way, combined with our knowledge of both how to maintain a vehicle to its pristine condition and also the problem areas to take care on, including bird droppings, we are able to work as efficiently and effectively on a vintage Rolls Royce as on a brand new Maserati.”
About the Author
Paul Savident has some twenty years of customer-focussed sales and development in a wide range of industry sectors including theatre, entertainment, web development, personal/brand management, finance and the food sector. Paul has been integral in the creation of a number of brands from underground fashion/lifestyle to high-end traditional British fare, internet start-ups and ecommerce, and the energy management and micro-generation sector. Paul has also been pivotal in the funding and financing options for a number of businesses including technology, new media, publishing, micro-generation, entertainment and film and TV production.
www.savident.com
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