Hello all,

Ive had my car washed today and noticed that in a few places on my bonnet the lacquer is peeling!!!!!!!!!

I have a horrible feeling that this is because of the bird poop that was on there for less than 24 hours, but I can't believe that its burnt (for want of a better term) through the layer of lacquer on the top or the paint.

Firstly.....anyone had experience of this?

Secondly...is there a lacquer over the paint? Anyone know the finish process and if I would have to respray or if a re-lacquer is possible?

Thirdly.......bodywork/paint warranty / guarantee?

It's a sad sad (sunny) day here in Scotland.

Attached a photo. There are two places its doing the exact same thing.

Thanks,

Ross.

 

Bird crap can indeed eat through the clear coat, but my God to do it this fast the winged rats must be consuming the whisky!

 

Tell me about it. Winged Rats indeed......it wouldnt be the whiskey....never blame any problem on whiskey. Whiskey solves problems....it doesnt cause them.....

Anyone know if it is possible to have the clear coat reapplied or is this likely to be a full respray of the bonnet

 

Bird "poop" on my car boot and rear window is a daily event thanks to some gurt big pidgeons who sit in a tree over the back of my car in the early mornings.
Its nasty what they do ! This week its been all over the filler cap, on the rear bumper all over the back window and even after washing it for ages with a sponge and warm soapy water the bloody stuff is like concrete. But I've got to clean it off.
But yeah it does kill the clear coat even for short periods of time, I learned that on my previous car.

I'm going to get some of those spikey things that stop birds sitting on window ledges and put some on the branch where they sit.

 

Wow. That's amazing that it destroyed the clear coat so quickly. Unfortunately I doubt any warranty for that - sometimes it can be quite corrosive

Think your best bet is a respray. It won't take long / be hard. I doubt they would just do clear coat - I wouldn't think you could blend it in and more likely it will show. Will be faster and easier to zap a colour coat then clear coat on the whole panel. But take it to a paint shop and see what they suggest. Wonder if there is a tougher clear coat they could use...

It shouldn't be too expensive - pretty straightforward for a good shop. But I'm sure you'd rather not be paying anything...

 

Yes bird droppings can be very acidic, although sounds like yours was in the extreme!!
I always try and rinse any off as soon as I see them, when and where I can as I know the risk. Even best case scenario sometimes is they leave a "ghost" of the actual dropping itself in the clear coat if it doesn't destroy it.

I'd imagine a re spray is your only option

 

My view is that the birds are innocent. I reckon the bonnet has already been repainted badly at some point in the past. A body shop would be able to tell you. They have a gadget that can measure paint thickness.

 

I think that your mileage may vary depending on the birds and possibly other things like the paint finish. Over many years I had never woriied about birdropping that much and just hosed them off when convenient.

A few years ago I had a comical incident with my company car. I was parked under some pine trees at the beach for my daughters wedding. When I came back the tree was home to a flock of pelicans that have comprehensively crapped all over the car. This was not removed till about noon the next day. It was a black turbo Forestor so it look a bit like a zebra striped safari park car as we drove through town looking for a car wash.

Generally all was well, but within a day or so two areas of clear coat started peeling. One was small less than a centimetre and the other was larger about 3-4 centimetres. Probably academic re size as once the clear coat has failed it pretty much downhill from there.

So bottom line (pun intended) was that all the car was covered on every panel only the dollop on the bonnet reacted badly.

 

I've seen paint etched pretty quickly from droppings, but peeling in less than 24 hours is the first I've heard of. But I've seen a lot of cars with spots of clearcoat peeling. Maybe this is one possible reason why. Once you get it fixed, do like I do, carry a bottle of Meguiars Quick Detailer or similar in the trunk and wipe bird droppings off the instant you notice them. Or better yet, carry a shotgun and shoot the birds.

 

That sucks..I always clean bird crap off as soon as I see any..A heavy coat of wax on the finish helps protect it too..

Seems birds do the dirty deed everywhere..in my case, they always seem to seek out the cleanest car to dump on...why is that??

 

Mine has a few areas of lacquer peel which are being sorted next week. Its a respray job and it aint gonna be cheap. Perhaps Scotland will be cheaper than Oxfordshire though....


Mine was a result of a poor respray in the past apparently, someone (Jag dealer) didn't do a thorough enough job. Birdpoo will marr the lacquer but not eat through to cause peeling..