Holy (bird) Crap, this paint is fragile!!!

[Captain Awesome]

I visited my Dad yesterday for about an hour and when I came out I see that some bird has made two big white splotches on my hood/windshield. So I get the hose out and rinse it off. This morning I get up and decide I'd like to wash the car and so I do a wash and pull into the garage. I get out and I just happened to notice the light refelecting off the spot where the bird crap was yesterday is showing the shape of the bird crap is etched into the clear coat.

It buffed out with a lot of work with some swirl removing polish, but I think my buffing has left a bit of a haze on the paint.

You experts out there have any suggestions to restore this area to factory scratch free shape?

Thanks!

(Below is a quick pic I took with my phone. The spots you see are not discolorations or spots on the paint... they're just etched -into- the paint surface, like a texture. It shows up when light hits it just right. it looks white in the photo because light is hitting the bumps in the texture)

[Mightygrasshopper]

that sucks!!! argh..good to know..i will have to give mine a wash.

[Captain Awesome]

Originally Posted by Mightygrasshopper

that sucks!!! argh..good to know..i will have to give mine a wash.

Just to clarify, I'm not blaming Chevy or Oshawa for the paint issues. Notice there's some orangepeel on the hood as well. I blame these flaws on the horrible Water based paint that Al Grope and his minions have forced upon all car companies. Chevy is doing as best they can until the technology is perfected or the auto paint industry is deregulated.

[2010 SSRS]

Birdcrap damages all paint!

[Captain Awesome]

Originally Posted by 2010 SSRS

Birdcrap damages all paint!

I've owned many cars and have had birds crap on them and never had it damage the paint from sitting on it for an hour. I had a S10 Blazer that sat outside all summer (no room in garage and I was driving my Z28 in the summer) and it got crap on it all the time that sat there until I washed it in the fall getting it ready for winter. It never left marks like these that formed in an hour...

I know bird crap is supposed to damage paint (that's why I rinsed it off as soon as I saw it on my SS), but I expected that it would take more than a few minutes to cause this kind of damage.

[fielderLS3]

Originally Posted by Captain Awesome

Just to clarify, I'm not blaming Chevy or Oshawa for the paint issues. Notice there's some orangepeel on the hood as well. I blame these flaws on the horrible Water based paint that Al Grope and his minions have forced upon all car companies. Chevy is doing as best they can until the technology is perfected or the auto paint industry is deregulated.

And people wonder why cars in the 70s were junk. The government was building the whole car, not just the paint. I can't believe a bird dropping sitting on the car for just a day or so did that much. I'm afraid GM is going to have a lot of angry people demanding new paint jobs. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a class action suit at some point down the road.

(P.S, I've been wondering for a while, are you the actual Great One using a pseudonym? Your comments sound exactly like him).

[fielderLS3]

What will acid rain eventually do to these cars? What will people's cars look like 5 years from now if they can't park them inside garages?

[Captain Awesome]

Originally Posted by fielderLS3

And people wonder why cars in the 70s were junk. The government was building the whole car, not just the paint. I can't believe a bird dropping sitting on the car for just a day or so did that much. I'm afraid GM is going to have a lot of angry people demanding new paint jobs. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a class action suit at some point down the road.

The thing is that it wasn't sitting on there for a day. It was on the car for an hour or less. It definitely happened at my Dad's house because it was all over the windshield too and I would have noticed. I hosed it off right away, and went home and put it in the garage. 12 hours later I washed the whole car (I was planning on taking some pix of it) So, the crap was on there for under 60 minutes.

IF there was some sort of residue that was left behind when I rinsed it that was still marring the paint, then that was only on for 12 hours. Still a short time compared to other bird crap experiences I have had.

(P.S, I've been wondering for a while, are you the actual Great One using a pseudonym? Your comments sound exactly like him).

Nope. No such luck. To say I sound like him is an honor! Thank you for that! I've always written like this. But listening to his podcast has changed my opinions about a great many things. Really opened my eyes.

Of all the hosts I identify with Mark the most. We like many of the same things and have many of the same tastes. The guy is my new hero. Thank me for your compliment!

[SnoopyAce7]

clay bar? idk if thats appropriate for this?

[Captain Awesome]

I thought clay bar was more of a cleaner and didn't do anything for scratches or blemishes.

[fielderLS3]

Originally Posted by Captain Awesome

Nope. No such luck. To say I sound like him is an honor! Thank you for that! I've always written like this. But listening to his podcast has changed my opinions about a great many things. Really opened my eyes. Thank me for your compliment!

Oh well, it was worth asking. I listen to the Great One when I can too. The reason I asked was he mentioned once that he had a new Camaro too (and apparently drives it like he stole it according to other radio commentators I listen to who claim have ridden in it with him). Great minds all think alike.

[zerox]

Have to agree with TC here the paint is to delicate. It's actually frustrating how bad this paint is. I have the splash guards on mine and they still don't help to much.

[Captain Awesome]

Originally Posted by fielderLS3

Oh well, it was worth asking. I listen to the Great One when I can too. The reason I asked was he mentioned once that he had a new Camaro too (and apparently drives it like he stole it according to other radio commentators I listen to who claim have ridden in it with him). Great minds all think alike.

Listen to his podcasts!!! They are free on his website. What a great guy to offer them for no charge because he wants to fix things and doesn't care about making a profit like some other hosts. That really impressed me.

Locally, they run his show at 10:00PM and cut out hour 3, so the podcast is my solution. It downloads at night and I listen to him first thing in the morning while I run and get ready for work. You can get previous episodes too and listen to them. He truly is (as he jokingly says when he mocks other shows for copying him) "Tomorrow's First Morning Show".

Try the podcast or the free streaming audio on his website!

[Captain Awesome]

Originally Posted by zerox

Have to agree with TC here the paint is to delicate. It's actually frustrating how bad this paint is. I have the splash guards on mine and they still don't help to much.

Yeah. I just turned 4K miles this week. Now a lot by any measure... the bottoms of the rocker panels seem all roughed up. My 2000 SS had 60K miles when I traded it and the rocker panels s didn't feel that beat up.