So you’ve parked your car under a tree. Useful shade, you think. And then you come back hours later to find lots of random artwork on your car, courtesy of some feathered friends. Much later, when you try removing them, you find that you’re left with the telltale signs of where the offending material had been, even though the residue has been removed.
Common belief is that it’s the nasty stuff in bird droppings that do the damage to the paintwork, in the form of a blotchy, faded spot. Well, new research from Brit car care company Autoglym suggests that the familiar sight of car bodywork ‘etched’ by bird droppings are not the result of any corrosive property in the deposit. Rather, the damage result from the paint lacquer contracting upon cooling and moulding to the uneven texture of the hardened deposit.
Apparently, as paint lacquer warms – under direct sunlight, for example – it softens and expands. At the same time, that heat dries and hardens any bird droppings on the surface. Autoglym’s researchers discovered that as the paint lacquer cools, overnight for example, it contracts, hardens and moulds around the texture of the bird dropping.
To the naked eye, this moulding at a microscopic level appears as dulled or etched paintwork once the surface is cleaned of the residual dropping. The light’s reflection is interrupted by the imperfect surface, unlike the undamaged paint surrounding it, which gives a clearer reflection.
The company says that tests with strongly acidic, neutral and strongly alkali bird dropping substitutes highlighted negligible differences in the damage caused, but differences in paint damage were noted when the substitute bird deposits had varying degrees of grain-to-liquid content – a grainier texture caused greater light distortion (dullness) when the paint moulded around it.
Wax and polish treatments – that protect against chemical attack from acid raid and UV sun damage – provide limited protection from the paint moulding to bird droppings, although they will make them easier to remove. The longer the deposit remains on the bodywork, and the higher the temperatures, the harder the dried deposit will be, and the greater the propensity for the paint lacquer to mould to it as it cools.
So, the only way to prevent the paint becoming noticeably tarnished is to carefully remove deposits as swiftly as possible, preferably with a moist cloth. And there you have it, the truth of the matter, no shit.
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Thanks for the great info!
:)
Bird droppings = Matte paint’s worst nightmare.
I’m wondering how is nissans nano self reparing paint do against bird droppings. Would be interesting to see that Dupont and PPG would say about this….
however, it still may having some stain on the car and all we need to od is clean it up as soos as possible…
besides, dont park the car under the cable too.. since many brids like to rest at there and love to drop those “boom” which under it.. wonder why the birds not get burn by electric short circuit when stand on teh cable.. =P
The birds that “lepaks” on the power lines that doesn’t have an earth lines (wayar bumi), there is no pathway for the electricity to travel through their bodies. Unfortunately, birds do sometimes touch two wires when landing or taking off, and they are always killed that way.
Dear CC,
My background is telepathic for the past 25 years, and yes, I’ve asked one of the bird in taman tun dr. ismail, KL the same question u posted. Sadly, she has no idea whatsoever.
:-)
http://www.word-detective.com/howcome/birdsonwires.html
All cable nowadays have insulator lor. =.=
u wont get electrocuted if u only touch 1 cable….but if you hold on to 2 or more cable….zzzaaaappppp!
those birds ‘sit’ on one cable only.
it’s an incomplete circuit, therefore no current flows through them.
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071018124851AAOX6xr
i m driving a potong saga, so, it really doesn’t matter, the car itself oledi shitty…same goes to my other spare car, a fiesta and a forte…
LOL that is harsh
haiyoo, pity on you. then buy a LRT la. hahaha. like ur sarcastic statement
u use a shitty car..then u r part of the shit
They never come across Malaysian birds, Malaysian birds eat sambal belacan, it’s shit spicy and pungent, no shit.
frankie, can u teach me something?
izzit better to use a spoon or a pair of chopstick?
Bird droppings = Sign from above to load on Magnum 4D !! :)
I concur, bird droppings are not something you should pooh pooh about. My Civic EG’s bonnet has been destroyed by bird droppings.
The paint job has turn into patches. Some even showing the signs of rust.
Serious shit?
is there any ‘like’ button for the pic?
finally…justice for birds!!!
can u write more simple english?
Your nickname kinda suits you and btw, you should learn English + English Idioms more, you big noob!
conclusion is… do bird droppings damage the paint?
good info. next article, human shit please.
Bird’s droppings = Yesterday’s food from today’s bird…
Brid’s droppings = Yesterday’s food from today’s bird….
tree sap is just as bad for car paint, especially the ‘getah mempelam’..
It would be interesting to do a comparison with a choice of parking under the tree shade and get bombarded by tree sap/bird droppings or park in an open car park under the hot sun getting sun baked. I always have a dilemma of which choice and which of it is more damaging, sun or shit?
my windshield(double layer, JIS cert) got one leave mark(whitish) after a leaf stuck on it for more than a week…… its still there after many times of car wash…. its will become an antique one day….
the only way to remove it is to get a windshield insurance coverage…
i love this – it’s definitely on of the best articles on this site… =D