bird droppings

ok guys, the other day I was detailing a car that had blotches on the flat surafce areas (hood/truck/roof) it appeared that the owner left bird droppings sit too long and it ate through the clear coat. I started with the least abbrasive compound and worked my way to the wool pad with heavy compound, and it didn't remove or improve those spots in any way. What I was wondering is I have heard of many types of paint chip repair methods out there and wanted to know if any of you have had any success in using any. Since this is more serious than s chip (by that I mean that some surface sanding may be needed before the repair) I wondered if I should even try to suggest something to the owner. I don't think I would try anything without first experimenting on one of my old cars. Any feedback would be great!

I think your better off, repainting the whole panel, but thats me, I dont like paint chip repairs, and your dealing with bird dropping "cracks" not chip repairs, I dont know the process of matching and blending in paint enough to tell you everything, but a good body and paint shop(depending on your color) can shoot paint on the effected areas and sand blend them in, you can still see it if you know what your looking for, but it is cheaper than a repaint of the entire panel. Good luck, sorry to hear you did all of that work for nothing.

i never fully got enough practice touching up paint, so my results were usually not up to my expectations. even after sanding and filling in small chips by hand. what really annoys me most is how simple most customers think it is to "just touch it up and buff it to blend it in" they come back and expect it to be perfect. in my opinion, if i can't do it right(or don't think i can satisfy someone with the touch up) i recommend a body shop. i don't know of any other way to fix bird crap spots other than re-painting.

If I run into a case such as the one that you have experience here, I would personally find out how long the droppings have been on the surface. I would then tell the customer the truth & that the droppings might only get lighter. Also telling them that no matter what other minor procedures are done, you will always see a light mark.

In doing this will let the customer know off hand that you are willing to try but for them to not get there hopes up. I really enjoy getting this type of vehicles sent to me . I tell the customer the truth & make them realize what they have done & also mainly tell them how costly the repair will be.

I personally don't believe in chip repair more than a couple of chips. A lot of vehicles will get the salt & peppered look on their front end. The main cause of this is from highway driving. If you get into filling all of these chips the correct way of building up the paint & also the clear if it is a metallic paint or a two stage painted system, you might as well start playing the game connect the dots.

What I'm trying to say is that a customer that neglects his or her vehicle must know the true meaning of abuse to their vehicle's finish & must realize that to fix it correctly, the entire panel must be repainted. Depending on how old the vehicle is, blending can be done depending on certain panels. You cannot blend just any color into the original color for every repair. It doesn't work like that. It is a matter of how the body lines go into each other & also how the repair area meets the new area. This is a very technical matter that is hard to explain on paper. It is more understood on showing of the vehicle how the panels match up.

Sorry for the lengthy reply, I can only recommend repainting the affected panels that the droppings have been exposed on.

Thanks guys for the repsonses, if I ever try anything, it will definitly be on my 95 Sonata which looks like it was painted with a brush anyway. I know my own limitations, and would never try something on a customers car before doing research and trying it on my own. Todd, you are correct about these people. They abuse their car, then they think it should be easy to fix. Maybe this little education will do them good. turbo>>>>>>charged