Guys, Please Help A Lady In Need-bird droppings took off clearcoating on car

[Joaniesbrowneyes]

OK guys, can you help me out ? I take excellent care of my car and upon washing it yesterday I took notice when drying it off; some of my clearcoating came off where some bird droppings had been for 4 days, any suggestions men ? You will make me one happy chick if you can help me out.

[Mr Wiggl3s]

Well hi there
What kind of car is it?
How big is the part where the clear coat is comming off?
How often do you wax your car?
Where is the clear coat that came off?

If its a "big" chip you can just fix it yourself. I can post a text tutorial, if you are interested in it


Sand out "all the rust" (you will need paper for metal sanding, get a few grades, maybe from 200 grit to 1000 grit). Sand until you get down to metal (start with the heavier grit and work your way down to finer.) leave no rust crumbs, really got to get it clean.

Then use a wax remover or cleaner to get all the wax off the surrounding area of painted area (maybe 6" or more all the way around the spot) and then treat the metal spot with "Naval Jelly". It comes in a plastic container and its cheap to buy at hardware or auto supply. dab it on the raw sanded metal and it will turn black and seize up the metal from rusting further which is important since you are going to put new paint on. be sure to sand "clean" first with no signs left of rust and so the metal is shiny and also sand with fine grit around the surrounding area and into existing paint that surrounds the area, maybe a couple inches all around removing any left over wax and scuffing the paint. (if you find any rust under the paint , got to sand it clean too) leave the jelly on for about 1/2 hour (just apply the jelly moderately to the bare metal, stay away from the paint)
The spot will turn dark and then rinse it off really good with fresh water. now spray some basic primer, maybe a couple light coats and then when dry do a very light sand

Then carefully fill in with bondo for deeper dents or a glazing compound if your cut/rust/dent is not too deep. the glaze should not be laid in more than like 1/8" deep and it can go on in thin layers also. let dry (about 1/2 to 1 hour) and sand over again with light grit paper to get smooth.

When you "think" it is smooth and level, respray again with some primer and watch for low spots to show and go over with block sander, home made is okay, wrap paper over a block of level wood and touch up more with glaze putty in low spots. the glaze comes in a tube and is cheap to buy ( a few dollars). work with fine grit sand paper till really smooth you will be best off with a block sander so that your work is level, unless working on a curve or edge in the body.

NOW, you need to find up the "matching color" for your car in a spray can, if you haven’t done already. auto supply stores carry stock colors and you can look up your code in the books there for right match. you wont get a perfect match though because of the age of your original paint but it should be close. spray over your work in light coats and I wouldn’t tape off are into a square or anything like that, but do protect nearby windows or chrome. you want the paint to mist onto your surrounding area as you concentrate on your work spot. if you tape off the area you will have sharp edges and paint lines that will difficult to remove later and you wont get a good blend.
after a few coats of paint and it has dried completely, (even overnight), depending on how thick it is on and humidity conditions), go back over very lightly with very fine and "wet" sandpaper (should use like 1000 grit here) to smooth off the nubs and rough spots or possible runs. its okay if your shiny paint now looks scuffed some or dull. don’t worry, the rubbing compound will bring the paint and shine back.

Now comes the "fine" rubbing compound. 3m has a good one. (maybe $15.) don’t use a heavy gritty compound or you’ll ruin your work. now by hand rub all over your area including the surrounding area where the paint misted till the basic shine comes back to the paint and it is very smooth by touch. (start out with light pressure and work circles round and round) this is all about a "special touch" you will develop so you end up getting the whole area very smooth. the compound is meant to take off any burrs or runs in the new paint and also blend in with the surrounding paint so it becomes seamless.

After the compound residue is rinsed off and let dry a few hours so all the moisture is released from the compound you can then...put on some wax over the entire area and buff out. (do the whole fender for example if that is where your spot was). I would do a couple coats of wax. your bad area should now be as matched up as much as possible with the new paint and go un noticed.

This type of work takes time and patience and some trial and error as you develop "the touch". maybe start with a smaller area first till you get good at it. do one spot at a time and then venture out.

*Tip* You don’t ever want any bare metal exposed without using the naval jelly and primer on it out in the open more than a half day or so because it will start to rust all over again pretty quickly so plan your time out.

[Joaniesbrowneyes]

Thank you for such a fast and very detailed reply. My car is a dark burgendy(cherry) , '97 Chevy Malibu. As I stated before, it was a rather fresh dropping but it was there for 4 days; I guess long enough to take the clearcoating off. The spot is bigger than a half dollar; sorry, I am not very good at giving measurements and located on the passenger side of my vehicle above and behind slightly the front tire well. My car is in excellent shape and is not rusty at all.
Thank you again....

[Mr Wiggl3s]

I'd give it a fresh coat of wax. That might do the trick