CONTAMINATION action stations
When natural contaminants attack vehicle paintwork, you have to act quickly
When it comes to vehicle paintwork, “contaminants” come in all shapes and sizes. Although the word itself may sound rather alien, there are many natural contaminants ready and willing to ruin the shiny surface of your car. The solution is to act fast.
Essentially, the longer you leave contaminants to work into the surface below, the harder they are to clean, so the first thing that should come to mind is don’t leave it too long.
Act now is the secret, particularly when it comes to getting rid of unwanted paint surface visitors, but what if you have indeed left it too long? Here are some handy ways to remove common “natural” blemishes.
Bird droppings
It seems like the moment you’ve finished washing a vehicle, those cute but pesky fowls are eyeing it up as a shiny target. The best way to avoid them is to park away from trees and power lines, which is often much easier said than done.
How damaging bird droppings are depends on the type of bird and what it had for breakfast. Often, the bigger the bird the bigger the poop and whether they are birds of prey or berry-eating sparrows, the poop is quite acidic.
The way to remove dried-up droppings on the paintwork is to soak it. Simply wet a microfibre cloth and just leave it on there. The good thing (if there is such a thing) with most bird poop is that it often hits the car on the horizontals, so you can just leave the cloth and walk away. Once it’s soft, use running water to wash it all off.
Do not use a solvent, like turpentine for example, or any form of scrubbing pad unless you are looking to repaint your vehicle.
Bee pollen
Particularly prevalent in summer, these natural contaminants can be tricky, as if left too long they can leave yellow spots in the clear coat. The solution is to wash away with water and more than likely a bit of car wash. If you have some yellowing of the clear coat, it’s usually only temporary as light bleaches it within a couple of weeks.
Tree sap
This is basically the resin secretion from the tree — or even leaves as they fall.
Some can be removed with water or a water/methylated spirits mix, with the spirits aiding the water by getting into the resin and softening it. Again, use a soaked cloth and leave it for a while on the contaminant. Try this first, unless you already know that it doesn’t work on the sap of a particular tree.
More often than not we don’t know which tree decided to take it out on the car, so if the above doesn’t work, try a solvent like turpentine or undiluted methylated spirits. For example, Pine tree sap in particular responds to this very well.
Keep in mind that not all tree sap dissolves in solvent and neither do all react with water,
But it’s better to start with the least invasive and/or more readily available liquid before getting out the heavy stuff.
Bugs
The debris may look rather nasty, with the bugs having met their maker at speed on the front of the vehicle; however, water is the best solution and if need be, some detergent. If they happen to be persistent, keep them wet for a while as per some of the suggestions above for soaking.
Prevention is always better than cure and therefore making removal easier, so try to be mindful about where you park.
On top of this, either regular waxing your car or a professionally applied ceramic coating will assist greatly to remove any of the above to ultimate satisfaction and with far less effort.