Tuesday, 4 March 2014

Birds of Feather Poop Together

As if the constant rain wasn't enough, another problem with parking outside is birds. For us, living in a green and leafy area, there is simply no choice - no matter where we choose to leave the car, it's going to be under a tree, and, as a result, subject to meticulous target practice by the local birds. 

Now the obvious bit is that of course having bird excrement on your car is ugly and disgusting. However, I thought little else of it until we took our lil' old supermarket car to a car wash after a couple of weeks gathering a collection of poop on the bonnet. Once the poop came off, so did the lacquer, leaving horrendous spots all over the bonnet. Now that I think of it, should have taken some photos to show how big the damage is, but too late now.

Since then, I have googled and googled again trying to find a miracle bird poop repellent protector, but no such luck. There are several explanations for the damage, with some saying that it's the chemicals in the poop that etch into the lacquer, while others claim that it's the way the lacquer expands in the warmth and contracts in the cold that does the damage. Either way, the result can be heart-wrenching to look at if you don't act quickly. 

I do feel better now that the car has been waxed, but still a new part of my daily routine now includes examining the car for any sign of bird excrement (and believe you me, not a day passes by without at least one new 'decoration') and frantically wiping it off. 

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