Paint finish issue
 

I've reviewed the detailing forum, but did not find an answer.

In cleaning some bird droppings off the rear quarter panel, I left some scratches in what I'm guessing is the clearcoat. My bad, I realize.

Once it stops raining, I'll have a detailer fix it right, but I'm wondering if there is anything I can do in the interim to make it not look so bad. Any ideas?

You can start with some polish (less aggressive) or cutting compound (more aggressive). Auto zone also sells nice hand held polishing pads that work great. My guess is that will fix the problem. A Porter Cable orbital is nice but probably unnecessary for this spot touchup.

If you polish with the ultra cutting compound and notice scratches still, you might wanna wet sand it with 1500 grit sand paper and buff it with the ultra cutting compund and then a ultra polish ... remember to not sand too much or you WILL burn through the clear coat. Any questions, feel free to message me.

I did that when I took off the dealer logo, annoying visable swirls. No matter what I tried I think I made it worse. Finally ask a friend who owns a body shop to help. In no time he buffed it out and the finish looks like new. If a job costs more to do on your own time ( learning curve ), get a pro to do it.

That's why you're the only guy allowed to work on my car:tup:

If I am appointed to build the next Ark, birds that can fly will not be invited!

Until then--I carry 3 small water bottles and a micro towel. Just in case the car gets **** on! The sooner bird poop is cleaned off the better!

In the interim don't touch it. Let your detailer polish it out using proper methods and tools. :) for me that would be a mild polish and 3" RO. :)

It is much more cost effective to learn how to do it and buy basic products which can be used over and over versus paying someone the same amount to do it once when you will invariably face similar issues down the road.

Uh yeah. Just like it's more cost effective to maintain/service your own car if you know how to do it properly. Otherwise, it's completely cost INeffective if you screw things up and have to pay more to have it done correctly.

It's pretty hard to screw up with a Porter-Cable and any of the major detailing systems like Adams, Meguairs, Zaino, etc. Noobs (like me) might not get Junkman-like results at first, but short of physically dropping the Porter-Cable on the hood, damage doesn't happen.

I agree that if the OP isn't into detailing or ongoing paint maintenance on his car, it's not cost-effective to get into a detailing system. If he just wants the occasional major scratches out, might as well just pay someone on a per-incident basis. Getting into a full-on Adam's detailing system is going to cost around $400 - $500. Whether or not that's cost-effective is going to depend on the OP's desire for detailing and how much money he spends on getting someone to detail for him. There are people who just want to drive their cars, and there are people who also view the maintenance of their cars as a hobby in itself. I can justify $500 in order to indulge a hobby...the OP may not have the time or the inclination -- not just to buy the system, but to actually do the work.

Yeah bird droppings suck, you can see this stain in my paint from a 1/8" yellow drop of bird poop. The stain is in paint.
http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/k...h/IMG_1160.jpg