A8bil

I got some nuclear bird crap on the hood of my car recently (birds eat these nasty berries and leave craps that eat through paint), and when I go to remove it, the effort leaves some fine scratches. Then I go to use a couple of different products to remove the scratches, and none seem to work. Polishing compound left more scratches. 3M scratch remover has little effect. Wax cleaner gets it a bit better, but the scratches are still there. I have a brilliant black car, so the scratches are highlighted. Thoughts?

Mister Bally

Griot's Garage fine hand polish and then their wax. Use their pads. They can be used by hand.

Their glaze also works wonders if the clear coat has been eaten through.

hunterp27

hey, another piece of advice that really works great. when you finally get the hairline scratches fixed and you are ready to wax, get yourself some paint clay and go over the entire painted surface before you wax. Its a lot of work and you will get tired, but it pulls all kinds of microscopic crap out of the clearcoat and makes waxing easier. You will be amazed at how smooth the paint is after "claying" Griots has great clay

Mister Bally

^^^ This. Sorry I neglected to mention to clay the car. I was just trying to answer the OP's issue of scratches from the bird crap etching his paint. I've found that once you clay a car, then polish & wax; you usually just need to keep waxing it every month to 3 months or so and it will continue looking great. If you wait too long between waxings and the car is parked outside a lot, I reclay it before waxing. I've found claying to be very fast, even on my A8L. Use plenty of Speed Shine to lube the surface when claying.

Here are a few photos at Griot's retail store & events center in Tacoma from my recent road trip.

Galco

Nothing looks better than a properly polished black car. However, black is the worst color as it shows every paint imperfection. As you've experienced with the bird dropping what's left behind is more noticeable on your brilliant black than a sliver or white colored car.

To remove the etching (outline or shadow) due to the acid in the dropping as well as the scratches left behind from the wiping off the dropping, you'll need to remove a very small amount of clear coat from the surface to rid the imperfection from the paint. Don't worry we're talking about microns of clear coat to either eliminate or greatly reduce the fine scratches. Factory clear coat is very thin but there will be plenty left behind from a typical bird bomb.

This is something you can definitely tackle yourself. However, if you don't wish to, research a good detailer in your area and you will be amazed on how good your call will look once done. Be prepared to pay at least $150 for a proper exterior detail. IF you want to do this yourself, read on...

To do so you,ll need to use a polish (not wax) to remove enough paint to eliminate the scratches. Since you've already used a polishing compound you need to follow up with a less aggressive paint polish (I would NOT recommend polishing compound as they are too aggressive and often don't have diminishing abrasives). There are many good polishes out there. Personally I prefer Menzerna (German made) but they are not readily available at the local retailer. I source my product online most often via DeatilersDomain.com. For local availability, Meguiar's makes some very good products. As well as 3M which recently acquired Meguiar's, but I digress.

So back to your concern. If you have access to a machine polisher and foam pads you will save yourself a great deal of time and arm fatigue. Avoid the rotary type polishers unless you are experienced as they can permanently damage paint easily. Stick with a dual-action (DA) or orbital polisher as they are the most forgiving and easier to use. They also leave behind the highest gloss finish. A reasonable priced and quality orbital polisher is the Grito's. Also use foam pads. You should never need wool as like rubbing compound, wool is very aggressive and typically not necessary. The so-called pro detailers use wool for speed of cutting but they leave behind those swirl marks that you see on the road once the temporary filler glazes and waxes they use to cover up the defect wares off. Sometimes these are called holograms as they appear to move around the surface depending on the angle of the sun. I'm sure you've seen them.

The key is to use a polish that has enough cut to remove the imperfections yet finishes with a fine clear gloss. Depending how aggressive the scratches are I would suggest starting with my favorite Menzerna SF 4000 aka Super Finish. On a green foam pad. Green is a mild cutting pad. While pricey, if you really wish to get your black beauty looking its best, this kit has everything you'll need to go get started and enough to do many cars: http://www.detailersdomain.com/Griot...Kit_p_704.html

If you don't have access to a DA polisher, small areas are doable by hand but will take time.

By hand get some Meguiar's or Menzena polish and several clean microfiber towels and try to rub out the imperfections. Clean and dry the area well. A good rule of thumb is always start with the less aggressive polish and if not effective, move to a more aggressive polish. By hand or machine may require a 2 (sometimes 3) step polishing process, especially on dark or black paint. First to rid the imperfection followed by a second to eliminate any hazing or fine scratches. After application of polish, spray the area with isopropal alcohol and wipe it off with a clean microfiber towel to remove the polish completely. Inspect and if needed hit it again with the polish til you're satisfied with the result. Make sure you cover the area (or entire car) with a quality wax or synthetic sealant for protection.

While this was years ago, and my product preferences and techniques have evolved, here is a example of the what is possible in your own garage, using quality polishes an orbital polisher and foam pads. This is on the wive's Black Caddy. 1st post BLACK SRX Hammered - Show and Shine - Detailing Bliss powered by Detailer's Domain

Hope this helps. If i can answer any more questions, let me know.

everwake

Audi paintwork is tough, to fix scratches on a black car you would either need a rotary polisher ( and experience) or a DA polisher.

Not sure which brands are available in the US, but I would buy menzerna FG400 and chemical guys hexlogic pad orange for the tough scratches, but start with FG2500 on green or white pads, fg400 might leave some halos it you are using a rotary, so finish of with fg2500.

I only use menzerna, but meguiars 105 and 205 would probably work just as well

(and now I notice Galco´s exellent post...so lets just +1 on that post and just add my personal opinion that SF4000 is a show car finish kinda product, it looks nice but sf2500 is probably good enough for most people