Bird Bomb Protection

[Nezil]

I recently moved to Adam's products after using Zaino for the last few years. I'm loving the way that Brilliant Glaze / Americana looks on my pearlescent black car, but have recently run into an issue...

 

About two weeks ago, I detailed my whole car, removing all swirls and then protecting with Brilliant Glaze, followed by two coats of Americana. Since that time I've been dusting off the car after each drive, and hitting it with Detail Spray every morning before I leave for work; it's been looking great since it's not rained here in Northern California for ages.

 

Today I went for a drive with my family, and noticed a bird bomb when we came out of a restaurant after eating lunch. As soon as we got home, a couple of hours later, I cleaned of the bomb but it had already etched into the clear coat!

 

I have tried polishing out the etching, but it's really very deep. I've been able to improve the appearance quite a bit, but the bigger questions are 'How did this happen?' and 'How can I prevent this in the future?'

 

I realise that Americana is a wax, and therefore lasts for less time before needing to be re-applied, but I didn't think that it protected any less; was I wrong about that?

 

Should I be applying Machine Sealant under the Brilliant Glaze / Americana Wax combo? Would that have prevented this?

 

[Kenneth]

Yes you need to apply a sealent on bare paint. Then go with brilliant glaze and Americana. If the bird bombs are still problems you could just strip and clay the panel and re do the above steps.

[Tim]

Keep waterless wash and towel with you to remove the bomb as soon as you see it - that is what helps prevent etching.

[mc2hill]

What Tim said ^^.

 

Add one of these to your next order - Adam's Waterless Car Wash Travel Size, along with an extra one of these - Adam's Microfiber Waterless Wash Waffle Towels.

Take care of the bird bombs and acidic bugs ASAP to keep them from causing damage. Having protection on the paint is a great start, but the acid can eat through if not removed quickly.

[Captain Slow]

Keep waterless wash and towel with you to remove the bomb as soon as you see it - that is what helps prevent etching.

This.

What Tim said ^^.

 

Add one of these to your next order - Adam's Waterless Car Wash Travel Size, along with an extra one of these - Adam's Microfiber Waterless Wash Waffle Towels.

Take care of the bird bombs and acidic bugs ASAP to keep them from causing damage. Having protection on the paint is a great start, but the acid can eat through if not removed quickly.

 

This.

 

I keep an "emergency" bag in the trunk w/ Waterless Wash, Detail Spray, some mf towels and latex gloves. The latex gloves and mf towels get pitched after use on bird bombs. The WW and DS are in the four oz. travel sizes. As stated above: the quicker the bird bomb is removed the less damage it can do.

[Chris@Adams]

Keep waterless wash and towel with you to remove the bomb as soon as you see it - that is what helps prevent etching.

ASAP!

[Nezil]

So believe it or not, after posting last night, I went over the whole car with (apologies, but I just can't afford to buy every Adam's product yet) Meguiars Ultimate Polish, which is a combined fine polish and glaze, using my Porter Cable. I then did an IPA wipe down to leave a totally clean car.

 

Following this, I applied a coat of Machine Super Sealant, again using the Porter Cable, and then after waiting ~30 mins, buffed off and called it a night (around 11.30pm).

 

This morning, I buffed over the whole car again in case I missed any bits, or the machine sealant had further cured. It's looking very shiny now, but not deep like the Brilliant Glaze / Americana combo does.

 

I'm going to leave it to cure until later tonight (~18 hours since the MSS was applied) and then hit it with a coat of Brilliant Glaze and first coat of Americana.

 

If all goes well, I'll do a second Americana coat on Tuesday morning before work, and I'll be back to the state I was in yesterday afternoon, only now with MSS underneath it all!

 

I hope this works better, and as Tim & Michael suggested, I'll get some Waterless wash to keep in the car for just such an occasion. It seems a shame to use the Adam's waterless microfiber to go at a bird bomb, but I suppose it's better than having it etch into the paint.

 

Thanks for the tips guys!

[Captain Slow]

 

It seems a shame to use the Adam's waterless microfiber to go at a bird bomb...

In my emergency bag are my old 'premium' MF towels that pre-date my Adam's MF towels. I'm sure you have some of those MF towels as well.