Last week I washed and waxed (NXT) my G35S. I drove it to work a few times this past week and it somehow ended up with lots of bird droppings on it. I was good about getting a few off as soon as I noticed them, but a few must've sat on the paint for 2-3 days.

So I washed the car today and just noticed two dime-sized spots on the car that look like acid etched into the surface. It looks similar to a fine-grain orange peel texture but a bit more crater-ish if that makes sense. The paint is shiny in these two locations, and feels pretty (but not perfectly) smooth.

Is it possible to easily remove these imperfections?
How could bird poop have etched into the paint in a couple of (cloudy) days?
How can this be prevented in the future?

It must be 10X worse because it's a black car. I've never seen this type of problem in any car I've ever owned...and I've never been that good about frequently washing/waxing in the past.

Help...please!

 

2 days is a VERY long time...

 

yeah it all depends on what the bird had to eat. having the car in the sun makes it worse. you might as well try and polish it out at this point since you really have nothing to lose

 

try ScratchX or any light polish and see... but it sounds like the damage
is already done.

 

ScratchX by hand is your best bet, odds are it'll take a machine polish though. 2 days is plenty of time to etch, if the dropping is particularly acidic it will etch in minutes.

 

Quite honestly, you can try to compound that area, but the spot will not come out. You could try using a harsh rubbing compound and at first glance it will look like that you've gotten it out, but it will come back in a day or two.

The only success that I've had is using 2000 grit sandpaper and wet sanding the area, compounding, then polishing it. Then top it off with your favorite wax or synthetic wax. I found that NXT, though it looks good, doesn't last very long. Zaino, of course lasts a long time, but is a pain to take off. That just explains it's durability. A good medium is perhaps Menzera FMJ, Blackfire, or Klasse SG. Klasse is also difficult to take off, kind of like taking a waterbased wood stain. but it looks okay IMHO. Blackfire looks good, but dust really collects on it. It is especially noticable on a dark car. The Menzera looks good and lasts pretty long. I'm still experimenting with it though.

 

Would using zaino actually protect against etching in the first place?

Even if I keep quick detailer and an MF towel in the trunk, odds are there will be some times when I leave the office to find a bird dropping on the car that has been there all day long.

What does everyone else do?

 

If the acid in the bird poop is enough to eat through paint it's going to go right through a wax or sealant. Keeping the car sealed is a good idea regardless, and it *may* mitigate the damage in a small way; but really the best thing to do is get them off as quickly as possible *and* then neutralize the residual acid with some alcohol and water (soak the spot or soak a cloth and leave it on the spot for a few minutes), then lightly wash the spot and re-apply your wax/sealant. This is important because even after the bird poop is removed the acid can continue to etch if heated by the sun. Cheers.

 

from a pro-detailer that did a black sedan in the past, he mentioned that the
black used by infiniti is especially soft.

 

That was probably me; it i very soft. Actually all their colors are pretty soft; it drove me up the wall when I had my G's.