Bird poop & baby wipes

[mac e]

Just wondered your thoughts on whether using baby wipes to remove bird ****, is it likely to cause any damage to paintwork?

Had a particularly nasty splat that needed moving and lo! there were babywipes in the glovebox.

Thought afterwards maybe not such a good idea as no idea what solvents are used in the things - assumed if it's good enough for the babies it's good enough for the motor. I'd be gutted if I shouldn't be using them as they work an absolute treat!

[Cb40]

No idea if the chemicals in the baby wipes have any effect on paint sorry.

But a definitely safe method is to place a piece of kitchen roll on the splat, mist with water, wait 5 mins which will have softened the poop and it will just wipe off without scratching the paint at all

Been getting dead flies off my crash helmet visor like this for years so it doesn't scratch it!

[Gizmo]

Most baby wipes will contain alcohol, this will be fine for your paint but may strip any wax you have applied - but better to do that than leave it on possibly doing more damage.

However never wipe any dried on hard poo, always make sure it has softened sufficiently that you are basically just lifting the poo off the paintwork.

Bird crap can be very gritty and abrasive, you don't want to be dragging that across your paintwork.

[furn]

if baby wipes contain alcohol then that's why babys scream the fricking house down when you wipe there bottom!

never studied the contents but that cant be true!

Edited 26 March, 2013 by furn

[ChrisRs]

Warm water

All you need

Soak a cloth in warm water...cover and pat down ..leave on for a few minutes

Wash off with warm water

[furn]

Warm water

All you need

Soak a cloth in warm water...cover and pat down ..leave on for a few minutes

Wash off with warm water

yes that sounds like a fantastic method but what about when your away from your garage say on a day out in the middle of nowhere, I personally use baby wipes to carefully remove it. but I know autogylm specifically do a wipe for bird dropping removal!

[Sippo]

Need to get some of those! Had a bird drop its guts the other day. Right in the centre of the bonnet. Could do nothing about it til I got home. Looked awful!

[skomaz]

Never tried baby wipes on paintwork but they are fantastic for getting dead, baked on flies off the widnscreen in summer!

[4wheel]

I had the same problem but much more serious.Just got off the coach at Gloucester Green bus station in Oxford when I was covered in bird s#!? !! It must have been a monster bird because I was covered in it.On my clothes,in my hair and on my face. The kids locked the car and wouldn't let me in as I smelt terrible. It was so bad people were passing comments and taking avoiding action. Eventually threw my jacket away and had a sort of clean up in a public toilet.I could have used a few of those baby wipes that day for sure.

[whitelighter785]

I have Johnson's fragrance free wipes in my car & have used them for years with no issues to remove the bird c**p from my cars. All bird debris will eventually eat into the the top coat of paint work & I have seen it do within 2 days to a panel that it has needed to be painted to repair the damage, generally... the more colour in the poop (usually from berry's) the quicker it will eat into the top coat.

[mac e]

Thanks for the replies folks. I'm kinda reassured that the worst I'm doing is affecting the wax as I intend to keep on top of this with a month old car. Plus with a gaggle of under 5's getting transported daily there are always wet wipes in the car - that extra glove box lid comes in very handy. Made the mistake with previous cars of leaving bird poop on between washes and the evidence is hard to hide later on.

The other thing is, my house seems to be right under the flight path for several parts of a huge sparrow which roosts nearby, so the problem is daily splats at the moment. The main roosting site is about 1/2 mile away and to be fair it is breathtaking to watch the flocks congregate and perform they're acrobatics. Humbling really. I shouldn'y say it but the sound of so many wings whooshing low over the roof tops rivals the roar of the vRS boosting past 6k, hmmm well almost.

[Kent (DK)]

Poorboy's World Spray and Wipe is also very good for this. In my opinion it is safer to use than hot water, which actually strips off any wax on the car. Spray on at let it sit for a few minutes - then gently wipe off. You can easily have a bottle of this and a cloth or two in your car. Besides, Spray and Wipe is a waterless wash, so if your car is slightly dirty you can really make it shine with this - and no scratches.

http://www.poorboysworld.com/spray-wipe.htm

Edited 31 March, 2013 by Kent (DK)

[Ben90]

I keep some wet wipes in my car for the same reason. I fold it up and just dab it on the poop until it softens up and the wipe picks some of it up, then turn over and remove with a single wipe. No marks.

[eric87]

Must remember this

[Brianpilman]

Autoglym do a bird dropping wipe think halfords stock them

[Wilko251088]

I can vouch for the AG bird **** wipes, they are decent!! Just use as above, pat down and wait till soften and remove. As they stay in the car I wipe off whilst wet, I never let it dry.