Can you remove bird poop etching?
Quick answer: Often, yes — if the bird-dropping damage is only light etching or surface staining, we can usually remove or reduce it by polishing. Bird mess is highly corrosive, though, and if acids have etched through the clear coat the damage is permanent and needs refinishing.
We can, depending on how deep they are. Bird mess can be very corrosive, and the damage can go deep, but as long as it's just light etching or staining on the surface, we can usually remove or reduce it.
Bird droppings are surprisingly acidic, usually around pH 3 to 4.5, and that’s part of what makes them so harsh on paintwork. But the real problem isn’t just the acid — it’s how they bake on. Bird mess is full of uric acid crystals, which are sharp and gritty, so when it dries it forms a hard crust that digs into the clear coat. Then, when the sun heats up the panel, the paint expands while the dropping stays cool and rigid. As the panel cools and shrinks again, the paint pulls tight around the mark, leaving behind a shallow imprint or “etching” in the lacquer. Even if you clean it off later, the damage is already done — the surface is no longer flat. That’s why you often need machine polishing to remove bird etching properly.
We have occasionally found that this etching can go right through the lacquer as shown on this video, it's possible in this case that this heating/expanding/contracting has caused the bird poop to pull the lacquer off the paint.
However, we shouldn't underestimate the power of the acid. On occasions in the past, we have polished out bird mess marks in the afternoon, only to come in next morning to find that the mark has reappeared because moisture in the morning air has activated those microscopic uric acid crystals which have found their way into the pores of the paintwork. Neutralizing them with a slightly caustic soap is essential.
Written by Danny Argent. Last updated 12/09/2025 16:04
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Bird Mess Marks
This is a quick clip showing damage by bird mess, which has etched its way right through the clear-coat and permanently damaged the finish of this Toyota.