Removing bird droppings with Quik Detailer and paper towels

[LongRun]

I have no idea, really, how to take care of my car's appearance. The last time I had a new car no one had even heard of microfiber, let alone sold towels made of the stuff. I used synthetic sponges and cotton towels for washing, waxing, and drying and paper towels for spot cleaning the paint and all cleaning of glass.

Today I didn't notice I parked under a tree, and when I got back to my car it had more than a few bird droppings on it. I sprayed Meguiar's Ultimate Quik Detailer on the droppings, wiped with a lint-free paper towel, and then dried with another lint-free paper towel. As I was doing this, a random dude yells at me not to use paper towels on such a nice car. Googling around I see his opinion is not uncommon.

I have 3 reasons it seems a good idea to me to use paper towels to clean bird droppings:

1. Bird droppings are a lot of mass and volume and would heavily soil and use up my limited supply of microfiber cloths.
2. Bird droppings carry diseases and I would not want to contaminate my reusable cloths with them.
3. Quick detailer is supposed to be specially formulated to provide lubrication to prevent scratching while cleaning the car.

Googling around I see some people here and elsewhere say paper towels should never be used, but I do not see any evidence to support that, and so I think maybe it is urban legend, or maybe it is just a rule of thumb to keep you from using a completely dry paper towel to wipe off sand, which for sure will scratch the paint. Please fill me in with better information than I heard it from a guy/professional detailer/Google/dealer/my dad.

Just FYI, I found this article on Meguiar's on how to remove dried bird droppings and it seems good to me, except that you use up/ruin one microfiber cloth per dropping.

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[nuowner]

... Googling around I see some people here and elsewhere say paper towels should never be used, but I do not see any evidence to support that...

You want some evidence, use the paper towel on a black car.

 

[callmehandsum]

Your guiding principle should be "gentle on the paint". Microfiber is gentler on your paint than paper towels but if you want to use paper towels, wipe gently. If you want some good advice taking care of your car's looks, join Autogeekonline.

 

[Space Lord]

For bird droppings I have a set of cheap "disposable" MF towels in my car that I get from Amazon or Wal-Mart 50 for like $15-$20 and use quick detailer. I use these for the tires and wheels too and normally thow them away afterwards or wash and use them as rags but never use them on the car again. Or I go to the self car wash and with the spot free rinse I spray off the droppings. I save my nice MF towels for waxing, drying and paint correction.

Edit: but yeah, to answer your question, don't use paper towel as they will cause marring.

 

[CEPA_Si]

As mentioned you should NEVER use a paper towel on your paint. The material is quite abrasive and will most certainly leave fine scratches in the finish.

 

[Texchappy]

Should I do it? No. Have I done it? Sheepishly admits yes. A little marring is much better than etching from a bird bomb. Ideal would be a bit of ONR or Opticlean with a nice microfiber kept in your car for such things. That and supporting a moritorium on non-edible birds.

 

[556ALPHA]

Saturate the towel regardless of what it is and just lay it flat on the dropping. Let the dropping absorb the liquid. Do not rub it. Does not matter what color the paint is, a paper towel is fine. Then use a SOFT cloth with detail spray or whatever you choose.

 

[cypress]

For bird droppings I have a set of cheap "disposable" MF towels in my car that I get from Amazon or Wal-Mart 50 for like $15-$20 and use quick detailer.

This.

I just got some on the side of my car yesterday. Used Quik Detailer and the microfiber towel and then discarded it afterwards. I buy them bunches for stuff like this. I previously used paper towels on my previous civic because I just didn't know and it was a royal blue. I could definitely see the fine scratches afterward.

 

[neteng101]

I do use paper towels - although its been the same one brand (Bounty) and only for quick detailer and I don't rub or use pressure. Bird droppings come off easily enough if you get them early and the car's always been waxed.

And I use a cloth based automatic car wash too.

Can't say I've had any issues with fine scratches even though people would scream at you that both are bad. If it works for you, keep on being you. If you are seeing scratches though, then absolutely stop. I did find that Shamwow towels I bought from a car show many years back actually was abrasive and stopped using them. They're a good way to dry up wet garage floor though.

 

[LongRun]

So far the cheapest non-linting microfiber towels I can find are still almost 50 cents each and only 1 foot square, which for me is kind of pricey for a single use disposable. I use Viva towels because they are soft and non-linting, use a quick detailer, and as little pressure as I can manage. While I have seen more streaking with the Viva towels, in part due to my reluctance to use heavy pressure with them, I haven't seen any scratching.

In other situations I have seen scratches that I think were more likely caused by the grit I was trying to remove being pushed around by the towels. My sense now is that a plush microfiber towel makes it much more likely that such dirt will be either lifted from the surface or cushioned from the overall wiping pressure than would be the case with a cheap paper towel. On the other hand, a cheap, thin microfiber towel could do just as much damage as a paper one if what you are pushing around under it is hard enough to scratch the paint.

 

[Texchappy]

So far the cheapest non-linting microfiber towels I can find are still almost 50 cents each and only 1 foot square, which for me is kind of pricey for a single use disposable. I use Viva towels because they are soft and non-linting, use a quick detailer, and as little pressure as I can manage. While I have seen more streaking with the Viva towels, in part due to my reluctance to use heavy pressure with them, I haven't seen any scratching.

In other situations I have seen scratches that I think were more likely caused by the grit I was trying to remove being pushed around by the towels. My sense now is that a plush microfiber towel makes it much more likely that such dirt will be either lifted from the surface or cushioned from the overall wiping pressure than would be the case with a cheap paper towel. On the other hand, a cheap, think microfiber towel could do just as much damage as a paper one.

Why would the microfiber be single use? I have some that are ten years old and are still useable!

 

[callmehandsum]

So far the cheapest non-linting microfiber towels I can find are still almost 50 cents each and only 1 foot square, which for me is kind of pricey for a single use disposable. I use Viva towels because they are soft and non-linting, use a quick detailer, and as little pressure as I can manage. While I have seen more streaking with the Viva towels, in part due to my reluctance to use heavy pressure with them, I haven't seen any scratching.

In other situations I have seen scratches that I think were more likely caused by the grit I was trying to remove being pushed around by the towels. My sense now is that a plush microfiber towel makes it much more likely that such dirt will be either lifted from the surface or cushioned from the overall wiping pressure than would be the case with a cheap paper towel. On the other hand, a cheap, think microfiber towel could do just as much damage as a paper one.

Yeah I agree with Tex, invest in some quality microfiber towels. A few vendors to consider: Autogeek, Chemical Guys, Detailers Domain, Poorboys and I can't really think of others even though there are other reputable sites as well.

 

[FineBottledWater]

I have been using Turtle Wax Bug & Tar Remover with microfiber cloth. Let it sits for a minute and it will usually wipe right off.

 

[Captain]

I did the cleaning wiht paper towel first time when I cleaning the the bird dropping after the clean the mess I'seen it it was all the scratchs the spot.
never use the paper towel before the cleaning the bird dropping area put two three minutes pressured water the use the microfiber cloths thats it.

 

[baldheadracing]

...On the other hand, a cheap, think microfiber towel could do just as much damage as a paper one.

No, it won't.

You can always rinse them out and then run them through the laundry.

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