Does bird poo stain car paint?

Yes, those unsightly splats across all the upper surfaces of a car really are bad for the paint, so try and get them off your car as soon as possible, even if it does make you feel sick. Use a moist cloth and if the poo’s already dried or won’t come off easily, leave a moist cloth on it for ten minutes and try again.

And be sure to dispose of the cloth and wash your hands afterwards, because bird droppings can carry diseases as well as damaging your paint.

If you’ve heard that it’s the acid in the bird poop that eats your car’s colourful skin, think again.

Car care product company Autoglym did the science and looked very deeply into avian faeces. They discovered that the damage you’ll experience if you don’t get the droppings off quickly enough is actually the result of cooling paint lacquer, which contracts and hardens around the poop.

As paint lacquer warms up in harsh Aussie sunlight, it softens and expands, while the heat also dries and hardens the droppings. Then when the lacquer cools overnight, it contracts, moulding itself around the bird poo.

The result is unsightly etchings in your paintwork which look, well, crap.

Now find out how to choose the best colour for your new car and also learn how some colours can affect your resale value.