Well, to all of you Zainods, I felt that I should post this in rebuttal to all the praise that you all give this stuff...

This past week, my truck's tailgate recieved a heavy coat of berry-laden bird poo from a tree at work. As some of you will recall, this was the only area that I had used the Z as my trial run.

Up until now, I was impressed. The shine was just as good as my Meguiars (however; I hesitate to say 'better') and the protection was very good seemingly but, after the berry-poo landed and baked on the tailgate for about a half-day, I removed it before going home (you know... the typical 'after work' walk around your truck to ensure that all was well and accounted for) and noticed that I couldn't seem to remove some of the really stuck on poo with Final Inspection or Z-6. Yes... that's right... I was packing a bottle of Z-6 and used it first.

I disregarded it as a farce and decided to hit it with clay this weekend to remove the stubborn poo. Well, after claying, I realized that the poo wasn't on the surface and, in fact, it had eaten into the clearcoat and etched a small spot on the tailgate.

The conditions were just about as bad as they could get in my opinion. The humidity was 80+%, the temperature was around 92-95, and it was sunny as heck (even though the tailgate NEVER recieves direct sunlight at work).

So, with that being said... either I didn't do the Z correctly or it didn't hold up to the TOXIC ROBIN that ate the TOXIC BERRIES.

I'm certainly not saying that my old stand-by Meguiars would've held up either however; I am saying that the poo defeated the Z.

In other news... also this past week, we had an acid rain event. My paint on my hood, roof, and other areas where water could dry without rolling off (yes, this includes the top of my tailgate where the Z was applied) has tiny etched droplet marks. Now I've since gone back over them with a few coats of #9 and also tried to remove the marks with the clay bar pre-#9 however; nothing came off very well. The #9 deadend the obvious appearance of the spots but, I think they're there to stay. Can anyone recommend another procedure to help remove the marks? After running my finger over them, you can just BARELY feel them on the surface. Would this be an instance where I could take 2000 grit and work some of them off? They're not that bad but, you all know how I am about my truck and I know they're there.

Any suggestions?

RP

Edited for grammar

 

Hmmm sorry to hear about that RP. I don't have any experience with Zaino so I can't help. But, based upon your situation, I don't think I will be trying it anytime soon!

Wait for 01 or Harley to stop by. Im sure they will have some comments!

Jag

 

Sorry to hear about that RP... I know how it feels to have something happen to your truck... I worked hard for 7 years during school and the summers to help get a truck that I could pay off along with paying for other stuffl like school, and that truck is my baby. I'm not a big Zainoid... it was just the easier option since I had very little wax/polish experience and a friend of mine had a great deal of experience, and he got me into Zaino. I wish I could help you get those marks out, but I do not know much about it. I will take the moment though to compliment the local Ford dealer where I go to school though, I got a scuff mark on the side of my bed that was about a foot and a half long somehow last year, and they buffed it out completely for free. I did not really know of any other good body shops in the town, so figured I would at least get their opinion and estimate, and they did it for free. Just my little body experience. Good luck with your tailgate, sorry about it man... it hurts me that your having problems, I wish I could help make it better.

 

RP,

Yep, nothing will protect the paint from bird poop if it sits on there very long........... especially in the sun. Same goes for the acid rain.

Anyhow, I believe you will need to go to a bit more aggressive polish like Meguiar's DACP, or Poorboy's SSR2. The SSR2 is a medium abrasive that can be applied and removed by hand. The DACP needs to be applied with at least an orbital buffer, and works even better with a rotary. However, before you try any of these, try a little distilled vinegar on the water spots.

Good luck!

 

I agree and don’t think anything can stand up to major bird hoe poo. I do feel bad about your situation I don’t like seeing anybody’s truck take shots of acid poo from hoe birds from hell and ruin the paint. However with that said I have never had any problems with bird poo on my Zaino protected truck, that’s usually because I get to it quick and use windex to clean it off when I see it at lunch or before leaving to go home so it don’t sit on the paint longer then say 1 – 2 hours.

I think Zaino is excellent but no better at actually protecting from hazardous situations as you encountered with the hoe birds from hell attacking your finely detailed truck. As to how to take care of the existing problem with etching I have no idea.

However, have you given any thought into preventing future bombardments upon your truck? May I suggest a “hoe down” party? These consist of approx. 5 – 10 well-armed men/women with shotguns and a few tons of shotgun cartridges. You all hide behind some trees or tall brush. When the hoe birds from hell come on their final approach for their hazardous material dump run using your truck as their primary target you simple jump up from the bushes and unload with everything you got. This method works wonders and if enough ammunition is used it usually leaves no hazardous material around, kind of like evaporates it in mid-air.

The name “hoe down” comes from the reference of shooting the hoe birds from hell down, get it hoe down, shot the hoe down, not like telling a hooker no when she ask for payment, that is like “shooting the hoe down to” but this one has to do with the nasty bird situation.

I am here to help my friend...

 

Thanks for the sympathy guys... It's kind of frustrating but I suppose it's life. The truck can't sit in the garage 24/7/365.

I'll try the vinegar trick. I know it removes pesky water spots off of glass... I'll try it on the paint.

Thanks for the idea 01. Trust me... I've already contemplated taking the 'berry tree' to the ground and, it still might happen.

RP

 

RP,

Would really be interested to hear how you make out with this one. Keep us posted.

 

If this MF rain would stop (it's rained at least some everyday for the past 9 days I think) I could do it...

Grrr...


I'll keep everyone posted.

RP

 

If you were using liquid glass like you were supposed ta, none of this woulda happened.

Liquid Glass is the chit!

 

Yeah yeah yeah... blah blah blah... everyone's polish/wax is better than anything I've ever used...

LOL... I don't think anything would've held up to the bird poo... I should've taken pictures... it was the mother of all piles. LOL

RP

 

RP,

Get the Noah

http://www.global-accessories.com/carcovers/wolfcovers/

It takes exaclty 3 minutes on and 3 minutes off.

Well worth it. My SCREW sits at the airport 4 days out of the week.

After putting in all that hard work on Zainoizing the truck, I needed it.

 

I had the same thing happen on my tailgate but I was using Klasse & I don't know how long it was sitting on there. I ended up using scratch out & a buffer & had to go over it several times before it was all removed. Had me worried there for a while.

 

RP,

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. We may rib you (endlessley), but we all respect you. I've seen the bird splooge problem on several cars and even saw it eat through several coats of freshly applied Collonite on a friends car. Interestingly enough, his car was a dark color too. Maybe the extra heat from the darker color accelerates the process?

As for fixing the clear coat damage from the poop and acid rain, you might have to go as far as seeking professional help. (Yes, this has been suggested before.) The help I'm suggesting though is somebody good with a buffer. I wouldn't go near my truck (or yours) with sandpaper because you can take far too much paint off. Somebody who really knows what they're doing with a buffer and the right compounds can do absolute wonders though. Before I'd do any buffing though, I'd load up all of my matte finish plastic trim (bed rails, mirrors, tailgate latch, etc.) with some type of protectant to keep any compound from getting buffed in. Hope that helps and good luck!

 

My truck sits in the school parking lot for 12 hours a day. Not one trace of bird poop on it OF course tomorrow, it's going to be white instead of green, with my luck.

 

White is better than green anyways.