Bird poop bombs v. ice cubes

M

medic159

New member
I've been waiting for a while to test the theory that freezing bird poop will make it easier to remove. I came up with this in the early Spring when it was VERY cold outside (20 or so) and a flock of returning birds perched in a tree under which I was parked.



When I got home I started to remove the bonbs and noticed those that where on the hood (warm) were their usual hard to remove BUT those on the roof and trunk (very cold!) slid right off.



Keep in mind my car had several layers of Z2 to protect it through the winter.



So I figured the cold would cause something to happen to the poop bomb and make it easy to remove. I waited to get bombed and today I finally was. (Oh now there's something I never thought I'd hear myself say!)



There were two hits so I took an ice cube and placed it on one of the poop bombs and left the other untouched. When the ice cube was a about half melted I took a towel and gently wiped the bonb and it came right off as a whole without any resistance or residue! The other was dry and hard and well stuck to the car. I then used an ice cube on the second one with the same results, it slid right off.



So apparently the combination of the cold and the soaking from the melting cube does something to force the droppings to free itself of the polished surface.



Whatever the reasons... it works!
 
IMHO it is simply the bomb getting wet from the melting ice that is doing the trick. if you were actually freezing it, then it might help too...but the cold probably isn't doing much.
 
Thanks for carrying out the experiment and giving us all a "heads-up" :D



I think I'll just concentrate on NOT parking under that damn tree if I were you though :chuckle:
 
If you want to remove the moisture component and investigate if it really is the the cold making it easier to remove, you might want to try some canned air. Office supply stores have it readily available. I would think that you could get the suface pretty cold by spraying it with the canned air for a few seconds.
 
etml12...did you read what you just typed????? compressed air and fresh bird poop. he wants to freeze not spread. I'm on the same track as you perhaps that mole freezing stuff you can buy from stores. you could hold the compressed air can upside down so the freezing component comes out instead of the air.
 
Sounds interesting but with the 2 coats of EX-P I have on my car right now I am very happy with removing bird bombs with a "very small" amount of S&W, let it sit for a couple seconds and take a WW towel designated for this purpose only and wipe off. Does the trick everytime for me. Haven't had any etching of the clearcoat or anything and very happy with the results of S&W for bird bombs.



The main thing that worries me is being at work all day and it happening and it sitting there all day. I have gotten out of work and there be bird bombs all over the car for some reason. Wasn't parked under a tree, never am parked under a tree, not sure how long it was on there mind you but it comes right off with the method mentioned above.
 
I just went out to my Jeep to find bird bombs and I was parked in the middle of the parking lot!.. I was mad. Those birds had to be sick.. Some QD and a WW towel made quick work of them. The paint was alittle dusty and I hate doing that, but Im sure its better that the poo is not on the paint anymore.
 
fstb88 said:
etml12...did you read what you just typed????? compressed air and fresh bird poop. he wants to freeze not spread. I'm on the same track as you perhaps that mole freezing stuff you can buy from stores. you could hold the compressed air can upside down so the freezing component comes out instead of the air.
Click to expand...



fstb88... here is my point. You need to think about high school physics for this one. Lets assume air is an ideal gas (which is a pretty good approximation by the way, as long as it is fairly low in humidity). When a gas experiences a change in pressure it is accompanined by a change in temperature. This is what is known as an adiabatic process. In the case of canned air, air at high pressure is released such that it attains a low pressure and the gas (air) temperature goes down as well. Just the opposite occures if you compress a gas (its temp must go up). It is a law of nature.



If this did not happen diesel engines would not work. Since they do not have spark plugs (or any mechanism to initiate combustion) they rely on air/fuel mix being compressed in the cyclider to such a degree that the temp change (solely from increasing pressure) increases to the combusiton temp of the fuel. This is why diesels operate at higher compression ratios than gasoline engines.



As for your idea of using the wart remover. If you hold the can upside down the only thing that will come out of the nozzle is propellant. It still feels cool because it has undergone an adiabatic process! Go to the drug store, they all tell you to hold the can upright if you want the fluid portion to be dispensed into the aplicator properly.



With all this said, I still think it would be interresting to try canned air (use to ge the good stuff that garuntees that it is dry and won't contain any measurable moisture). When it is released fromt he nozzle the gas will expand drastically cause a large reduction in temperature. As a matter of fact, I believe these cans have a warning on them to not direct the air being discharged in one spot to long as it could damage delicate computer components (or likely skin).
 
Here in the UK (I say this because I guess there are differences in bird **** worldwide) I deal with it by getting some kitchen towel, soaking it in water, laying it on the stuff and leaving it five minutes or so to soften it up and then I use a pan of water to rinse it away.



I'd sooner have water stains than risk trying to wipe it off the surface, however lightly, and drag a piece of grit over the paint.
 
All of your points are valid but I still stand by my cold+wet theory. I've always used a window cleaner or such to soak the poop and get it off but it many times requires a long soaking period and several applications if it's a particularly big and dried on poop bomb. The cold ice and water made a quick case of it and the droppings just slid away.
 
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