mmarshall

For those of you who park (or regularly) park outdoors with sheet-metal-panel vehicles (it's less-critical with plastic or fiberglass panels), we will once again be facing ding-season, starting in a couple of weeks, for acorns falling off of oak trees. Indeed, locally here in the D.C. area, I have already seen some walnuts come down, which are larger, heavier, and do even more damage to body panels. Typically, acorn season reaches its peak from late August to early October, but that will vary with the local area. Vehicles were once more resistant to this kind of ding-damage. But, today, many sheet metal panels are so thin, because of cost/weight/fuel-mleage concerns, that they will ding if you so much as blow on them LOL....I often mention that in reviews. If possible, try not to park directly under large trees, at least until later in October or so.....though, I know, the shade can be a temptation in the bright sun, which can rapidly heat up the interior. If you DO have to park under large trees, try to avoid oaks, walnuts, other nut-bearing trees, or big pine trees that drop large cones. On the trees themselves, ripe walnuts tend to have large, green coverings and look like green tennis-*****. The first warning signs that acorns are about to drop is when you see some of the still-green ones fall wth their caps....that is a sign that the ripe, heavy, brown ones will soon follow.

And, for those of you with a garage......count your blessings.

Johnhav430

Man you should see where I grew up in CT. All the oak trees are that much taller! (some fell during the ice storm a few years ago) Too bad our cars can't be a little more aggressive with respect to Newton's third law.

mmarshall

Actually, they once were more resistant to dings. Cost, weight, and mileage/emission concerns seemed to have put a stop to that, though.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

there's plenty of nuts on the road.

mmarshall

I guess that gets back at me for my "mod" resign comment LOL.

SW17LS

I always look around for nuts on the ground when I park LOL.

I remember one time, I had my 03 ES300. I was parked outside for an open house and when I came out, the car had like 5 dings on the hood, roof and trunk. PDR to the rescue!

mmarshall

Yes, in this area, with typical summer/fall climate, the peak of the acorn season seems to be in September, but can run anywhere from August to October. Like I said, I've already seen some walnuts on the ground....they can be like large hailstones when they fall.

On a slightly different note, you can probably be glad you passed up the new LS for the last-generation model. Consumer Reports, this month, criticized its stiffer ride, twin-turbo v6, overly-complex control screen, and quirky E-shifter. I'll post it, but not in this thread, where it would be off-topic.

SW17LS

Propulsion

mmarshall

Some droppings will eat into the paint very quickly.....others are much more forgiving and give you more time to clean them off before they do any damage. My advice is to get any droppings off as quickly as you can. If they are very dry or hard, wet them first with warm water and allow them to soak and soften for a little while....then they are easier to clean off and less likely to scratch.

In some cases, if the damage is not deep or just on the paint-surface, SCRATCH-OUT will take care of it, though you sometimes have to rub it hard or give it several treatments. I have repeatedly had good luck with this product for many kinds of paint problems, as long as they are not too deep.

Propulsion

mmarshall

It won't work if the entire clearcoat is gone, but it will help with a lot of smaller, less destructive stuff.

There are ways you can disguise that bad spot on the hood (like putting hood-stripes down to cover the spot up)...but they significantly alter the car's looks, in ways that you might not want. But, hey, a hood re-spray isn't so bad...and it will, of course, get rid of the common chips that infect the front of so many hoods from gravel and road-debris.

SW17LS

I'd be shocked if the clearcoat was actually gone. I'm sure it can be polished out.

mmarshall

Depends on the exact kind of bird-poop involved. I agree that it's not likely that the clearcoat is completely gone, but the type of poop that has the dark red berry-residue in it can be very acidic, and etch deep into the paint.....beyond Scratch-Out's capabilities.

SW17LS

Beyond Scratch Out's capabilities sure, but that doesn't mean it cant be polished out. Scratch Out is very mild.

I've never seen a bird poop etching that couldn't be polished out.