Tree fallout damage

Status
Not open for further replies.

irv

Joined
Oct 8, 2006
Messages
2,219
Location
Oshawa, Ont. Canada
My wife came home last night from her niece's birthday party and informed me tree leafs/droppings were stuck all over her car.
I went out to investigate in the dark and rinsed everything off the best I could. Just shortly ago, I washed the car and noticed the damage these leafs/fallout caused!
mad.gif


This is the second time this has happened, with the first being bird crap. The car is a 2017 Impala and my wife found out through work this car was sent back to paint during the assembly process.

Imo, this shouldn't be happening, and I am guessing they either didn't respray with clear or they screwed something up during the repainting process? I am out of my element so I really don't know?

Anyways, should I take this to GM as the car still has warranty or should I try to repair this myself?

If you think these will come out fairly easy with a bit of compound and a DA polisher, I would rather do it myself than take it back to GM, but I am all ears on hearing what people think about that and what is the best way to repair these marks.

I've enhanced/cropped these pics to try and show the paint etching the best I could.

WP_20181021_14_23_43_Pro (2).jpg


WP_20181021_14_17_58_Pro.jpg


WP_20181021_14_17_07_Pro (2).jpg


WP_20181021_14_17_26_Pro.jpg


WP_20181021_14_17_39_Pro.jpg
 
Hi irv,

I noticed something like this on my friend's black Dodge Avenger recently. The sooner you attend to such issues the better the results usually. Which is why I always have some Ultima waterless wash in the trunk with MF towels. Even in the freezing winter. I'd start with the least aggressive approach first. It appears that detailer and mf towels wouldn't remove it all. Just a guess there. I'd start with some clay to remove as much of it as possible. Then gently use some polish or compound on it. Re-coat with some Collinite and it should be fine. Is there just one or a few of these spots or a lot more than that?
 
Originally Posted by SatinSilver
Hi irv,

I noticed something like this on my friend's black Dodge Avenger recently. The sooner you attend to such issues the better the results usually. Which is why I always have some Ultima waterless wash in the trunk with MF towels. Even in the freezing winter. I'd start with the least aggressive approach first. It appears that detailer and mf towels wouldn't remove it all. Just a guess there. I'd start with some clay to remove as much of it as possible. Then gently use some polish or compound on it. Re-coat with some Collinite and it should be fine. Is there just one or a few of these spots or a lot more than that?


My wife was parked under this tree for approximately 5 hours (I wasn't with her) and of course I never heard about it until she came home. Imo, as the car had these all over the roof and trunk as well, the heat from the hood didn't help matters? (the roof and trunk look fine)

I guess I should have at least washed the hood last night.
mad.gif


I'll give some clay a shot and I never even tried a detailer but I did try, on one spot, some GM cleaner/wax with basically no improvement.

I have some MeGuiar's Ultimate polish, should I try some of that by hand first before breaking out the polisher? It is only 4 degrees C here today, does that factor into anything?

Thanks SS.

I was hoping you would reply!
cheers3.gif
 
Originally Posted by irv
I have some MeGuiar's Ultimate polish, should I try some of that by hand first before breaking out the polisher? It is only 4 degrees C here today, does that factor into anything?


Yes those trees can be a pain! Yesterday I had my car blasted with leaves, pine needles etc all stuck to the car. I picked off a lot of it and just driving it blew a lot of the gunk off. It will get a wash tomorrow since I didn't notice any spots on it. Trees usually attract the birds so a double-edged sword. Best to stay away from them as much as possible. Esp don't park under them but tread lightly when telling the wife that.
smile.gif


If you have an mf towel along with the Megs polish I would give that a try first. If that doesn't help then you can spot polish with the polisher. The temps shouldn't matter too much here. I'd let the Collinite bond to the paint a little longer than you normally do. Apply thin of course.
thumbsup2.gif
 
Originally Posted by SatinSilver
Originally Posted by irv
I have some MeGuiar's Ultimate polish, should I try some of that by hand first before breaking out the polisher? It is only 4 degrees C here today, does that factor into anything?


Yes those trees can be a pain! Yesterday I had my car blasted with leaves, pine needles etc all stuck to the car. I picked off a lot of it and just driving it blew a lot of the gunk off. It will get a wash tomorrow since I didn't notice any spots on it. Trees usually attract the birds so a double-edged sword. Best to stay away from them as much as possible. Esp don't park under them but tread lightly when telling the wife that.
smile.gif


If you have an mf towel along with the Megs polish I would give that a try first. If that doesn't help then you can spot polish with the polisher. The temps shouldn't matter too much here. I'd let the Collinite bond to the paint a little longer than you normally do. Apply thin of course.
thumbsup2.gif



OK, thanks again, SS. I'll go try some now and see how things go? Winter is coming way too quick here! I was hoping to have a coat of Collinites on it by now, which likely would have prevented this in the first place, but I am way behind on everything!

I appreciate the help.

Thanks again.
cheers3.gif
 
Sure thing and anytime irv. Good luck and let us know how it turns out. I'm sure it's nothing that a little elbow grease can't take care of.
08.gif
 
Originally Posted by SatinSilver
Sure thing and anytime irv. Good luck and let us know how it turns out. I'm sure it's nothing that a little elbow grease can't take care of.
08.gif



Well, I didn't have much success, SS. I was able to fade them a little bit but since the paint is etched/marred it looks like I might have to resort to some wet sanding or maybe the DA polisher in the spring with a higher cut compound?

The marks look pretty much like these. They are burned into the paint, unfortunately.
mad.gif
 
The next step up would be compound used with the polisher and the appropriate pad of course. I'd try that next. I'm surprised it etched so quickly since the heat of the summer is gone.
 
Originally Posted by SatinSilver
The next step up would be compound used with the polisher and the appropriate pad of course. I'd try that next. I'm surprised it etched so quickly since the heat of the summer is gone.


Me too, which leads me back to my original thoughts that when this car was sent back to paint, some step was missed along the line?

I can understand bird poop but leaves/flowery things, unless this was a known toxic type tree, I have never seen before. I also definitely believe, because her hood was likely hot from the drive, this didn't help matters?
 
Could be the heat from the engine or that's just where the spots landed. Usually trees are on the edge of the parking lot and the hood goes right under it. While the rest of the car is out of the tree's range.

Can you try the polisher now with a cutting pad and some polish to see if that works?
 
Originally Posted by SatinSilver
Could be the heat from the engine or that's just where the spots landed. Usually trees are on the edge of the parking lot and the hood goes right under it. While the rest of the car is out of the tree's range.

Can you try the polisher now with a cutting pad and some polish to see if that works?


It's real crappy out, SS. It's cold, windy and was starting to spit out.

I think, at this point, unless we get some decent weather soon, I will likely just get a coat of wax on it and leave it until the spring? I have oil changes, winter tires, and a host of other things to get done before the snow/cold gets here permanently.
Never been so busy in my life it seems, and things, like today's issues, keep popping up all the time!

I know, all 1st world problems, lol.
cry.gif
 
Last edited:
Wow, I've never seen tree sap damage paint so quickly, that's a nasty tree. I get pine tree sap on our '07 Honda (big pine tree right next to our driveway), but it comes off without leaving actual damage. Had a moment of weakness and went through a new-in-town carwash with 'soft' brushes a couple weeks ago, which left fine scratches in the paint all over the car. It took two time- consuming rounds of Maguire's scratch and swirl remover to get them (mostly) out.
Anyway, hope you are successful in getting the tree sap spots off.
 
Originally Posted by carviewsonic
Wow, I've never seen tree sap damage paint so quickly, that's a nasty tree. I get pine tree sap on our '07 Honda (big pine tree right next to our driveway), but it comes off without leaving actual damage. Had a moment of weakness and went through a new-in-town carwash with 'soft' brushes a couple weeks ago, which left fine scratches in the paint all over the car. It took two time- consuming rounds of Maguire's scratch and swirl remover to get them (mostly) out.
Anyway, hope you are successful in getting the tree sap spots off.


These were more than sap. They were some type of bud/flowery thing that actually had a bit of size to them. I don't know my trees at all but I have seen these before.
My wife drove home, about 10 kms, and they were still stuck to her car. The wind, and she said she gave it some, did nothing to blow them off. They were stuck like glue on there.
When I got out the garden hose last night, I thought I was successful as they seemed to come off fairly easy once they were wet but what I couldn't see is the residue they left behind.
She said she had to park on the road and this was the last spot that was available, which was right under this tree, unfortunately.
frown.gif
 
Last edited:
My inlaws have a CRV and a Caravan and both are parked under their tree that saps all over them and they aren't good about cleaning it off regularly and certainly don't wax their vehicles past whatever the car-wash uses and their vehicles seem to be fine. I cringe at it because I know the damage it could cause, but just as another case to go by. Their 1999 CRV was retired last year and although the paint had dulled from the sun and lack of wax there was nothing like this and it had been sapped on for almost 20 seasons.
 
Last edited:
Tree residue is one of several items that motivated detailers to use a Clay Bar treatment as the 2nd step in a complete protection detailing job (washing is the first).

Most people do not realize the fact that tree residue, bug residue, bird stuff, pollution, and other elements reside on the exterior finishes of vehicles. A good wax / sealant helps protect the surface for the most part, but lingering contaminants of this nature need to be removed to avoid more serious impact over time.

Regular washing helps, but only a good Clay Bar treatment does a thorough job of removing these nasty things. Following up the Clay Bar treatment with additional cleaning (such as polishing and also protective treatment (wax/sealer) assures better lasting protection of a vehicle's finish.
 
Many years ago (1989) I had a Beretta GT that I parked under a tree. It rained one night causing many leaves to fall and stick all over the car. The next day the sun came out and baked them in...when I removed the leaves the clear coat looked like it had fossilized imprints of the leaves in it. You could make out the outline and even the veins from the leaves etched into the clear coat. Hood, roof and trunk were all covered in these leaf 'fossils' etched into the clear. The car was 1 year old so Chevy covered a repaint of the horizontal surfaces under warranty.

So yeah, this stuff can happen and does.
 
Originally Posted by iahawk
Many years ago (1989) I had a Beretta GT that I parked under a tree. It rained one night causing many leaves to fall and stick all over the car. The next day the sun came out and baked them in...when I removed the leaves the clear coat looked like it had fossilized imprints of the leaves in it. You could make out the outline and even the veins from the leaves etched into the clear coat. Hood, roof and trunk were all covered in these leaf 'fossils' etched into the clear. The car was 1 year old so Chevy covered a repaint of the horizontal surfaces under warranty.

So yeah, this stuff can happen and does.


With all the vehicles I have owned over the years, the only one that showed/got similar marks on it was my 87 Chevy Wrangle that had been repainted. (aftermarket shop/place) Any other vehicle I owned that still had the factory paint, this never happened, not even once.

My thinking is, because my wife's car was sent back to paint at the factory, they screwed something up?

These marks seem to come way too easy on this car for some reason?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top