Bird Droppings

[Joerg K]

Getting back to the boat after two week absence I find the entire bow section full of bird droppings. I cleaned up, but find the fiberglass spreckled with dark stains where the visitors had left their mark. Can't get them off with soap or fiberglass wax. Is there anything that will do the job??

 

[Allen]

Bleach

I have an older boat with porous gelcoat that loves to soak up stains. Try a bleach & water solution, or if that doesn't work, try soft scrub with bleach--just go easy on the amount of force you put on the scrub brush to avoid excessive abrasion.Hope this helps!Allen

 

[Joe LaFreniere]

Get rid of the birds

Shoot the birds! Well, after we consider and save that response for another time, try tying a line from port shroud to the starboard shroud running around the forward side of the mast about five inches above the spreader. This won't clean up the deck this time but may keep the birds off your boat and prevent a next time.I had the bird problem once, just as we showed up for a sail,and it looked like a cement truck had dumped its load on the boat. I used plenty of elbow grease with a brush and whatever cleaner I had...and maybe a pressure washer later! Happy sailing! JL

 

[Douglas]

Oxalic acid

Oxalic acid made in paste form or more liquid will get stains out. It mostly used to bleach wood but works great on fiberglass also. Follow precautions its strong.

 

[Jim Willis]

Avoid use of oxalic if possible

Oxalic,phosporice etc remove stains and suface oxidation but also tend harm the gelcoat.If you already have it, IG Pink and water removes bird droppings easily. There may also be other less nasty cleaners that oxalic that do the same I know that aurora makes a spider dropping remover (however I believe that bird and spider crap are very similar). IG non-skid sealant makes bird crap stains even easier to remove, Aurora sealant may do the same.ThanksJim W