Why You Should NEVER, EVER Wipe Dust Off Your Paint!

[Junkman2008]

Originally Posted by nazali

does anyone have any thoughts on the old California duster ?

When used properly and in the correct situation, they are fine. They way you see MOST people using them make them the work of the devil.

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by Junkman2008

When used properly and in the correct situation, they are fine. They way you see MOST people using them make them the work of the devil.

Are you sure that you aren't related?

[Junkman2008]

Originally Posted by Westside Guy

Are you sure that you aren't related?

Sorry, but I don't feed the trolls. You will have to get your food somewhere else.

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by Junkman2008

Sorry, but I don't feed the trolls. You will have to get your food somewhere else.

You must have been looking into the mirror when you typed your reply!

[nazali]

you sir have piqued my interest !

I have one, but my detailer nearly ripped me a new one for telling him bought one and was actively using it.

He said there fine on garage queens when its just DUST, but not road dust

so do expand pls

Originally Posted by Junkman2008

When used properly and in the correct situation, they are fine. They way you see MOST people using them make them the work of the devil.

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by Westside Guy

I used one on my old Mercedes for years and now have purchased a new one for my Z4.

It does the job on a light coating of dust.

Originally Posted by nazali

He said there fine on garage queens when its just DUST, but not road dust

Your detailer is correct, as I mentioned previously I use my duster when my car is clean and only has a light layer of dust and it works perfectly.

[Junkman2008]

Originally Posted by nazali

you sir have piqued my interest !

I have one, but my detailer nearly ripped me a new one for telling him bought one and was actively using it.

He said there fine on garage queens when its just DUST, but not road dust

so do expand pls

I did an entire video on how to use one of those dusters. Your detailer, like me, has seen people destroying their paint with those things. Here's how I use mine.

I have just washed the car, the car is dry and I am about to place the cover on it. Keep in mind that I wash my car INSIDE my garage, NOT outside where the car is constantly getting bombarded with all the dust being kicked up into the air by the wind and other cars going down the road. So after my car is dry, I may touch it up with the duster BEFORE I put the car cover on, because once you drive the car ONE BLOCK, it is now covered with dust. You may not be able to see the dust, but trust me, it is sitting on top of your paint. At that point, I will neither use the duster or cover the car because all you are doing is grinding that dust into the paint.

The way that the duster is designed is that dust is attracted to it with the help of the oil the duster is treated with. So the strands of the duster should BARELY touch the surface of the car. What you see MOST people do is smash the duster on the surface of the car, doing God knows how much damage to their paint. That's why I call it the work of the devil. That's also why I say that when used CORRECTLY and at THE RIGHT TIME, they are fine. Problem is, most folks have no clue of either.

Your car is going to pick up light damage if you use it. That is the nature of the beast. Thus, the last thing you want to do is help the process along by touching your paint incorrectly. When I am at a car show, I look at paint differently than most folks and I have seen some horrendous looking car with owners standing behind them, looking oh so proud. That's why I started unplugging people from the "paint matrix", so that they could see what I was seeing. I became so well known for doing this that I got to work on the Chip Foose NAPA truck that he built.

I don't travel as much as I did years ago because I got married and that is a full time job itself. I also have invested a ton more time into my I.T. business so time is not a luxury I have. But I still spread the knowledge wherever I can, but only if it is welcomed.

Here's an article from the CA Duster folks themselves. Take a look at it. I think you will find it useful.

[Junkman2008]

Originally Posted by Westside Guy

You must have been looking into the mirror when you typed your reply!

Troll on.

[UPSROD]

Pretty sure anybody over 10 years old knows this already!

[nazali]

NOICE, txs for the explano...

yeah I didnt know that, I dont even think that is in the instructions or anywher on line

yup I dont mash it, I try and use it "gingerly" and very lightly

BUt yeah when its due I'll take a look at your instructions

Originally Posted by Junkman2008

I did an entire video on how to use one of those dusters. Your detailer, like me, has seen people destroying their paint with those things. Here's how I use mine.

I have just washed the car, the car is dry and I am about to place the cover on it. Keep in mind that I wash my car INSIDE my garage, NOT outside where the car is constantly getting bombarded with all the dust being kicked up into the air by the wind and other cars going down the road. So after my car is dry, I may touch it up with the duster BEFORE I put the car cover on, because once you drive the car ONE BLOCK, it is now covered with dust. You may not be able to see the dust, but trust me, it is sitting on top of your paint. At that point, I will neither use the duster or cover the car because all you are doing is grinding that dust into the paint.

The way that the duster is designed is that dust is attracted to it with the help of the oil the duster is treated with. So the strands of the duster should BARELY touch the surface of the car. What you see MOST people do is smash the duster on the surface of the car, doing God knows how much damage to their paint. That's why I call it the work of the devil. That's also why I say that when used CORRECTLY and at THE RIGHT TIME, they are fine. Problem is, most folks have no clue of either.

Your car is going to pick up light damage if you use it. That is the nature of the beast. Thus, the last thing you want to do is help the process along by touching your paint incorrectly. When I am at a car show, I look at paint differently than most folks and I have seen some horrendous looking car with owners standing behind them, looking oh so proud. That's why I started unplugging people from the "paint matrix", so that they could see what I was seeing. I became so well known for doing this that I got to work on the Chip Foose NAPA truck that he built.

I don't travel as much as I did years ago because I got married and that is a full time job itself. I also have invested a ton more time into my I.T. business so time is not a luxury I have. But I still spread the knowledge wherever I can, but only if it is welcomed.

Here's an article from the CA Duster folks themselves. Take a look at it. I think you will find it useful.

[nazali]

I'm not going to tell you how old I am, but this is me in cat years

Originally Posted by UPSROD

Pretty sure anybody over 10 years old knows this already!

[TXSTYLE]

I've been using California Duster for Eons! And I will never stop.

A quick drive up the street will gather a layer of dust and pollen! The Duster may in fact cause micro scratches. But to my eyes, the removal of dust and pollen reveals the luster and shine I love. Plus I keep such a nice layer of Wax and or ceramic coating on my cars, I'm not at all bothered with the potential of scratches.
I'm not about to wash or rinse my cars multiple times daily. That shit impractical.

That's my $.02 🙂

- Marcus

[DetailedAF]

Initial post is accurate. I am not a fan of "waterless" methods, but I am a fan of "Riseless" methods.

Always spray down the vehicle with either foam or rinseless FIRST. You can contact after the initial foam/rinseless has broke down particles or allowed to fall down the panel.

I like Trolls. Ignorance sometimes is beautiful to laugh at.

[Yuille36]

Many many years ago I bought into the California Duster theory, until I learned the truth.

[JoeyO]

So none of those waterless washes work? Such as this…

[gijeff58]

Originally Posted by Junkman2008

You may as well be using SANDPAPER! That's what grinding dust across your paint is equivalent to!

I see this ALL THE TIME at car shows. People will pull up to their designated spot, break out a quick detailer and commence to installing every manor of swirl that you can possible install into a paint job. When I see them doing this to a nice car, I usually invite them over to whoever has a detailing booth and show them the error of their ways. This is just one of those situations that I had to correct.

A gentleman with one of the sweetest Camaro's (I think it was a 69'), did exactly that. He thought that because he was using a REALLY good towel, a quick detailer that claimed to encapsulate all the dirt you sprayed on and he had the best coating that money could buy, that he was safe from creating any paint damage. I had to unplug him from the paint matrix.

Call me Junkmorpheus.



So I see him installing all of these swirls and scratches into his paint and I asked him if he realized that what he was doing is creating a lot of paint damage. He said that because of what he was using and how he was using it, no damage was being created. So I told him that if he brought it over to the booth where I was working that I would not only show him the damage, I would fix it for free. He agreed and brought the car to me.



The problem with people being able to see the damage that they are doing to their paint is that they don't know how to look at it, or they see it and think that it is what comes with the ownership of a nice car. That mindset just blows me away. So what I do is I take a picture that clearly shows the damage, which makes it MUCH easier for the owner to see. Here is that damage, and he was doing this to the stripes that are PAINTED on the car. If you are willing to pay the money to get your stripes painted on the car, you should seriously know how to take care of them.

This is what I showed him:





Once he saw that, the lights came on. I then asked him if he wanted it fixed, for free. He was all for that until he saw me pick up the buffer. He was not trying to see a buffer anywhere near his car because of all the horror stories that he had heard about people, who had no clue as to what they were doing, wiping the paint off of their cars. I told him that if I damaged his car in any way, I would pay anyone he selected to repaint it. Then, the owner of the booth were I was working said that HE would pay double that price. The guy was still hesitant, but he allowed me to go at it. Here are the results after ONE pass:





At this point, the guy is HOOKED! He was so tickled that he offered to buy me lunch and everything. He asked me if he could try it while I watched, because he still didn't think that it was safe enough for him to try.

I told him NO. I said, "Let your SON try it." This is what happened:

I unplugged him from the paint matrix on that day and created two detailing monsters at the same time. His son wanted to take the car home right then and start working on it but I think dad wanted to get comfortable with it first.

I then went looking for someone else to unplug from the paint matrix.

Can you imagine what driving down the highway or god forbid the autobahn at high speeds what all the dust in the air is doing to your paint, you might as well just get out the sand blaster.

[tyler9595]

I think about washing like I want the liquid to emulsify the dirt and then most of it flows/floats off the paint as it drains down the panel - that’s essentially what a pre-wash foam does. The waterless wash process doesn’t use enough liquid to float anything - I still have to drag the dirt off with a towel, and all the dirt is on that towel. I use waterless wash to get a nasty bird mess off the paint if I can’t wash right away.

[Phillies8008]

The problem with the waterless stuff is that all that dust and dirt doesn't just disappear – it's going to be on your microfiber, and you're going to be sliding it over the paint. Scratches are inevitable. If weather and/or time doesn't permit me to do a wash or even pull out my power washer to rinse it down, I swing by a self-wash place down the road from me and use their power washer for a rinse; it's not perfect by any means, but it's better than nothing.

As for a California Duster, I used one exactly once. We have a horrible pollen season here, and a friend recommended it to me. I unfortunately didn't give it as much thought as I should have, and it definitely scratched, but luckily not too badly and nothing a quick polishing couldn't solve. Live and learn.

But yeah, as far as any of this goes it's just a matter of your personal tolerance for scratches, etc. In truth, none of this is going to cause deep, horrible scratches, but it's going to cause something.

[tracer bullet]

If you sort of "roll" the MF while you go across, it can help. Similar to how I (and likely most people) might try to wipe up a spill on a counter.

Agreed to just do it for something truly needed like bird poop, so as to not further damage the clear coat. Anything is better than leaving it of course. The downside is you probably have a clean spot on a dusty car.

I've finally forced myself to actually wash the car or just leave it alone. It's not worth trying to be perfect 100% of the time. When I'm driving, and look down the hood, that angle really makes the car look filthy (dust / thin layer of dirt that was airborne). But when you get out and see it head-on, especially from 5' away, it looks pretty clean. I've learned to go with the "it's pretty clean" and leave it alone. The fewer times you touch it, the longer it'll stay free of scratches.

[Emily172013]

Originally Posted by Suds

Buy used, the damage is there, you can always make it a little better.

Something to be said for that. With new (I always buy new cars) there is nowhere to go but down eventually. I collect guitars and always buy nice used ones. It enjoy making them like new again, as opposed to the frustration of that first scratch on something new.

[Emily172013]

Originally Posted by Junkman2008

When used properly and in the correct situation, they are fine. They way you see MOST people using them make them the work of the devil.

You're right Junkman. I've used the same California duster for a couple decades on many cars, even black ones and never seen any harm done.
Then again, I never inspect my paint with an eyeglass.

[dcstep]

Wow! How 'bout just driving the friggin' cars...!!!