Weiredst thing - pollen?

[bob m]

My car has been ceramic coated 2 years ago and I have maintained it with NanolexSI and various detail sprays over that time Kenotek GG Best of Show Detailer, Nextzett Perfect Shine even tried BeadMaker all to good use. Water beaded like crazy when it rained. When I wash my car (usually starts with foam cannon) and then rinse that off, the car still beads extremely well.

However, we have had a ton of pollen lately and I was not able to wash it for a couple of weeks until today - rinse, foam cannon rinse and all I saw was sheeting - no beading. Of course I washed with a MF mitt and rinsed again and dried and all looks well. But what the heck happened to all that beading after the initial hosing down or even after the rain? I`m guessing pollen takes its toll on the finish?



Pic take prior to pollen season

[bob m]

Pic taken today after washing. Some beading but nothing compared to the first picture.
IMG_4004.jpg

As an aside, GG PFM`s are absolutely incredible.

[Dan]

Same thing happened to me but I think it was pollen mixed with tree sap (not the hard gooey kind). I park under trees at work and the front of my car was dead as far as beading went. And my coating was a couple weeks old. Two good washes as it`s back like a champ. Trunk and roof we`re not affected.

[Stokdgs]

In my personal long term experiences with the Optimum Coating on my personal vehicle, talking many years, I found that it would get gunked up with everything that was NOT Carpro Reset, and need a good Carpro Reset Wash a few times, and that brought the Coating back to square 1..

Have never experienced so much pollen that it did what you think happened to your vehicle..

The only product I may use occasionally on the vehicle is another Optimum product, Optimum Opti-Seal, applied right after washing with Reset..
Otherwise, nothing else, and I have fabulous clarity, gloss, beading, and occasional rainstorms only wash the dirt off for me and save me the wash.
Dan F

[showbbq]

Besides using Reset like Stokdgs suggested, I`d also suggest using an iron remover. It may be the base coating is no longer effective and the toppers have been masking it. In that case, you get to polish and pick a spanking new coating.

[bob m]

I`m overdue for using the iron remover and will see what happens. But the loss of beading in the last couple of weeks is crazy.

[ExplicitDetail]

I hate pollen so much...until I picked up my new daily driver, my nice car would get literally covered in this evil, yellow dust at my work place due to all the ridiculous trees in our parking lot area. The worst though, by far, as the big yellow blobs that harden up if they sit too long. They`ve left stains and discolored my vehicles if they went unnoticed and sat too long.

That said, to address your question, it did not seem to have any significant impact on the ability of my coating to bead up nicely when washed.

[bob m]

I hate pollen so much...until I picked up my new daily driver, my nice car would get literally covered in this evil, yellow dust at my work place due to all the ridiculous trees in our parking lot area. The worst though, by far, as the big yellow blobs that harden up if they sit too long. They`ve left stains and discolored my vehicles if they went unnoticed and sat too long.

That said, to address your question, it did not seem to have any significant impact on the ability of my coating to bead up nicely when washed.

Well, it could be that I need to - as recommended do a decon wash with an iron remover and all will be good or find out that at after about 28 months (not garaged) the coating has simply worn out.

[nickclark08]

For whatever reason, I`ve always experienced a similar behavior with pollen. LSP is still there, it`s just clogged up more than a similar amount of soiling with dirt, dust, etc. It`s weird stuff.

A tougher cleaner like PB Bug Squash seems to do the trick on the yellow bee puke spots (helps get them dissolved during washing), but I don`t have a coating on my vehicles (FK1000p or a silica spray sealant like Hydro Blue).

[Desertnate]

Some pollen may cling more than others and I too notice some is harder to remove than others. When my car starts turning yellow this time of year, I`ve found it takes a long, hard, downpour of rain to knock the pollen off a coated car. A quick rinse with a hose or a mild shower won`t do it. Dust seems to come off far easier than pollen.

[bob m]

Well, I did a full decon detail today.

Washed with Reset, Gyeon Tar remover, Iron remover (Nanolex) clayed and Nanalex SI. Car is beautiful now. Just in time for rain tomorrow. Will check that beading then.

What I did notice is how smooth the car wash after the Gyeon Tar Remover and how little iron and contaminants there were on the car - no purple color after applying the iron remover. Only got to put on one coat of the Nanalex today, but will put on a second coat later this week.
A lot of work, but kind of enjoyable.

[Lonnie]

Certain types of pollen, when mixed with water (rain), does produce a gooey mess that sticks like glue. What pollen from what trees or plants? You tell us!
Pines are notorious for this, as are some birch, at least in Wisconsin. Pine pitch WILL etch your paint

I think there was a thread on pollen and how abrasive they to vehicle exterior surfaces, especially by rinse-less car washes. Please see the link to this most informative older thread on pollen:
It`s pollen season - what do you guys do?

[bob m]

Certain types of pollen, when mixed with water (rain), does produce a gooey mess that sticks like glue. What pollen from what trees or plants? You tell us!
Pines are notorious for this, as are some birch, at least in Wisconsin. Pine pitch WILL etch your paint

I think there was a thread on pollen and how abrasive they to vehicle exterior surfaces, especially by rinse-less car washes. Please see the link to this most informative older thread on pollen:
It`s pollen season - what do you guys do?

Lonnie,

Here it`s a mix of both trees and flowers. I was the one who started that thread - 2 years ago. That`s when my coating was only a few months old. Now, it`s over 2 years old, served me well but time to do a recoating soon. I think I`m going to try the Kamikaze coatings this time around. The front of my car as well as mirrors have PPF on them so I need to look into that also. Hoping that line will work well over the PPF.