Wildfire ash and waterless wash

I live in N. California and had to drive my original black lacquer garage queen `61 Cadillac today to have some work done. The shop is about 25 miles from the wildfires raging in Sonoma County, and between the trip and sitting at the shop, the car got a fine layer of ash dust. The car is heavily waxed, and I generally avoid washing it; I use Poorboy`s Waterless when it gets dirtier than what a QD can handle, and I hit it with Poorboy`s this evening, which seems to have removed all the ash. But I`m wondering if it would be a good idea to give the car a conventional wash. I seem to recall reading somewhere a while back that ash is highly acidic, although it is possible that this was referring to volcanic ash. Anyone have any thoughts or experience with this issue?

Link to an article from LA fires some time ago Wildfires left caustic ash, study finds - latimes. Their summary is the ash is almost as bad as lye (caustic) in some cases due to homes being burned. I`d recommend a good wash to ensure you don`t leave anything either acidic or caustic on the paint (wax may not be good enough in this case).

As long as you did a thorough cleaning with the Spray and Wipe you should be fine.

Most people with older and antique cars would prefer not to have water get into places you can`t dry.

The ash should be neutralized with the cleaners in the Spray and Wipe :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Poorboy

As long as you did a thorough cleaning with the Spray and Wipe you should be fine.....The ash should be neutralized with the cleaners in the Spray and Wipe :)

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Hey, I learn something new here every day! So the S&W will neutralize...what exactly ? Alkaline stuff, acidic...please school me.

Poorboy hit the nail on the head. Trying to avoid unnecessary water in hard to reach places, as well as streaking and waterspots on the grille and other trim. This is 56 year old black lacquer that has earned the right to be babied. I may do a second waterless wash on the horizontal surfaces for piece of mind. The ash is noticeable on exposed cars even where I live, a good 45-50 miles from the fires.

I`m in the East Bay and been using my Metro Sidekick to blow off ash/dust.