Some love it, some hate it and for me it's love. Many think the California Duster causes swirling so I thought my methodology could help anyone wanting to use one. I agree that the cali duster has a reputation for instilling swirls and I would say that rep is well earned. However, the way I see 98% of people using it, it's not hard to see why it has the rep it does. Just like most swirling, they're usually caused by people not knowing how to do certain things properly whether it's using the duster, washing/drying, polishing etc. I'm sure most agree that when you know what you're doing, the odds of introducing new swirls is VERY minimized.
Assuming I don't get caught in the rain, I can easily go several weeks without washing my car and keep it looking just detailed, here's my methodology. First it's important to know this is only done if your car going in the garage overnight. Like many of you, I'm a freak about my car as anyone that knows me can verify his. First, my car has to be polished with the paint free of defects/contaminants and have a good coat of sealant/wax on, this is the most important step in successfully being able to use the duster. So after I've been driving around during the day when I get home, I pull the car in the garage and let it cool off. Once totally cooled off, I take my cali duster and barley touch the paint with the fibers hanging down so NO pressure is used what so ever. LIGHTLY in one direction, I dust the car off. You have more pressure with stuff hitting and dragging across your paint while driving that you do using this method. This works so well because when the car cools and is out of the sun, the dust literally comes right off with no effort. Granted some common sense has to be used. If I was near construction and there's a TON of dust, I won't use my duster. If there's a mild amount of dust it's on!
Obviously you have to make sure you weren't parked under any trees that might have dripped sap on the car because obviously this wouldn't work. Once I have the car dusted off, I personally LOVE Zaino Z8, so I wipe the car down with that which keeps the paint CRAZY slick. By doing this my cars paint is ALWAYS very slick making it harder for contaminants to stick and build up. This whole process takes me maybe 15-20 minutes and it'd how I like to unwind from the day. I use the cali duster literally everyday all season long and by the end of the summer, the swirls are MINIMAL and no worse than if I didn't use it. So, when used correctly it's one of my favorite tools for keeping my car looking the way it does. Here's a pic of my car after
TONS of dusting. Granted there isn't direct light on it so you can see the true condition of the paint, but I and the photographer can tell ya, the paints condition was pristine considering it was towards the end of the season.