Car covered in grit after detailing.

B

Bill1975

New member
Hi everyone - I usually lurk here as there is plenty of reading for me to do, and as a result don't post much. However, an issue popped up this morning that has frustrated me a bit:



Two days ago (Tuesday) I did a wash, clay (paint and glass), paint cleaner/scratch remover, polish and wax. Yesterday (Wednesday) I took the car back (I do it at a coin op wash bay, using only the water hose and I bring my own supplies) to do the interior, and while I was at it I rinsed the car off and dried it just to get another look at the exterior. Still pretty good. Now, this morning I get up and go to run an errand, and the car is COVERED (glass included) in some kind of rough grit. :wall :wall The car lost its fresh look, and feels like it was never clayed. It feels like sand, or salt. If I run my hand over the paint, or the glass it it doesnt come off. I dont know what this is. My car stays outside, but under covered parking. It drizzled a little bit last night when I went out so it got a little wet, but not much.



Im not sure how this could have happened in the span of 24 hours. I suppose I can try washing it again to see how much comes out, but I wont be able to do that today.
 
Bill,



I don't know if you are having the same amount of wind in Dallas as we are in OKC, but that could be your problem. Just a bunch of stuff in the air this time of year.



I can was the car in the morning, and it is covered in crap by the evening. Have you tried using a QD to see if it comes off easily?
 
It has been pretty windy, but not in the last 24 hours, unless it was last night when it rained. I dont QD unless the car is totally clean. Sitting outstide all the time it gets dusty quick, so I only QD right after I wash otherwise I risk scratching the paint.



I'm going to wash again soon, as I was planning on adding a carnauba as a LSP, or possibly a second coat of Mothers SynWax just to see what a second coat would do, but now i dont know. If I cant get this stuff out its rather pointless.
 
My car feels like that if I get a lot of dust accumulation from gravel roads/driveways. Those dust particles are nothing more than tiny fragments of gravel that are light enough to be carried by air currents.
 
Thanks G35 and White95Max. I'm just surprised I got so much, so soon. That hasnt happened before. They felt and looked, to me anyway, to be "stuck" on pretty god, not just light surface dust, so Im wondering if it will just wash out or if I am back to "square one" again....
 
This is where a few layers of LSP can come in handy, because those particles would be stuck on the LSP, not the paint. Removing the LSP would remove the embedded particles as well. Hopefully.
 
Yes, unfortunately, I got attacked before I had a chance to put a LSP on! However, that brings up the question - how would one remove a LSP without removing the other coat(s) of wax?



Also, if this "grit" doesnt come off with washing, should I reclay, or will a paint cleaner work? (I have Megs Deep Crystal System Paint Cleaner. Mild, I know, but better than getting something too strong and screwing it up)
 
It could be sap...lots of trees are sapping now..at least here they are...the sap gets blown in the wind and if there is any fine dust blowing also it gets stuck to the sap...here the maple trees are sapping and forming buds..so sap flies around...



or if you get a dew at night and is windy..grit sticks to the dew



good luck



Al
 
I would reclay the areas then repolish/wax as needed.



Light claying may not remove all wax/sealant on the finish. Depends on how durable your products are.
 
Sounds like something airborne to me and it could come from anywhere. Years ago I lived in Italy, way north at the base of the Alps. Once a year the town would get this faint pink talcum like coating over everything. Took me a while to find out what it was but I I was told it was sand from the Sahara blown clear across the Mediterranean, over Italy to where it hit the "wall" of the Alps and settled on Como. The wind that carried it was an annual wind called the Scirocco.
 
I see you are in Dallas. Isn't Texas having another round of wild fires? If so, it could have been some of the ash blowing from those fires. That ash combined with high humidity during the rain could make for it sticking lightly to the car's surface.



Were other cars parked nearby and did they have the same kind of mess on them?
 
Bill1975 said:
Yes, unfortunately, I got attacked before I had a chance to put a LSP on! However, that brings up the question - how would one remove a LSP without removing the other coat(s) of wax?
Click to expand...



You can't just selectively remove one layer of LSP.



A paint cleaner could possibly work to remove the particles. You can always try, and if that doesn't work, I'd reclay and polish.
 
White95Max said:
This is where a few layers of LSP can come in handy, because those particles would be stuck on the LSP, not the paint. Removing the LSP would remove the embedded particles as well. Hopefully.
Click to expand...



Well, if LSP is the "last" of multiple steps, including wax, I was under the impression you could remove jsut one from the way this was worded, but it did sound odd. Guess I mis understood
 
AutoCadillac said:
I see you are in Dallas. Isn't Texas having another round of wild fires? If so, it could have been some of the ash blowing from those fires. That ash combined with high humidity during the rain could make for it sticking lightly to the car's surface.



Were other cars parked nearby and did they have the same kind of mess on them?
Click to expand...



Hadnt thought about that. This could be the reason. And although I didnt look closely at every car in the area. I did notice a few others with the same stuff as mine.



I may just get fed up with it and redo it tomorrow or Saturday. Unfortunately Im out of Clay so I will need to get some more...



If its just stuck in the wax, like I would assume, a paint cleaner should do it I would think, or perhaps washing with Dawn instead of my normal Megs Gold Class. I used Mothers FX SynWax and its pretty durable (I.E. - longer life than Carnauba) so I dont know how easy/difficult it will be to remove.
 
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