Cleaning the "California Duster"

J

JohnSWA

New member
Hi guys and gals!



I tried out Klasse AIO and SG on my F-350 the other day and Holy Cow!:up What an awesome shine! I also bought the Autopia Clay bar kit!:up :up David, you have a great product there! Anyway, here's my question. Yes, I bought the California duster and I sure love that too, but how do you clean it after it gets filthy? I've used it a few times with out washing(probably a cardinal sin) but I would like to know if anyone has any tips for washing this thing.



John
 
Should I worry about scratches if it's dirty or should I just buy a new one? They aren't very expensive at Costco, but I don't want to have to buy one every time it gets dirty.
 
I would just keep using the one you have, just shake it out to make sure there are no particles in it. :bigups
 
You can wash it. I have washed mine. Just do it by hand with a mild detergent like Woolite. Be prepared for tons and tons of color bleed, though. It looked like I was washing blood out of the thing...
 
Washing is not good. You will remove, or greatly reduce, the paraffin from the strands and defeat the purpose of the duster. :nono
 
I'll cast another vote for the "dirtier it gets the better it works" side. I'm sure there is a point where it stops working, but mine continues to work great and it looks awful. I continue to watch very, very carefullly in good light to see if it adds any scratching and I've never caught it doing so - not even once. That is more than I can say for any other detailing step that touches the car with anything. (I've seen a microscratch go in while QD'ing with a clean MF after a fresh wash and wax - just by encountering a microscopic particle - may have fallen out of the air - and dragging it along. ) But I've never seen the CCD scratch.
 
I have a really, really dirty CCD that I don't trust anymore, so I washed it. Now I use it as a car wash "mop" to reach the roof of our black Ody. I haven't noticed any CCD-induced swirls.
 
Mine is more than 15 years old. I washed it in COLD Woolite, and rinsed in COLD water several times. It was dirty!!



It still works fine. BTW, that's the advice I got from the CCD homepage...



Jim
 
That is how I have washed mine. Cold water and woolite. That was per the directions that came with the CCD.
 
That's right. Woolite. Cold wter. Rinse is cold water. Repeat. Air dry.



Again, mine is at least 15 years old. I blow it with compressed air, from time to time.



No dryer.



Jim
 
BradE said:
Washing is not good. You will remove, or greatly reduce, the paraffin from the strands and defeat the purpose of the duster. :nono
Click to expand...



I would agree, I have one about 10 years old, still going strong :up
 
They even advertise that the dirtier it gets the better it works. But I always wonder at what point is too dusty to use it to where you can induce scratches??
 
I hate to say this but, i would probobly buy a new one after using it for soo long and soo caked up with dirt. I guess a new duster would be cheaper than charging myself to detail my own car from the scratches that incur from the duster. On a good note the duster should last for years.
 
~One man’s opinion / observations ~



I’ve always thought that if the paraffin wax was put in originally to pick up dust, by washing it (as recommended by the CCD web page) it would stop working and you’d be forced to buy a new one (is this just good marketing) I’ve had mine for about five + years and it’s never induced a surface scratch (as far as I can tell) and it works fine for every kind of dust, including pollen.



~Hope this helps~



Experience unshared; is knowledge wasted…/



justadumbarchitect *so I question everything*
 
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