What to do about dust on car.

S

Sad little man

New member
I have to park my car outside. And the air quality here seems very bad, because in a few days the car gets a thick layer of dust all over it. It's a Miata, so I really can't store a cover in the trunk. I just lightly dusted it off with a duster, but I'm even worried about that scratching the paint because when I do the car feels gritty. It hasn't rained at all since I've waxed the car, and it still has this depositing that doesn't come off when I dust it. It's not really feasible to give the car a good wash or cleaning every few days either. I really don't know what to do about this dust that layers up on the car. The biggest concern is that it seems to be some really nasty stuff as well since it's sticking to the finish. What can I do? The car has plenty of wax on it. A few coats of Z-2 pro with S100 over that, so hopefully it's protected enough.
 
Poorboy's Spray and Wipe would be your best bet to remove the dust without harming the paint if you use a quality MF. If you feel that is taking too much time, then a California Car Duster is also a nice choice. If you don't apply too much pressure then there is a minimal chance of swirls. Good luck.
 
If I'm past just a little dust, but not enough dirt to wash, I'll just go to a DIY wash bay that has a good spotless rinse (some do, some don't). Just spray it with the spotless setting for the full 4 minutes and it comes out near perfect when it dries-normally find a few drips that I have to touch up, but that's it. The key is to only use the spotless rinse-you don't have enough time to displace all of the regular water off if you start with it.
 
kompressornsc said:
If I'm past just a little dust, but not enough dirt to wash, I'll just go to a DIY wash bay that has a good spotless rinse (some do, some don't). Just spray it with the spotless setting for the full 4 minutes and it comes out near perfect when it dries-normally find a few drips that I have to touch up, but that's it. The key is to only use the spotless rinse-you don't have enough time to displace all of the regular water off if you start with it.
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does the spotless rinse really work? i don't have guts to leave the carwash without drying the car...
 
sharingan625 said:
does the spotless rinse really work? i don't have guts to leave the carwash without drying the car...
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Some work better than others. And I have heard that some of them are not filtered water (RO, DI or another process), but rather an additive. And not to go off topic, but I personally would never dry after just using a spray wand (if you bucket wash, it's different)-just water pressure leaves a lot of stuff on the car. I cringe everytime I see someone pull a big bath towel out of their trunk to dry after a spray down.
 
I have a black 350z and have the same problem, especially with pollen. Twice a week or so I spend 10 minutes with a Cali duster and a bottle of Z6. Car looks fantastic. No need to do a full detail every week, in fact, this gets me pretty far these days.
 
It's not the wax. I was here before with just Z-2 and it was just as bad. I started topping it with S100 because I realized it really does a lot on a dark car compared to Z-2. The air quality is just really poor. Can you really use a QD with just a california duster rubbing it in?
 
I have a Miata as well and I know I can fit a car cover in the trunk because I've done it, and it was a cover for a '92 Camaro! Plus, it's a fairly bulky cover, very high quality from www.carcoverworld.com. I'd get the cover if I were you. Air quality at my place isn't that great either, which is why I got this cover for the Camaro (three cars, two car garage - oldest, cheapest car sleeps outside ;) ).
 
I second Mike's suggestion.

I am sure the Covercraft's Weathershield will fit in your trunk. They are incredible compact and light.

It is sort of pricey, though.

Miata's trunk is so cute. :o) I remembered a good friend of mine bought a small PC at the store and could not transport it back home because she could not fit that darn thing in her trunk (this is without the monitor).



I bought my cover at ajusa.com.
 
truzoom is right on about the dew. Any dust on your car at night gets wetted by the dew, and it makes it stick when the dew dries, leaving a dulling film. I've learned to "minimize" this effect by using my Cali duster at night to remove most of the dust. The next morning when the dew dries, it is not nearly as bad. It works even better if you QD at night before the dew sets in. This gets off all of the day's filth/grime/film so the dew can only wet whatever lands on the car during the night.

I'm not sure if it matters, but using a QD that has no silicones could maybe help in this process. My reasoning is that silicones seem to attract dust from the air and make it stick. I have noticed my car stays cleaner longer when using Meg's #34 over Final Detail. And there doesn't seem to be as much of a film after the dew dries when I used #34 instead of Final Detail. But these observations could just be differences in the environment (amount of dust in the air) when I've used the two different products. The logic behind it makes sense to me. Other products I've used fair pretty much the same as Final Detail. But #34 doesn't leave a silicone residue (and also doesn't seem to lubricate as well as Final Detail, so I am much "gentler" when QD'ing with it).

Hope this helps.



Dave
 
Dave Holmes said:
truzoom is right on about the dew. Any dust on your car at night gets wetted by the dew, and it makes it stick when the dew dries, leaving a dulling film. I've learned to "minimize" this effect by using my Cali duster at night to remove most of the dust. The next morning when the dew dries, it is not nearly as bad. It works even better if you QD at night before the dew sets in. This gets off all of the day's filth/grime/film so the dew can only wet whatever lands on the car during the night.

I'm not sure if it matters, but using a QD that has no silicones could maybe help in this process. My reasoning is that silicones seem to attract dust from the air and make it stick. I have noticed my car stays cleaner longer when using Meg's #34 over Final Detail. And there doesn't seem to be as much of a film after the dew dries when I used #34 instead of Final Detail. But these observations could just be differences in the environment (amount of dust in the air) when I've used the two different products. The logic behind it makes sense to me. Other products I've used fair pretty much the same as Final Detail. But #34 doesn't leave a silicone residue (and also doesn't seem to lubricate as well as Final Detail, so I am much "gentler" when QD'ing with it).

Hope this helps.



Dave
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Those are some interesting observations regarding the #34 vs. the Final Detail. In general, silicones are inert and should not attract dust. But, a typical silicone is poor in repelling oily or greasy material while excelling at repelling water. It could be that the silicone based qds are attracting some oily material and then the dust tends to accumulate or stick even more on top of the oily fallout.
 
I like Poorboy's S&W and the QEWs work well -- the new Detailer's Pride Waterless Wash does a good job too, at least the one time I've used it so far.
 
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