Dusty car

re-tired

New member
Finished detailing my new car yesterday per the recommendations from the friendly folks here on this forum-- turned out great!


But

Didn`t last long. We drove the car one time and the thing is covered in dust. So I used a waterless car cleaner from griots but that took a long time and was what i thought to be a lot of "work"

So

When your car gets "dusty "- do you folks go thru all that-- or can It be just sprayed / spritzed with detail spray and wiped down. I think a lot of it is brake dust as this thing puts out a ton of that

Looking to prevent those ultra fine scratches and swirl marx
 
For a fast wipe down I use a true Waterless Wash product and PLENTY of towels. If it gets to heavy a proper wash is needed.
 
Good advice above, that I`ll repeat, lots of towels.
But to answer your question, for a dusty car, yep, that`s what I do, waterless wash, applied liberally, about 1/2 panel at a time. I never use the same section of towel twice. For a dusty car, I may use 12 towels. For a dirty car, maybe 20.

regarding the level of work involved, to me, it`s a lot easier then hose-and-buckets. When I do a waterless wash, I scoot around on my butt doing the lower parts, which is easier on my back than hose-and-bucket. I actually find waterless wash to be relaxing and enjoyable.
 
I never, NEVER, touch the vehicle between washes. If I can`t wash it (my version of) properly it just stays unclean. Any other approach has *always* resulted in marring. Glad the QD/Rinseless/etc. works for others, but it does NOT work for me in this regard.
 
I guess I am confused...

Don`t you guys have a sealant or layers of wax on your cars - so you can get rid of the dust easier by using a detailing spray or...?

With the sealant or wax layers - your cars paint should be protected.
 
When you say "detailing spray" you make me think you mean a quick detailer. If I am correct in that, a quick detailer just does not have the same lubrication or emulsifiers as a true waterless wash product does. When we say waterless wash we mean a designated waterless wash product.
 
When you say "detailing spray" you make me think you mean a quick detailer. If I am correct in that, a quick detailer just does not have the same lubrication or emulsifiers as a true waterless wash product does. When we say waterless wash we mean a designated waterless wash product.

Yes I mean the quick detailer
 
I`m guessing this is a black/dark car?

Honestly, don`t touch it. Either wash it correctly - or leave it alone. Only thing I`ll ever do other than that is blow off pollen in the spring with a blower.

Quick wipedowns & waterless washes lead to marring.
 
I never, NEVER, touch the vehicle between washes. If I can`t wash it (my version of) properly it just stays unclean. Any other approach has *always* resulted in marring. Glad the QD/Rinseless/etc. works for others, but it does NOT work for me in this regard.
After 8-9 months of reading here and trying everything, often over-trying, I have reached the same conclusion. I was working a 2015 4Runner for much of this time. Looking at it too hard will mar that paint.

I hose or pressure wash first. Then a very wet rinseless. Makes a mess in my garage sometimes. 20 towels sometimes. Open to other options, but so far Garry Dean method with rinseless is what seems to work well for me. Experimenting with the BRS on hard paint for very dirty lower panels. Not sure about it yet.
 
The only time I do touch up cleaning on my car is to wipe away bird poo. ill take a marr over an etch anyday.

I use whatever i have in my car (spray wax, QD, waterless wash, anything... and a few towels I always keep in my car (a gold plush for the second/final wipe, and a wholesaleclub towel to pick up the poo)...

Otherwise the dust can get as thick as they want, until the proper wash comes in.
 
I guess I am confused...

Don`t you guys have a sealant or layers of wax on your cars - so you can get rid of the dust easier by using a detailing spray or...?

With the sealant or wax layers - your cars paint should be protected.

Not from stupidly dragging dirt across the surface...

Smarter to drive faster and hope it blows off............... -_-
 
It does sound crazy but the sealant, wax, or coating adds some, but very little protection to the clear coat. You can easily go through a wax or sealant and impart swirls and scratches from using a QD on a dirty car. QDs are for light dust or wiping off finger prints. Use a waterless or rinseless wash that encapsulates dirt making it more difficult for the contamination to mar your surface.
 
It does sound crazy but the sealant, wax, or coating adds some, but very little protection to the clear coat. You can easily go through a wax or sealant and impart swirls and scratches from using a QD on a dirty car. QDs are for light dust or wiping off finger prints. Use a waterless or rinseless wash that encapsulates dirt making it more difficult for the contamination to mar your surface.

Well, I guess that is what the hang up here is... a dusty car (to mean means light dust) or a dirty car (which to me means more than light dust).
 
Id still probably leave it alone if you can live with the dust. If you can`t bring out the hose and bucket due to weather then a rinseless with ONR/ similar product and probably pre-soak the panels with same solution. Use plenty of MFs as mentioned.

Also, if you are driving it you may think its just light dust but the moment you hit the road for a drive you will be getting airborn particles/ contaminants which land on the paint then you are dragging these across the paint when using just a QD.
 
I guess I am confused...

Don`t you guys have a sealant or layers of wax on your cars - so you can get rid of the dust easier by using a detailing spray or...?

With the sealant or wax layers - your cars paint should be protected.

Doesn`t work that way IME, and I`m not the dullest knife in the drawer so it`s not like I apply excessive pressure or otherwise do dumb stuff. Do some *VERY* mild dusting, think the paint is OK...turn out light, hit withSunGun = utter horror-show.

The only LSP that`s ever protected against marring for me is *heavily*layered KSG, and I don`t mean three or four layers. And that protection was utterly minimal. Coatings might be a different story, but my limited experience using them on wheels suggests to me that they don`t work miracles either.

I can`t even do rinseless washes without instilling more marring than I do with my usual regimen, and *for me* any avoidable marring is unacceptable. No way am I gonna polish every year or three despite being utterly fanatical about my vehicles not having obvious correctible flaws.
 
If this guy can do this to a car with a sealant/glass coating on it - light dust should NOT be a problem...

I put zero stock in pix/videos on the internet. It`s hard enough to see/know what`s what first-hand IRL. "Yeah, that looks great, but let me inspect it in my shop so I know for sure.."

I put very limited stock in anything that works for somebody else until I have irrefutable evidence that it also works for me. And if I don`t buy the basic underlying premis I assume that the concept is fatally flawed at least with regard to working for me. Maybe that rather extreme skepticism is erring on the side of caution, but I *KNOW* that my vehicles look the way I want them to for years on end with no need for correction.

Even assuming that [various things I won`t do] can be done with complete success, just because one person can do something that doesn`t mean somebody else can too. And consider the learning curve too; how many times are you willing to mess up while getting dialed-in?
 
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