pollen and polishing; ok or disaster?

bauerbach

New member
its that time in georgia. and Im looking to compound and polish the car with a PC.



so even if I wash the car, and clay it, by the time I turn around to start compounding it, there WILL be pollen on it. theres no way to avoid it.



so, will pollen be harmful to the paint if its caught up in the pad, or is it soft enough to just not matter?
 
Its imperative you polish while no pollen is on the surface!

"As well as being an allergic, pollen is both an abrasive and a corrosive type dust especially when mixed with water and should therefore be removed from paint surfaces as soon as is practicable."

Source: Our good friend TOGWT
 
Does a Swiffer leave anything behind? I know there's the California duster you can buy. Most folks here don't care for it because it can cause marring, or at least the dust it drags over the surface can mar. However, considering that you're doing this immediately before polishing, it might not be a bad option. Frankly, that's the only situation where I'd consider using one anymore. I have an old one, but it just sits in the basement, keeping my California water blade company.
 
Ok Mike, here ya go, a little more technical:

Pollen [: Micro gametophytes (pollen grains]

The yellow coarse powders you see in the air is made up of small sperm cells from blooming plants and are one of the most common allergy triggers. The pollen from trees are the main concern, vehicles get hit with pollen laced trees that include: oak, western red cedar, elm, birch, ash, hickory, polar, sycamore, maple, cypress and walnut (which also leaves an oily residue). Pollen grains of pines, firs, and spruces are winged.



Pollen must be strong to protect the male gametes on their journey. The outer wall of the pollen grain, called the exine, is composed of a very unusual substance called sporopollenin which is very tough. The inner layer is made of cellulose and is similar in construction to an ordinary plant cell wall; pollen will literally ‘wear’ away wax or polymer sealants. Pollen isn't removed by air friction as you drive because it adheres to a surface with microscopic barbs that can attach to even a very slightly uneven surface, and adheres to a natural wax better than a synthetic polymer



As well as being an allergic pollen is both an abrasive and a corrosive type dust especially when mixed with water and should therefore be removed from paint surfaces as soon as is practicable. To remove heavy dust (do not use a California Duster as the pollen will cause surface marring) instead use Optimum No Rinse (ONR) a quick ‘wash’; formulated with surfactants to keep dirt in suspension, avoiding surface contact, it also provides surface lubrication, thereby avoiding surface marring. As soon as is practical, thoroughly rinse the vehicle with a hose and clean water to ensure all acidic pollen is neutralized / removed.



No wax or polymer sealant can provide a permanent shield against: Micro gametophytes (pollen) Collinite 845 Insulator Wax is probably the most durable Carnauba wax product; but this may only provide enough of a barrier to enable it to be removed quickly before causing too much damage to the paint film surface

TOGWT Copyright © 2002-2007. Jon Miller, all rights reserved
 
hmmm well we're somewhere between 5000 and 6000 these days; I think super high is like 100... I dont have much of a prayer.
 
a.k.a. Patrick said:
No wax or polymer sealant can provide a permanent shield against: Micro gametophytes (pollen) Collinite 845 Insulator Wax is probably the most durable Carnauba wax product; but this may only provide enough of a barrier to enable it to be removed quickly before causing too much damage to the paint film surface

TOGWT Copyright © 2002-2007. Jon Miller, all rights reserved
OK - so how long can pollen sit on a car's surface before eating through 1) a sealant/wax; or 2) paint?



There is so much pollen in the air here (Charlotte, NC) now that you would have to rinse wash or ONR a vehicle every day to keep pollen from building up and even then you would have a significant buildup between washes.



Am I going to need to reapply the two layers of AJT that I just applied a few weeks ago due to pollen sitting on my car for two weeks? Will the pollen have worn through the AJT or significantly compromised it in that amount of time (2 weeks)?
 
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