Who is sick of all this Pollen

porterdog

New member
It took awhile, but I went all the way back through the archives and now I am fired up to get my 94 Miata looking killer for the summer... I've got a big order coming from CMA and intend to get a PC at our local Lowes this week. It's really great to have a place to come to where most things have been thoroughly tried and people are willing to explain what's best. So.....Thanks!



Anyway- I understand that the clay bar is for removing the stuff which is imbedded in the paint and standing proud of it. Wouldn't the PC/SMR accomplish the same thing while R'ing the SM's? This is really just an academic question as I'll undoubtedly do both, but it got me thinking....



Again, thanks.



Robert
 
Robert,



Excellent question. What this requires is a brief synopsis of why we have paint cleaning clay. Clays were developed for the body/paint shop industry, not for Joe car owner, as a way to quickly remove paint contamination from new paint. It was quickly learned that it can also be used as a general cleaning tool for paint in place of polish.



Personally, I think clay is over used. The hype of clay from the car care industry makes people think it is a safe, easy, cure-all. It;s is not, and it has very real dangers and limitations.



IMHO, a good paint cleaner is still the best tool for paint preparation. A polish, like 3M SMR is too harsh for regular use.



If you're going to use clay, my recommendation is to limit its use to one a year and only use it after pre-cleaning with Dawn or another strong detergent that will remove as much debis and contamination as possible.



Likewise, I think a polish as harsh as 3M SMR should be limited to twice a year. If you use it more often, especially with a PC, your paint will thin to the point of distruction, within 3-5 years.



I think a better general purpose paint cleaning and pre-wax solution is a product like Pinnacle Paintwork Cleansing Lotion.



db
 
Mild polishes will get some of that stuff out but not all. Clay does it better and faster. The first time I used the stuff I was just blown away at how smooth the surface is…like buttah! You’re doing both anyways like ya said. You’ll love the PC, no more giant aching lobster arm when you go to bed!





SJS



Edit: The Mayor posted while I was replying. Don’t want to make my post look like I didn’t acknowledge DavidB’s reply :D . I don’t use clay and polish on a regular basis and wouldn’t recommend it
 
Thanks for the wise words of warning, gentlemen. I clayed the beginning of last year, and then tried SMR by hand to get rid of the 6.02E23 fine scratches in the clearcoat courtesy of the previous owner's car cover. No dice! I am hoping the PC will get after them. After that..... Klasse and P21S! I'll get some photos in when it's done.



Thanks again,

Robert
 
So, after a lot of rain recently, I decided to wash my car earlier this week. It has been a while, so it was pretty dirty. I did a 2bm wash with Opt. Car Wash, and got it looking very nice. The next morning, I went out to take my son to school and the car was yellow. So the next day, I did a quick ONR to clean it up. Again the next day it was yellow. Today, I decided to do another ONR wash, and by the time I was done drying it, once again it was covered in pollen. I give up~X(:cursing::doh:
 
i feel your pain....i been dying to put my opti coat 2.0 on my cars but it'll be covered before the stuff gets a chance to set up...this pollen sucks big time...
 
And I get so tired of hearing clients say: "I want to wait until the pollen ends." Sooooo, like October?:banghead:

Now that we can get permanent paint sealants, lets find a way to electrostatically repell dust and pollen.:wizard:
 
Around these parts, that dang stuff falls all year anyway, with all these gi-normous trees, plants, etc., that dang stuff is so bad this year, that it feels like grit on your paint and you want to bust out the claybar! :)

I cant even do anything outside that wont take but a few minutes, or my Client's vehicles are covered with that stuff. Its so bad I have to limit how high and how long I can even open my garage doors, so it doesnt blow in and get all over my freshly Powerlock sealed beauties. I now have to finish the vehicle perfectly, and then right before my Client comes by to pick it up, do a quick detailer treatment to the entire vehicle to again, get the last pollen-dump off.
It is becoming quite maddening...
And I guess it doesnt help that the last dozen or so vehicles have all been BLACK !!! :(
Ok, I think I feel better now.. :)
Dan F
 
I pulled Nelly out of the garage this morning, rolled down the windows, cleaned the interior and the outside glass. I went into the house for a few minutes - not more than TEN MINUTES later I saw all this yellow spotting on the windows and on the inside window sills.

Yup, it was pollen! Every horizontal surface was covered. Looking at the roof from a low angle was gross. Glad I hadn't tried to wax outside this morning.

Regards,
GEWB
 
Cailifornia duster works great for this purpose!
I like to vacume my duster if it gets too filled with pollens.

I have 2, one for my customers and one for myself.
 
Haven't had to deal with pollen for about a month now. The love bugs have started showing up though. Given a choice, I think I would prefer to deal with the pollen instead of the love bugs and I'm sure other fellow Floridians will agree with me.
 
Back
Top