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Garage Dust

2K views 16 replies 8 participants last post by  Kurlee Daddee 
#1 ·
Any ideas on what to use to remove dust from my car on a weekly or biweekly basis that will be gentle on the paint/wax coating? Some weeks my car just sits in the garage at my apartment complex and dust settles on it at a pretty rapid rate (the garage is pretty old and there is a parking lot on top of it, I'm guessing that's why the dust accumulates so quickly). I don't have access to a hose unless I drive to my parents' house about 40 minutes away.
 
#3 ·
I have a nice coat of wax on it now (dealership did a crappy job) with no swirl marks, no water spots, no scratches, nothing. It's as spotless as it can be (minus the dust) and I would like to keep it that way. So I guess I'd say pretty anal about creating pain damage.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Then here is what you must have a thorough understanding of. You have ROCKS sitting on your paint. They may be the tiniest rocks that you have ever seen in your life but they are still rocks. If you MOVE any of those rocks against your paint, you be creating what is known as SANDPAPER. It may be 5000-grit sandpaper but it is still sandpaper. If you grind any of those rocks against your paint, YOU WILL SCRATCH THE PAINT. This damage may not be instant to the eyes, where you can immediately see it on a light colored car but on a dark colored car, the damage will show immediately. That is, if your paint is TRUELY flawless. So what you have to do in order to avoid this damage is to figure out a way to remove those rocks without grinding them against the surface of the paint.

You have THREE choices. You can do a proper 2-bucket wash, which is the safest thing to do when dealing with flawless paint. Two, you can take an electric or battery powered leaf blower and blow off what dust can be removed that way. It may not leave the car looking perfect, but it will appease you to some degree. Last of all, you can do what I do. Leave it alone until you can do a proper 2-bucket wash. The dust is NOT hurting anything or creating any damage as long as you do not disturb it. By taking ANY product, I don't care what it is or who makes it, spraying it on your car and then wiping a towel against the surface of your paint, you are GRINDING those rocks into your finish. You have just successfully made SANDPAPER. It will do what sandpaper does. You repeat this process over and over again and your paint will look like trash in no time. To folks who are as anal as I am about flawless paint, we can see that damage immediately.

There are people who have dark colored cars who do this practice. When I ask them about their finish, they tell me that it is flawless. I ask them to see their car. This is what they, and other individuals with untrained eyes see:

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But to someone with a trained eye, this is what I see (click the picture):

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Even though the damage is as clear as day to me, I do something that makes it MUCH easier for someone with untrained eyes to see all that damage. I call it "the flash test". I shoot the flash of my camera off into their paint. This is what I reveal to them:

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That damage is created by constantly wiping DUST off of your car. I knew his paint would look like that when he asked me the same exact question you are asking, but the only reason he asked me for something is because he could no longer find what he was using. I immediately knew his paint would be jacked up because no one who knows better is going to remove dust from their finish in that manner.

By the way, I did a quick fix for him, just one pass with a compound and showed him the difference:

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So if I were you and I REALLY had flawless paint, I would follow the ritual that I follow. Or, I would do the other thing that I do right after I wash the car and ONLY right after I wash the car, I would cover it. But even the way I cover my car is a process because covering your at the wrong time, the wrong way and using a crappy cover is ANOTHER way to make sandpaper. Avoid sandpaper unless you are wet sanding.



Don't fall for the hype. There's a ton of it out there and manufacturers want you to believe what they say and NOT what they can't show you. If you cannot not show me the science behind HOW your product works then you are asking me to believe your claims. Not happening in my world because I can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that ANYTHING I claim will work, guaranteed. If I can do that, every manufacturer who sell detailing products should be able to do the exact same thing. Reason? Because I don't detail cars for a living nor am I in the detailing business. The manufacturers are, so they should be able to do exactly what I can do. Prove what I say is gospel. 😉
 
#5 ·
Those pictures are going to give me nightmares lol! You and I have similar eyes it seems. I do know that properly washing the car is the most effective and safest way to get rid of the dust, but like I said I don't really have good access to a hose. A leaf blower or something similar did come to mind, but I figure driving the car would be just as effective as using a leaf blower. I do have a car cover, but it is a headache to put it on and like you said, another way to damage your car if you mess up. Also, my car doesn't sit long enough to justify putting the cover on. If I need to get to an appointment, pick up food, or go anywhere really, taking the cover off and storing it properly takes time.

Looks like it just needs to wait for a proper wash then. And hopefully I will have a house with a nice clean garage next year and this won't be an issue anymore lol.
 
#6 ·
Looks like it just needs to wait for a proper wash then.
And THAT my friend is probably the wisest decision you can make. 😉

And hopefully I will have a house with a nice clean garage next year and this won't be an issue anymore lol.
Do like I do. Make sure you have a 3" drain put inside your garage so that you can wash your car INSIDE, all year round.

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#7 ·
I agree that dust can cause damage if rubbed against the paint dry. However, I think a rinse less wash such as ONR (Optimum No Rinse) diluted in a bucket would be sufficient for light dirt and grime. You can buy distilled water and use it in your bucket so that there are no hard water spots left behind. Luckily for me, I work at a detailing shop and have access to the wash bay at all times, but I have done the rinse less wash at home a few times when my car was not all that dirty. I usually pre soak the panel I am working on using a bottle of diluted ONR to suspend the dirt in the solution, then I take my wash mitt (from the bucket of diluted ONR) and wipe the panel.
 
#11 ·
I agree that dust can cause damage if rubbed against the paint dry. However, I think a rinse less wash such as ONR (Optimum No Rinse) diluted in a bucket would be sufficient for light dirt and grime.
And now for the MILLION dollar question. What is "light dirt and grime?"

The ol' saying, "One man's beauty queen is another man's 2-bagger" comes to mind because what some people consider "light dust and grime" might be mountains of boulders to someone else. That's why I never just say what I would do, I SHOW what I would do with a video so that everyone can see firsthand if what I am saying is actually gospel. This is exactly why I started making videos because it's a totally different ball game when people are watching you do something on video with NO EDITING, and they see your final results UP CLOSE. The way I look at it is, are you gonna believe me or your lying eyes? 😅

I personally wouldn't waste my money on a product like ONR when I can mix up my own solution of a cleaner for FREE. It ain't nothing but soap in a bottle and despite ONR's claim of "encapsulation", I have yet to have anyone from Optimum show me this "encapsulation" happening before my very eyes. Trust me, I have asked them to do so. So am I going to take their word for it? Not in this lifetime but then, I am probably the most anal paint guy you will meet. My father painted cars for 40-years. I practically grew up in a body shop and as anal as I am, I think my father was worse. Not all detailers feel the way I feel but then, I don't have a dog in the fight. I don't detail cars for a living so I don't have anything to sell anyone. The only thing I have is knowledge and I freely give that to anyone who wants it.

I am on the record when it comes to waterless washing products and I made a video (that I accidentally deleted and need to make again), that shows exactly how I would do it. Remember, the detailing manufactures have a product to sell. Actually, they have a lot of products that they want you to buy and thus, they are going to make claims in order to sell those products. Some products are necessary for people in the detailing business (like a wax or sealant with light polishing capabilities), for customers who don't want to pay for the correct way that their paint should be fixed and protected but as for myself, I will take as long as it takes to do the job right while using products that have a specific purpose. That's how The Junkman gets down. I just won't "fake da' funk."

 
#8 ·
I'm going to agree, my car also sits in the garage a lot and gets dusty. I leaf blower can get most of the dust off. BUT you can use a waterless wash or a rinse less wash and not damage your paint.

I have a black car and you can take a light to it and I don't have any swirls or serious scratches. My paint is basically flawless and I have used those products.

I do however prefer a proper bucket wash . The best thing to do is start really learning about detailing and how to maintain your cars finish. There are tons of videos on YouTube from some very good companies.
 
#10 ·
I'm at 145k miles on a non-metallic pitch black SRT that's 8 years old. My paint looks great to 99% of onlookers, and probably like complete crap to guys like Junkman, Mantis, and myself.

I'll take it for what it is.

I do my best with it. I can still get a great shine on it, but if you did that flashlight test you'd see swirls times a million. It's inevitable on a DD with my mileage and age.

I'd have no problem using a "mist and wipe" on mine at this point, but for for something new I'd let the dust alone until a proper wash can me done.
 
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#16 ·
I don't find todays detailing products to be expensive. I think they are fairly priced and most of the top brands work very well.

Sure you can buy cheaper products and maybe you can get them to work well but I choose to use what I use by how well it works not what it costs. If it's good, I'll pay, if it sucks it's out.
 
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