Glenn

how do you feel about cal. car dusters?

hwm3

Not a fan at all. There are better, safer ways of removing dust from your car.

Hadtohaveit'13

Agree

max5ive0

Yeah, still dragging dry material across your finish equals fine scratches. Best to use detailing spray on the surface, and on a good microfiber towel, then gently wipe, removing light dust. Also adding another layer of protection

MarcHarris

NNNOOOOOO

YYYEEESSSSS

Glenn

But you see them being used alot at shows on cars that are way more expensive than ours. The cal duster is impreganated with some sort of wax I thought, so its not just dry what ever on dust??????????

Mustang Freak

I've always used a Cally car duster and my paint was good?!? Also what kind of soap do you recommend? I use turtle wax is this OK or do you recommend something else?

Hadtohaveit'13

Yes they do come with wax on them but still it's just rubbing dust and whatever else against your paint

max5ive0

What i have been finding out is that cars way more expensive than ours might come with a different, harder clearcoat, more difficult to scratch, but also more difficult to correct. Also, just because someone has a more expensive car makes no difference in what they know about caring for a car's finish. Of course retailers love to appeal to our laziness, and market things they can make you believe will do the job, but you need to think for yourself. You have a dry duster, wax in it or not, and you are pulling dry dust across dry surface. Again, detail spray, and a couple clean, soft microfiber towels so you can switch to a new clean towel after all your folds are used.
Next time you are at a car show go look for swirls, looks like spider webs surrounding the sun's reflection. Notice that swirls might reside on even the most expensive cars, because their owner thinks that keeping it clean means washing it every week, regardless of his method. After you see a few swirl cars, now you know what to look for in a swirl free car, who knows, it might be a Honda.

MarcHarris

A lot of outdoor dust is broken down dirt, which is broken down sand. One of the main things that makes up sand is quartz. If you dust your car, especially dry, then you're basically placing a bet that your clear-coat is harder than the material you're wiping against it: in this case quartz and other rock types. Place your wages carefully.

MarcHarris

For some reason I don't fully understand, many of us car enthusiasts tend to think those with more money than us also know more than us when it comes to having our cars look their best.

This is simply not true, and most of the other guys have no idea what they're doing either. That's why 99.9% of cars at shows make me cringe.

MarcHarris

You must have seen my S2000 driving around

max5ive0

Lol, no. But I hope you took my Honda comment the right way. After all, I would have much more appreciation at a car show for a Honda Civic that shows the owner's meticulous attention to detail, than a Lambo with swirls.

Hadtohaveit'13

I like that

Glenn

cool and thanks for your input. I have been using one for the past couple of years on a daily basis. My car usally doesn't get that dirty and when it does I stop using the duster untill its clean again.. I wasn't thinking anyone was smarter or dumber than the next guy just stating what I have seen. I use my duster in a straight line so I dobt its leaving swirl marks.... more like straight line marks lol. I really haven't noticed any marks from the duster. I do try to keep good coat of wax on the car and I do use meg's ultamate wax inbetween waxing and after washing.

MarcHarris

Of course, and I think most detailing enthusiasts can relate to that. I can't tell you how many times my girlfriend has trash talked cars she's seen; "I was on the way back from work and I saw a black Bentley that looked like S$%^"


Glenn, it sounds like you're doing a lot of things right. The more you do (the right way), the better your results. A car duster by itself isn't as bad as some other things, and by using it in a straight line on a well protected car, you're minimizing risk.

I have quite a few clients that often take their cars to many car shows, so it's always a struggle for them to figure out how to care for their babies. Wiping down more can result in a less dusty car which is sure to impress certain judges, but at the cost of light scratches which will end up refracting light that's passing through the clear-coat. This leads to a more dull finish that isn't as clear and glossy looking.
On the flip side, no one wants to have a dusty nasty looking car that happens to be perfect underneath. We all have to pick our battles and figure out what works best for us.

Mustang Freak

Any soap recommendations?

MarcHarris

For maintenance I truly believe Dodo Juice Supernatural Shampoo is the best stuff on the market. When you take into account things like cost per use, it's quite competitive too. While most shampoos dilute 128:1 (one ounce of shampoo per gallon of water), Supernatural Shampoo dilutes 1500:1 so you only need very very little.
If you'd like something very very good but with a bit of a more pleasant smell, then look for Dodo Juice Born To Be Mild which still dilutes something like 800:1 or 1000:1 and was Dodo Juice's original killer shampoo formula.

If you only are looking for something over the counter, likely the best thing you might find locally is Meguiar's Ultimate Wash and Wax. I haven't used it, but the rest of their Ultimate line has been making a good name for itself overall.

For stripping wax, most folks won't need to buy the Chemical Guys Citrus Wash that I often use: you can just use Dawn or another dish soap.

03DJ

Before I answer your question, I have to say that MarcHarris has got all the info down. He knows his stuff.

Now for soap; again MarcHarris pretty much said it all. I have to add that for an OTC soap, Rain-X carries a pretty good quality soap.

Stevedotmil

I use Meguire's Ultimate wash and wax and it's great. It's the yellow stuff that comes in a weird shaped bottle. Good stuff. I have been getting more swirl marks since I have been here since it's against the law to wash your car in your own driveway. I need to clay and hood the DA up to see if I can get some of them out. All my good products they wouldn't ship over here when my stuff was shipped so I have to get my wife to mail them to me.