So.. no cali dusters eh?

[mmacfn]

Ok So after Ted (the master) came out and looked at my car I learned california dusters are bad. Who knew? ;) Anywho, what is everyone doing for the dust that builds up on the car? My vette is my daily driver (my lifted jeep stays in the garage!) and it gets the general 'dirt' which happens because of that. Bugs, finger prints, smudges and dust here and there. What is everyone doing for these minor things between details and washes?

[Sabo]

Great question..I am in the same situation..after my detail I was told..trash the Duster..now what?

[MOTV8]

Try having a black one. Or two. Dusty or pollen covered just has to wait. I don't wash it until it crosses the threshold to dirty.

[y2krtaf]

I still use the cali dusters. Your gonna have to do a thorough detail anyway eventually...

[Chameleon]

Try having a black one.

Or two.

Dusty or pollen covered just has to wait. I don't wash it until it crosses the threshold to dirty.

- the dust just sits there until it gets washed. . .

[Ted Y]

Buy Yellow, white or silver? Go really fast?

[oldmxdog61u]

Or dust it and enjoy the car. I sure don't want to turn into one of those "the temperature/humidity/wind/weather" conditions end up limiting drive time for fear of getting yer car dirty. Its like buying a 4wd and being worried about off road rashes. These cars love to driven! Who ya savin it for? Yer exes new hubby when you kick it? Smile!

[TheCMSH]

Pewter rules if you use the Cali Duster

[Marco]

Im with the teh above dude. lifes to short cal dust and move on....buy another paint job or car. id rather max out my drive time tather then my wash time

[mmacfn]

Yah hell I decided to do it ! Ted is gonna detail early june anyway!

[PhatVette]

Pewter rules if you use the Cali Duster

ps:I have so much clear film on mine, less worries. Also I have the utmost trust with Ted.

[jack52r]

To say I live in a dusty enviroment would be an under statement. Since a little before and every since Ten Detailed my C5 I have used a product called Production car care Products, Anti-Static Showroom Conditioner. It is an anti-static quick detail spray that helps keep the dust from being attracted by or stuck to our plastic cars.

I have used it for about a year and just ordered another gallon ($20.00) of it. I use it on my vette and wineberry Gold Wing Trike. Dust still accumulates but not at all like it used to. Teds detail job still sparkles like he just did it.

[oldmxdog61u]

I love the job ted did on my car, and I am confident it will last, despite my duster, my car cover, and my daily commute! I love my car, love driving it, and love the way it looks now after a quick n easy car wash now that ted worked on it and added the poly coat. Yahoo! Let's go for a ride!

[Eddie44]

Everyone is different. I know folks that won't drive there Vettes if there's a cloud in the sky. I know people that won't park in a gravel parking lot or drive down 100 yds of gravel road. I say to each their own! I'm probably going to hell.... maybe I should say I know I'm going to hell, but my Vette is just a car. I've had three different Vettes in the last ten years and give me another couple years I'll have another. That is not to say I don't love my Vette and respect it's awesome performance. I don't want to spend a couple hours two or three times a week washing it. I use a duster regularly so if any of you want to get rid of yours bring it to lunch Sunday and I'll take it off your hands so you're not tempted. Now for the real confession, I've even taken my Vette through an automatic carwash at times. I'm waiting..... no lightning, I guess the big guy wasn't paying attention. I've seen guys detail the daylights out of their Vettes and go out the next day and abuse the scheit out of it on the track or a cruise. Point is I don't criticize you for treating your Vette better than your family members, so don't criticize me for the way I abuse mine.

[oldmxdog61u]

What eddie44 said! Enjoy! Its all good. I love patina as much as a show car. Whatever works for you! And Big thanks to. Ted for the swell detail!!

[Grayeagle]

I use a coupla good size microfibre towels and Meguir's detail spray. I usually clean up the car twice a week . . average. Black just looks soo good clean and so bad dusty ..besides .. it is my 'workout' ..pumpin iron just isn't the same I wax it twice a year usin Meguir's Ultimate wax. I even use their scratch removal when it gets scratched before I wax it. One day I will have Ted 'do it' just because he does awesome work I use Meguir's because it's available at the Wal Mart I go to. Have used Adam's polishes ..they also work but are a bit more. -Frank

[Wills.WindowsAndWheels]

The best option ive come across and offer it to my customers is Optimum No Rinse. Yes you still have to 'wash' it...sort of...but its a lot faster. First you dont have to rinse the car down like you normally would...secondly, you can do it right in your garage and best of all...NO rinsing (thus the name). You fill up your 2 buckets with water..but one bucket only gets 2 gallons....then add 1 oz of ONR (Optimum No Rinse) to that 2 gallons....dunk your mitt into the ONR water...wash a panel...then rinse your mitt out in the second bucket (your rinse bucket) to get the dirt out (thus keeping your ONR water clean). Then wipe down the panel you just washed with a couple of soft microfibers and bam...you're done...move onto the next panel. With a vette you could probably do it in 10 minutes easy...even less if you're only worried about the horizontal panels. Just be gentle with the washing and wiping, make sure you do it while the paint is cool (so in the garage or in the shade) and only use it if the car is dusty or moderately dirty...if its pretty messy, go with a regular wash...it'll save you headaches in the long run.

[alludc]

my many years of being OCD about a clean car have always been the same habits...

Wash every friday night. (I dont wash in full sunlight)

I turn the side views out so water doesnt get trapped in em. I blow out the taillights, any weather seals, rear plate, etc with the electric blower and lower the windows and put em back up to clean off any excess water from the window guard. (so anal).

every other day (or every day if its been windy) I bust out the electric blower to knock off any large pieces of whatever then I use a microfiber cloth (really good kind that dont catch on your dry skin of your hand) and spray Meguiars ultimate detail spray on it section by section. Change to a sucky microfiber and do the wheels and sometimes in the fenderwells where it can be reached.

Every 3 weeks (or before a show) I use Jax Cherry wax followed by the meguiars spray.

Monthly I also take it to the local spray wash to get underneath the car with the power spray

After every other wax, I wash, clay, wash, then wax again.

And now, once a year I think ill call Ted to fix anything that I missed.

Oh and..... my wifey bought me this for our Anniv.... http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11201522&whse=bc&Ne=4000000&eCat=bc|114|860|56823&N=4035137&Mo=0&No=0&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&cat=56823&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&hierPath=114*860*56823*&topnav=

[1jester]

I use two california dusters. 1 exclusively for the body and 1 for the wheels only due to brake dust. I've then used mcguires detail spray and micro fiber towels for anything fingerprints ,etc. I don't have a problem with soft car washes., but I also polish the car 2 to 3 * per year.

[Officerblue]

Wow? Just drive, it's a Vette! Wash it when it's dirty use Pledge between the washing and wax it April and October. Pledge is an old biker thing, it makes wiping bug guts off easy. I've used pledge on all my cars, trucks and motorcycles.

[Wills.WindowsAndWheels]

Wow? Just drive, it's a Vette! Wash it when it's dirty use Pledge between the washing and wax it April and October. Pledge is an old biker thing, it makes wiping bug guts off easy. I've used pledge on all my cars, trucks and motorcycles.

Pledge...seriously? lol...please don't say its so...please don't!

[Kyle]

Ok, I have been using a Cali duster for yars on different cars. I just got this 2007 Vette a month or so ago and bough a new one just for it. What is the problem with the Cali Duster?

[Officerblue]

Wow? Just drive, it's a Vette! Wash it when it's dirty use Pledge between the washing and wax it April and October. Pledge is an old biker thing, it makes wiping bug guts off easy. I've used pledge on all my cars, trucks and motorcycles.

Pledge...seriously? lol...please don't say its so...please don't!

Oh -no, what's wrong with Pledge? I've used it on all my toys. Never had an issue with it but I'm no expert. It's got the same basic ingredients that the old spray on motorcycle wax had... any heads up would be appreciated. Thanks

[Ted Y]

Ok, I have been using a Cali duster for yars on different cars.

I just got this 2007 Vette a month or so ago and bough a new one just for it.

What is the problem with the Cali Duster?

Anytime you push dry dirt and dust across the surface of your paint you have the potential to cause very small scratches on the surface. This is what California dusters do. It's much safer to use soap and water because it lubricates and removes the solid particles in the dust and dirt with less chance of causing those pesky scratches and swirl marks. Once there, they have to be polished out.

It's your choice to use a duster, just understand the potential problems... I'll show you my paint the next time I'm out, our come to my house on Sunday to learn more.

[Wills.WindowsAndWheels]

Ok, I have been using a Cali duster for yars on different cars.

I just got this 2007 Vette a month or so ago and bough a new one just for it.

What is the problem with the Cali Duster?

MANY owners use the Cali duster man, on all cars, so don't feel alone. The thing is, as Ted said, is when you push dirt across the paint, you are causing very fine scratches in the paint. The more times you do it, the more scratches and thus the more visible they become. Using a quick detail spray doesn't really help either as it does not get the surface wet enough to add enough lubrication to the dirt to allow it to GLIDE off rather than drag it off, make sense?

When you wash your car, first rinsing it gets the bulk dirt off..that helps a lot..then by using water, which adds some lubrication, in addition to soap, adding even more lubrication, you greatly reduce the chance of scratches because the water/soap reduces friction. But, even then, there are other measures you could take to help reduce swirls.

First, you always want to use 2 buckets. One bucket has your soapy water or your "wash" water, the other bucket has plain water, or your "rinse" water. After you rinse off your car, you dunk your mitt (i prefer mitts over brushes big time) into the soapy water, wash a panel, usually the roof or hood...something up top, cause you want to wash the dirt 'down'...so wash top to bottom. Then after washing that panel, you rinse your mitt in your rinse water (the 2nd bucket of just plain water). Then, redunk it in your soapy water and wash another panel..and repeat. When you're finished, you'll notice your wash water is still almost completely clean, while your rinse water will have 90% or more of the dirt in it...this helps keep the dirt separate from your wash water, so that way you aren't just using dirty water to wash the car with.

Another method my sis and i use on all of our washes is, we use one mitt for high parts, usually the less dirty parts, and one mitt for lower parts, which usually has tar, dirt, grime etc. That way the dirtiest mitt stays on the low areas and you aren't taking a chance of bringing that larger debris up to say, your hood or doors to where if you do make a mistake and drag debris over the paint, it would be MUCH more noticeable than if you were to make a mistake on say, a running board lol. You still do everything possible to NOT screw up but, if you are gonna have an oopsie you'd rather it be low than high. But by using the 2 bucket method, you're usually going to be pretty safe...just don't drop your mitt on the ground or something like that and then re-use it without washing it out first.

Lastly, drying materials. Some people just use any ole towel, others use leather chamois,...personally i prefer super soft microfibers. We sell them to owners who live too far away for us to do maintenance washes for. Having towels dedicated to JUST paint is very important. If you watch guys even at the hand wash car places, they will dry a rim off with the same towel they dry your paint off with. So while you're paying the extra money for a "Hand Wash", MOST times, they still cut corners...usually out of just ignorance. We have towels for just paint and then we have our older towels for just tires/rims.

So, hopefully that was a decent crash course on why not to use dusters and what to use lol. It does make a difference. We've done peoples cars and tell them DON'T do a tunnel wash or take it to a cheap car wash...either let us do it or let us hook you up with the right materials to do it yourself....and they do...and the car looks awesome for months to come. Then we've had owners who don't listen and a month or so after we spent HOURS polishing their paint...the car is right back into the same condition it was initially in :-\

Personally I'm a visual person...so i'll post this picture to sort of help show what i mean. In this pic the one side has been compounded and polished to a swirl free shine...the other side shows what the paint looked like BEFORE we did anything to it.

Big difference right? After polishing is completed it is then necessary to add a wax or sealant for protection from the elements etc (waxes and sealants are specially formulated for automotive paint...sealants last much longer and thats why i kinda cringe at the pledge thing...a $2 can of pledge on a $60,000 car is kinda taking a gamble in my book...). Waxes and sealants are just a top coating, they don't correct the swirls or scratches seen in the photo...if we had just waxed the paint, it would just make for some really shiny swirls! But by washing, claying/decontaminating the paint, polishing it and then finally protecting it..we were able to bring this (and many other) beat up ride back to better than new.

If ya have any more questions feel free to ask or if you need any work done hit us up man!