What do you do about dust?

[mdoan]

This is probably a dumb question... but what does everyone do about dust when prepping and sealing/waxing their cars?

Ideally you wash, the car instantly dries, and you can apply your sealant/wax/ceramic whatever in a clean room before a single spec of dust lands on the paint.

In reality, to have no hidden water requires a thorough multi-hour air dry after wiping excess water off. Meanwhile dust is landing on the dry parts of the car. On top of that, often I need to close/open the garage door a few times inevitably (kids...), and often need 2 days to apply a full coat in the Texas heat. Dust, dust, dust. After a claybar it'll drive me mad.

There's probably a very simple solution (wipe down with dry/clean microfiber before doing each panel?); I just haven't heard one. Or I'm really over-thinking it.

 

[NastyGT500]

Blow it off. Then a detail spray/clean MF towels. Done. If heavier than that...a waterless wash.

(and never use a 'dry' towel to wipe down, you will mar your surfaces...always use lube! lol)

 

[Hef]

I use a California Car Duster

Sent from my SM-N960U using the svtperformance.com mobile app

 

[1Kona_Venom]

Wash car, use a leaf blower to get 90% of the water out of everywhere. Wipe down rest of water as needed using microfibers, etc

I also use this technique when cleaning the engine bay so water does not sit on the aluminum and permanently spot it up.

Keep in mind, even if the water dries and mildly spots, your going to go back over it with a clay bar or wax etc. *There are good quality soaps that are PH balanced that do not spot for those reading

So, I detailed my car from start to finish over the course of 3 Saturdays.
When I was done for the day, I used 2 flannel bed sheets to lay across the the hood, roof and trunk lid. This kept the dust off and I could continue where I left off at.

 

[5.0Black]

Is your car treated with a ceramic coating? If so you will probably only want to look at ph neutral/coating safe products. Quick detailer sprays work well for me in most dusting scenarios. Just make sure you have plenty of clean microfiber buffing towels so you can swap them often. For heavy dust you can use a waterless wash, just if you car is treated with a ceramic make sure it is safe on it.