question on dust buildup on paint

[humblepie]

So last week I washed and clayed my car. I was doing some spot testing so I never got around to finishing with a coat of wax. I noticed the next day that a considerable amount of dust had built up on the paint over the night - as if I hadn't washed the car in a couple of days. I leave the car outside, although under a tent.

My question is does the paint attract more dust when not waxed?

[Michael Stoops]

Re: question on dust buildup on paint

My question is does the paint attract more dust when not waxed?

Not necessarily. You mentioned that you noticed this last week, which would have been during that period of high, sustained winds. Those winds kick up an incredible amount of dust, which of course is deposited on your parked vehicle. We noticed a marked increase in the amount of fallout on the cars in our parking lot here in Irvine, CA last week as well. Just one of the perils of not being in a fully enclosed garage.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: question on dust buildup on paint

My question is does the paint attract more dust when not waxed?

Just the opposite.

Personal observations have shown waxed paint tends to attract more dust. Could be the static charge you build up by the wiping action? Don't know for sure.

Every time I've done any kind of wax test it usually involves cleaning a paint panel really well, as in buffing out all the defects so you start with a flawless finish, the chemically stripping it and then applying wax only to specific sections while leaving non-test areas bare with no wax or paint sealant. Within a few days the waxed sections tend to have more dust build-up than the non-waxed sections.

Doesn't seem to matter what brand of wax or whether it's a wax or a paint sealant.

Of course the option of never waxing your car doesn't offer enough benefits to outweigh the negatives. Each person that wants to maintain their car's finish needs to find a system they can put into place that works for them, their car and the environment in which the car exists.

Sometimes on this forum a new member will be seeking help in creating a show car finish on their daily driver that' parked outside all the time. We're always happy to help them learn the steps to create a show car finish but we also talk about finding a balance between a show car finish and a great looking finish for a daily driver because we know the daily driver is going to see the kind of wear and tear, including dust build-up that makes it hard to maintain a show car finish all the time.

This often comes up when people are trying to remove all the random, isolated, deeper scratches they discover after the first cleaning step as the first cleaning step will remove zillions of light or shallow scratches and thus reveal to your eyes all the deeper scratches that were always there to begin with but now with the zillions of light or shallow scratches removed the deeper scratches show up like a sore thumb. The next thing the person asks how to do is to remove the deeper scratches and that's where instead of first telling them how to remove them we ask if the car they are working on is a show car or a daily driver...

[humblepie]

Re: question on dust buildup on paint

Interesting read. Thanks guys.