Gravel dust... Ideas?

[CadiTamer]

Well, this *****. Detailed the car Thursday, and then Friday i end up driving through a huge dust cloud for about 20 seconds coming home from work... Car was completely covered with a nice fine gray dust. It wasn't attached, thankfully, so i blew it off with some water as soon as i got home, and then dried the car with a microfiber towel. Doesn't look like i caused any horrible marring, but i can definitely see some slight scratches left behind by the dust...

I guess the question here is: Is there a product i can use to build a barrier to prevent dust like this from digging into the clear coat? Would 4 or 5 layers of wax suffice to do this, or will i need something heavier? Waxing the car with Ultimate Wax isn't a big deal, and i could probably coat it 5 times in about two hours, but i don't want to use that much wax if the dust is still going to eat right through it... Exactly how tough is UW?

[The Guz]

Re: Gravel dust... Ideas?

Depending on the severity of the scratches, ultimate compound or ultimate polish may be all you need to correct those areas. M205 would be another good choice to use. Of course followed by the wax of your choice. Photos would help to determine what products to use.

5 layers of any wax won't get you anywhere. 2 coats is more than enough for ultimate wax before you hit the law of diminishing returns. You also want to wait a minimum of 12 hours before applying a second coat.

[Eldorado2k]

IMO you shouldn't have rinsed the car with water and dryed it like that.. Even though it may look clean with a quick rinse, it's almost certain a bunch of dirt [and in this case gravel] was still on your car when you went to dry it.
My advice is never touch your finish unless you just washed it/or are doing so with the aid of a quik detailer like UQD.
There's a chance the scratches were caused when you dried it after the rinse.
*cringe from the grit*

[Marc Hufnagel]

Re: Gravel dust... Ideas?

That dust adhered to a point whether it looked like it or not, remember gravel dust particles are little ROCKS!

[mis3]

Re: Gravel dust... Ideas?

I wax often, maybe once a month. I used to apply 2 layers but after some readings from this forum, I found out that the 2nd layer only helps in coverage but not in protection. So, I only apply one coat each time I wax. Since I wax often, there is always wax on my car. If I miss one spot this time, I would cover it next time...

My car is silver and this works for me. Maybe the 2nd coat offers additional shine and depth for dark cars.

[Top Gear]

Re: Gravel dust... Ideas?

This happens to me, too, CadiTamer. My first guess is that you have only created inevitable holograms in your waxy layers on top of the clear coat, or perhaps on the very top-top frictional surface of the clear. My second guess is that these are very fine scratches due to a dirty rag, or even a clean rag with just the right bits of grit wiped at just the right time. Either way, they will go away with a correction, or might even go away over a few normal cleaning cycles.

I get dust in the areas near where I live, whether from passing trucks or wind-generated clouds, etc. That's life. I've learned to live with it for a few hours or a day or whatever until I can properly rinse, possibly wash with suds if absolutely necessary (I generally only wash with suds about once a month or less), and then blow the paint off with the blower. Most dust will rinse right off (using a strong nozzle setting), and for an otherwise clean car, I only need to touch up with GC QW. My paint is very hard and can take more wiping abuse than it might seem, but I never wipe without Gold Class QD or QW as a "lube".

Anyway, wax is the best barrier, IMHO, and I use GC QW extensively. Do not wipe to dry! Use the blower and/or flood methods.

[Ghawk]

Re: Gravel dust... Ideas?

Hi CadiTamer,

I agree it the others in saying that you should always use some form of lubrication between the wash medium (in the case your microfiber towel) and the paint. The gravel, as Eldorado pointed out, will not always be removed from just a quick wash down, and then you removed what was left with a microfiber and very little water or any other lubricant to prevent scratching.

Unfortunately, as for your questions on wax, you will not increase your protection with multiple amount of coats on, I usually do two on my own car for coverage reasons, and due to the fact I love waxing for my car. It is best not to look at wax as a magical cure all solution, as it is a very very very thin layer of sacrificial protection. So when gravel dust is rubbed against a painted surface protected with even the "toughest" (a hard term to really define) wax, that microscopic layer of wax will be sheared off by the dust particles as the dust cuts into the paint just slightly.

But what a good coat of wax, or sealant, or any kind of paint protection does, is prevent the particles from bonding directly to the painted surface, therefore when removed correctly, the chances of scratching the finish is greatly reduced. If your car had not been waxed the scratches would have most likely been much worse, and more dust would have remained after the rinse off.

Hope this helped, if you ever want to remove those scratches, Meguiar's has some wonderful compounds and polishes, that can pretty much tackle anything on Dual Action Polisher!

Griffith Hawk

[CadiTamer]

Re: Gravel dust... Ideas?

Okay, so next time i have to drive through dust-land, it'd be best to wash the car completely. Got it!

So at this point, my best bet would be to polish the car again, and then wax it again, after a good foaming. Sounds like i have a project for spring break now! Maybe i can get the holograms i left last time out while i'm fixing the minor marring i caused. (There's a few places where i let the DA get sideways, and it left some very slight holograms)

Anyone have any ideas for a good foaming tip that isn't terribly expensive?

The car still looks a million times better than it did a few days ago, so i'm not going to complain. Meg's products are amazing, and made making the car shine really easy.

[Top Gear]

Re: Gravel dust... Ideas?

Hmmm, not sure what you mean by "foaming". The best process is to simply wash the car with a mitt and two buckets with suds, then clay with quik detailer, then use the DA to compound (which may need repeating over and over), polish, and finally wax. Do not compound, polish or wax by hand.

The next day or so when the car is dusty again, do not wash it. Simply use a duster if it's light dust, or some detailer to clean the surfaces if it's heavier, and/or you can rinse-only and blow/flood to dry as necessary, followed by detailer for stuff like bird dropping residue, etc. Then touch up with some quik wax matching the wax you put on with the DA (Gold Class 2.0 Liquid, in my case, so Gold Class Quik Wax).

A few days later when it's dusty again and you feel like you want to wash it, do not. Follow the same procedure. This way, you're only washing the car when you really have no other choice (mud, road/rain grime, etc), and your wax lasts much longer (which is there "sacrificially", as Ghawk said, to protect your clay/compound/polish work). You're also never wiping the surface without "lube". You will literally be amazed at the difference and how much time this saves you. Even when the car is dusty to you, "normal" people will think it's perfectly detailed

However, I have a tendency to push this too far, and I find that QD/QW residue builds up after a number of weeks or months and gives me a lot of holograms. I usually then wake up and realize I need to wash the car with wash-n-wax to get it truly clean again, back to the polished surface.

[CadiTamer]

Re: Gravel dust... Ideas?

A foam gun

I'll keep that in mind. I can already tell that it's got some dust on it again, but it's not nearly as bad as it was, and the car still looks good enough that everyone's like "Dude, did you just get your car waxed?" to which i reply "Yeah, something like that."

I'm sure i'll be OCD for a bit... Went out this morning after about 500 miles on the interstate and then washed, clayed, and rewaxed the front of the car to get rid of the bug guts.

[Eldorado2k]

Yea that minor dust you can see the next day is a sign of the OCD
It's funny how even with that minor dust everyone else sees nothing but Wow.
Have you looked into trying some Ultimate Quik Detailer? It sounds like you'd like it.

[CadiTamer]

Re: Gravel dust... Ideas?

Hadn't heard of the Ultimate stuff. I knew there was some QD, but is the Ultimate QD better?

I like shiny things.

[Eldorado2k]

Go on youtube and search "Meguiars Ultimate Detailer"
Watch the 5:27 long video review posted by Accord79. *shines*

[The Guz]

Re: Gravel dust... Ideas?

Hadn't heard of the Ultimate stuff. I knew there was some QD, but is the Ultimate QD better?

I like shiny things.

Ultimate quik detailer is hydrphobic meaning water will bead and sheet off of it. It also boosts the wax/sealant after it cures for 12 hours. Works really well. The only thing with this is that you can not use it as clay lube. You can the regular QD for that or D155 last touch if you want the bulk version.

[CadiTamer]

Re: Gravel dust... Ideas?

Okay, thanks! I'll grab some and use it for where i run into bugs