Getting dust off

Body, Paint, Interior and Trim questions and answers

Moderators: timk, Stu, zombie, Andrew, -alex, miata

land864
Fast Driver
Posts: 155
Joined: Sun Jan 17, 2010 6:52 pm
Vehicle: NB8B
Location: Eltham

Getting dust off

Postby land864 » Tue Mar 16, 2010 12:20 pm

Other than tripping on down to the local car wash and having a quick 'water only ' high pressure spray and then a chamois , is there a safe way off removing dust that won't damage the duco?

Just that I live on a dirt road :roll:

User avatar
JBT
Speed Racer
Posts: 7946
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 11:00 am
Vehicle: NC
Location: Brisbane

Getting dust off

Postby JBT » Tue Mar 16, 2010 12:48 pm

The only way that won't damage the paint with swirl marks etc. is to wash it off.
Image

93_Clubman
Speed Racer
Posts: 11857
Joined: Mon Aug 08, 2005 11:35 pm
Vehicle: Clubman
Location: Melbourne

Getting dust off

Postby 93_Clubman » Tue Mar 16, 2010 1:14 pm

how about an electrostatic cloth?

User avatar
Wuey
Fast Driver
Posts: 284
Joined: Thu Apr 24, 2003 11:00 am
Vehicle: NB SE
Location: Melbourne
Contact:

Getting dust off

Postby Wuey » Tue Mar 16, 2010 4:57 pm

I use a very fine and fluffy lambswool duster which works extremely well.
Image 2004 SE

drifter

Getting dust off

Postby drifter » Sun Mar 21, 2010 9:16 pm

There is NO alternative to a proper wash. Do it right or you will just add more swirl marks.

Don’t wash car at self serve places or get your car hand wash by anyone but yourself.
Don’t use a chamois. They scratch up the paint.
Never “dry” clean your car are use any sort of duster.

This is MY basic car wash/detail.

Only wash your car when it’s cool/warm and in the shade. Avoid windy weather if possible.

1. Rinse your car with a standard hose.
2. Use the 2 bucket method. One with car wash of your choice, the other plain water.
3. Use a lamb’s wool mitt and splash the soapy water all over the cars paint so it can loosen and lift the dirt before you make any contact with the paint surface.
4. Refill the bucket with more soapy water and wash the car with the lamb’s wool mitt from top to bottom avoiding the very bottom of the panels for now.
I prefer to run the wool mitt in only the horizontal direction to avoid swirl marks. Small horizontal marks look less ugly than cobwebs of round swirls (in the sun).
5. Rinse the mitt in the other clean water bucker after every panel. Don’t double dip the soapy bucket. Drain and refill this second bucket at your discretion.
6. Wool Mitt back in the soapy bucket and repeat.
7. Do the bottom of the panels and under bumper etc last because they have all the dirt and grit that’s likely to scratch the paint.
8. Rinse car with hose.
9. Fill a bucket with fresh water and pour it over the panels and watch the water just glide off leaving very little water drops. This makes drying the car very easy.
10. Wheels should be clean before drying the car. Use a different cloth/mitt. Special tyre cleaners are not necessary if you wash everything on a regular basis.
11. Dry the sills/inner-door and under the boot and bonnet first.
12. Now dry the rest of the car with a waffle-weave microfiber cloth. Run the cloth in one direction. Horizontal. Drying the car is very easy when there is very little water drops.

This might sound like a lot to do and a bit anal but it becomes second nature and only takes a fraction longer than a crappy wash. It’s the little details that make the difference.

Regardless of how meticulous you are, swirl marks are unavoidable but they can be dramatically reduced.

All this effort to keep my Black NB8B clean for a few hours :frown:

User avatar
Alex
Racing Driver
Posts: 1654
Joined: Thu Jan 04, 2007 6:54 am
Vehicle: NB8A
Location: Sydney

Getting dust off

Postby Alex » Mon Mar 22, 2010 7:17 pm

you could try using a good leaf blower on high power maybe??
Image
Red NB8A - BD rollbar - Hardtop


Return to “MX5 Body, Paint, Interior & Trim”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 197 guests