I had originally PM'd Wanabe this question. He told me to post this up to give other this information, if they needed it.



You have a black car such as myself. I have a lot of dust and pollen in my area where i live. I was thinking about getting a California Duster or Magic duster for my Black car.

I wanted to get your thoughts on this duster. Who you use this on your car? Would you recommed it for a black car? So far i have done a great job with choosing the right, wash soap, wash mitt, 2 bucket concept, to keep my black paint scratch and swirl free.

The problem i have is, all this pollen thats falls on my car after i wash and detail it. Normally i would just use a microfiber towel with some QD, BUT i dont want to risk pressing the pollen into the paint/clearcoat and scratching it.

That's why i was considering going with the Duster, which is lighter on the car. Sorry for this being so long, but i had to ask you. I respect your opinion, and your knowledge.

Jason-

 

From my experience you could use the california duster, but I don't like the claim that "the dirtier it gets the better it works." After about two weeks of usage I started noticing more and more swirls on my car.

I have since been using the zymol wool duster. It is much lighter than the california duster and I feel does a great job. I use it before I take the car out and after I come back. I'm always weary of using it when there is too much pollen/dust.

 

I have a black exterior also. Make sure you shake it really really really well before, during and after using it. There are no such thing as swirl free period (on a black car at least), but you can minimize the swirl to a very few amount by using it correctly and affectively. Let face it, we have a black car and swirls are inevitable. However, that doesn't mean you have to polish your car once a month to keep it look great. The last time I polish my car was 8 months ago and it still shine great with occasional (2 months interval) wash and weekly QD.

 

just a few thoughts to add to the above-

i have a black car and it is dusted frequently. it lives under a cover if i am not driving it... has not been "washed" for several months.
it gets dusted coupla times a week, followed by detail sprays. dusting is not a "drag the duster over the car" like household dusting. instead, its more of "flick" the dust off of the car with the duster. the duster should just make enough contact with the car to get the dust off.

my dusters are all black with some red showing. they can be washed, but i have never washed any of mine (currently have 5 normal sized ones and 1 small one (i think that the small ones are sold as interior dusters- i have never used one for the interior, but i use the small ones on the wheels).

the best cure for pollen is a car cover... the duster can be used for some pollens, but not all. if you try to dust the car and the pollen isnt coming off, you gotta try something else on the pollen. my opinion is that car covers are usually easier to deal with than getting pollen off of the car every day.

 

If you daily drive your car my opinion is that the CA duster is NOT for you. If your car is like wanabe's on the other hand then it sounds perfect! But something about the daily grime that collects on the car (that isnt dusted off) due to daily usage and then being spread all over does not seem like an effective idea.

 

Jason, I stopped using mine after a while. Just didn't seem to be cutting it for me.

I believe if you use it as wanabe says, it will work fine, but QD is much better, and if the car is too dirty, I wouldn't use the duster. I think this year we made out pretty well as far as pollen. Last year was worse.

 

Thanks for all the input guys

 

dragging anything over the CC is asking for swirl marks, i personally have one and i only use it for light dust(the kind you get from sitting in the garage too long vs road grims)

 

I have a berlina and use a california duster....it doesnt seem to scratch the car at all, but I have noticed a residue that gets left after a while.

I was told it eventually goes away, aka the dirtier it gets the better it works...so I have been reluctant to wash it. But it has been a year and a half lol

It does get annoying with meticulous people like us.

 

I use a high quality microfiber cloth which I dampen with water or sometimes a detailing spray from Menzerna and wipe down my car. I use a duster if there is light dust from garage storage (retired now so I dont need to drive to work) I find this to be more effective and not very time consuming. Of course time is not an issue to me anymore (yuk yuk)