IS3Fguy

Anyone uses California duster to dust off your car? Is this safe product? My car gets dusty fast.

dojoman

iTrader: (5)

I had it for a few months but I threw it away. It leaves small oily smear on the paint, it will go away as you use more but I still see them after using for a few months.

IS3Fguy

Oily spots? Why they use oil??
Did it do good job?

daobn24

It's the wax that's on the duster. You can eliminate most of it by placing the duster on top of newspaper and leave it out for a few days.

I've used it on all of my cars and when done right, it's great! Don't rub it onto your car, simply glide it over the surface and it'll remove the dust. Also don't use it when the car is hot as it can leave streaks for wax behind.

dojoman

iTrader: (5)

You can smell the oil/wax from the duster, it's very strong smell. They wax is supposed to keep the dust on the duster so it won't transfer to paint.

It's good for light dusting only but I won't recommend dusting on very dirty car, you will scratch the paint if you press it too hard. I was OCD about scratching my car so that's why I don't use it anymore. I mostly use Maguiare's ultimate quik detailer spray and wipe off with microfiber towel. No chance of scratching.

gmanusmc

The instructions that should have come with the duster say to wrap in a newspaper for a few days to get rid of the excess wax - the duster is primarily meant for light dusting - it's great to use right before using a quick detailer. If the car is dirty to the point of needing washed, the duster will not help.

Fizzboy7

Ultimately, this item is a poor proposition. Basically, this thing only works when your car is brand spanking new, or with a recent coat of wax applied, and all with a very small amount of dust and fallout on the surface. On average, those three factors occur less than 5% of a car's life, so it's really a waste. The other 95% of the time you are going to be rubbing dust, dirt, gutter splash, fallout, oil spray, and bird and bee droppings into the surface and causing scratches. Dusters are only best when the vehicle is on display in a showroom, or when in storage indoors and not being driven or exposed.

LexRuger

Been using them for years with no problems on black, silver, and white cars. If you don't use it daily, dirt will accumulate on the paint and using the duster will probably make it worse. You're supposed to go in a front to back motion. Never in a circle. And it's great for getting brake dust off your wheels as well.

link13

You are much better off with detail spray and a soft cloth. The duster will leave fine scratches in the paint.

SonyHome

I just got one from Amazon to use on my black F-Sport and my wife's black MDX. I do ONR wash weekly but I always see dust just after couple days after wash especially on shinny black car.

People that are getting scratches, are you using it on dirty car to remove build up? I don't see how dusting will leave scratches.

IS3Fguy

I think it is a common sense to not use any type of duster on car caked from rain, mud, and etc. The air in my underground parking is dusty, and it only takes one day to build fine dust on my car. That's why I was wondering if the California duster will work for this purpose and will not scratch the paint.

dasbuch

I'd agree with the posts that say don't do it. Abrasion is what it is, and rubbing anything over the dust particles on your car, however small the particles will take some amount of shine off the paint even if it's so slight you don't notice it from scrape to scrape. Even normal hand washings will cause some amount of dulling effect to the paint slowly over time and this is why polishing restores shine on even well cared for paint, but spraying well with water first tends to float away the particles more before anything touches them and presses them against the paint. With something like the California Duster you are pressing the dust particles against the paint right before the brush removes it -- the amount of wax on the brush is irrelevant, there's no way that it could not dull the paint. Will it leave visible swirls or major damage after one or two rubs? Likely not unless there are crazy amounts of dust or larger particles but it will dull it slowly over time, and with some colors like white or light silver you might not see the effect at all for a very long time. Yes you can buff down to a better shine when that happens but it's still increasing wear on the finish.

Now the good news -- these things do pick up dust well and last a pretty long time, and I've used them for interior dusting in many cars I've owned without consequence, even on leather, without ever noticing a wax residue or negative side effect, even if they aren't designed for that. I would never rake them across exterior paint though.

Fizzboy7

^
Good words.
Another thing not mentioned yet is the fact that these dusters are designed to hold and store dust. But there is nothing designed to keep that same stored dust from touching your surface again when used over and over. Right there, that should be a huge red flag. No dirty, pre-loaded device should touch your junk. You wouldn't do that with a chamois or wet rag, and the same concept applies to a dry duster like here. This is exactly how fine scratches ocurr. Only clean devices should be used to touch your car.

cchief

Been using them as long as I can remember, my cars are waxed or have detail wax on them....no signs of scratching or hurting the paint. I pull into the garage, let it cool off and dust it. Great for getting the brake dust off the wheels.