Attracting Dust Optimum Instant Detailer & Gloss Enhancer

allenk4

allenk4

In time out
Joined
Mar 12, 2013
Messages
4,845
Reaction score
0
I have used Optimum Instant Detailer & Gloss Enhancer with success in the past, but with all the talk on the Forum about "Drying Aids"...I tried spraying it on the vehicle before drying.

One day later; I noticed an increased accumulation of dust, which is highlighted buy the spot on the hood that I missed.





I used my normal wash technique:

Rinse with high pressure hose

Foam gun with 3oz Optimum Car Wash

Two Bucket method with 2oz Optimum Car Was and Merino Wool Mitt.

Sprayed each panel with Optimum Instant Detailer and immediately dried with Cobra Guzzler.


Has anyone else had a similar experience?
 
I use the same methods as you with the exception of the foaming and I haven't experienced any unusual dust attraction. Well, during pollen season, but I haven't used anything that prevents my car from turning yellow. Maybe it's the way the Instant Detailer reacts with your current LSP. I have Optimum spray wax on my car.
 
The vehicle has Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant on it.

When I use the Optimum as a Quick Detail I have not had issues with it attracting dust, but when I applied it to wet paint and used it as a Drying Aid; I got the increased collection of dust.
 
Weird that you only got dust accumulation when using it as a drying aid and not when using it on dry paint.
 
"Gloss Enhancer" sounds like there is some type of oil-like substance used to increase shine. That would be my first suspect.
 
I just can't understand why it performed so well when used on dry paint, but attracts so much dust when applied to wet paint
 
allenk4 said:
The vehicle has Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant on it.

When I use the Optimum as a Quick Detail I have not had issues with it attracting dust,
but when I applied it to wet paint and used it as a Drying Aid;
I got the increased collection of dust.
Click to expand...
Since the force of gravity is too weak to remove dust particles, from their being carried around in the air;
and, therefore, not being able to cause a deposition of these dust particles upon surfaces solely on its own...

Then...IMO:
It stands to reason that a much stronger interaction force, between dust particles and surfaces' particles,
must come into play. I'll suggest that an electrostatic interaction is this force.
Perhaps that's due to Coulomb's Law.

Coulomb's Law states:
"The electrostatic forces between two particles are proportional to the charge of each object,
and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them".



{Disclaimer: I'll assume that microfiber towels are being utilized in the drying-process.}

Microfiber towels being used to blot-up/wipe-up excess rinse-waters (from any number of sources)
will impart a certain amount of an electrical charge upon the vehicles panels...that will then cause
the panels to not only become attractive to the eye-of-the-beholder...but to air-borne dust particles as well.
(Don't dust particles also have a "charge"?)

I'll then also suggest that the use of your choice of Detail Spray, as a drying aid... may have resulted
in an increased level of blotting/wiping with microfiber towels.

As such...IMO:
No matter, (in this scenario), how prudent was the pressure used to blot/dry;
or the number/type of MF-towels (wet and/or dry) that were used:

This may have, indeed, caused an increase in the electrostatic charges upon/surrounding the vehicle...
thus providing the attraction needed for deposition of its environment's dust particles.

Bob
 
Bob,

Wouldn't the static charge be applied to the entire panel and not just the section that the towel was passed over?
 
From the Optimum website:

"After washing the car with Optimum Car Wash, spray your vehicle with Instant Detailer as you towel dry each panel. Optimum Instant Detailer & Gloss Enhancer can be used on wet or dry surfaces."

Optimum Instant Detailer
 
allenk4 said:
Bob,

Wouldn't the static charge be applied to the entire panel and not just the section that the towel was passed over?
Click to expand...
Please explain "not just the section that the towel was passed over"...
Were not all of the panels, and all of their surface areas, dried using
the OID as a drying aid along with MF-towels?

Also (in regards to this situation):
I don't know the amount of OID that was used per panel;
what type of rinse water(s) that were used (minerals content);
what towels, or their "condition", that were used per panel;
the pressure(s) applied; or even the total number of swipes
that were used per panel...To further my electrostatic-hypothesis.

Bob
 
FUNX725 said:
Please explain "not just the section that the towel was passed over"...
Were not all of the panels, and all of their surface areas, dried using
the OID as a drying aid along with MF-towels?

Also (in regards to this situation):
I don't know the amount of OID that was used per panel;
what type of rinse water(s) that were used (minerals content);
what towels, or their "condition", that were used per panel;
the pressure(s) applied; or even the total number of swipes
that were used per panel...To further my electrostatic-hypothesis.

Bob
Click to expand...

OID was used on all surfaces.

The small triangular section of the hood was missed and did not receive OID.

That small section did not attract dust


If an electric charge (static) is applied to a sheet of metal...isn't the charge uniformly distributed within the entire panel. If it isn't...how would a grounding strap or any other ground function?


I am unaware of how the variables listed above apply, but her you go:

A total of four sprays were used on the hood

Un-softened tap water was used for rinse, foaming and final rinse. Austin tap water is considered moderately hard. Hardness testing conducted throughout 2011 showed we have an average hardness of 98 milligrams per liter or about 5.7 grains per gallons.

Cobra Guzzler Towels in very good condition.
Washed with DP Microfiber Cleaner.
Used with light pressure.
Minimal slow swipes, maybe 2-3.
 
Washed again Saturday afternoon with same wash methods as before.

This time I dried using Pinnacle Rinseless with Carnuba and then added Optimum Instant Detailer & Gloss Enhancer to the Passenger's side only.

The pollen here in Austin has been at very high levels and after less than two days, here are the results:







Clearly the Optimum side is holding more pollen.
 
I have used it on wet surfaces without issue or any appreciable dust attraction. Perhaps its the environment ??? Or something in the makeup, perhaps let Chris from Optimum know.
 
Chris Thomas said:
What dilution are you using?


Chris Thomas
[email protected]
Click to expand...


Product is diluted 3 parts distilled water to 1 part OID

Applied with Kwazar sprayer. Two trigger pulls = 4 sprays on half the hood.

Spread with the fluffy side of a Miracle Towel. Towel was the flipped and OID buffed off.
 
Interesting. I'd use WG Deep Gloss Spritz Sealant since you sealed with WGDGPS. Otherwise I'd use Ultima WW+ which is polycharged and works as an outstanding lubricant for drying. Still it's nice to know about the Optimum gloss enhancer.
 
allenk4 said:
Bob,

Wouldn't the static charge be applied to the entire panel and not just the section that the towel was passed over?
Click to expand...


The act of wiping can create static charge, kind of like when you were a kid and you rubbed a balloon against your hair.



Static Electricity and Dust Attraction to your Car's Paint



The below is taken from this website, due credit where credit is due.

The origin and Source of Electricity


Atoms are made up of electrons and a nucleus.

Question: What is an Atom and What is a Nucleus?

Answer: The nucleus is made up of neutrons, (no charge) and positively charged protons, leaving it with a net positive charge.

ElectronsNucleus.jpg



An atom, at the simplest level, can be thought as a mini version of the solar system, with the nucleus like the Sun, and the electrons going around the nucleus, like the planets.

solarsystemanalogy.jpg



The electrons move around the nucleus because they are attracted to the nucleus because positive charges attract negative charges (opposites attract).

nucleusdiagram.jpg




An atom has an equal number of positively charged protons, and negatively charged electrons, leaving it neutral.

Question: What would happen if we removed some of the electrons from the atom?

Answer: This would leave the atom with a net positive charge, leading to static electricity.
​
You will notice this when you rub a balloon against your hair, like this boy:

static_balloon.jpg


Rubbing the balloon against your hair removes electrons from the atoms of your hair, where they migrate to the atoms of the balloon. This leaves the balloon negative and your hair positive, which leads to the attraction of the hair to the balloon.






:dunno:
 
I did a side-by-side test of 4 products all on a black, horizontal demo hood and let the hood sit for around a month and there was a very distinct difference in dust accumulation for each product.

The product that attracted the least amount of dust was the Ultima Paint Guard but even it attracted dust.

I think the problem is related to what chemist told me years ago and that is you can't remove all the electric charge in your car's paint and you certainly cannot remove the electrical charge in all the dust floating in the air so there will never be a 100% sure solution to the problem.


This topic sure does come up a lot though so maybe some day....


:dunno:
 
Originally Posted by allenk4
Bob,

Wouldn't the static charge be applied to the entire panel and not just the section that the towel was passed over?

Mike,

Can this be tested in the AutoGeek Garage with one of your test hoods and a voltmeter?

I still believe that if you rub a panel with a towel and create a static charge; isn't the charge uniformly distributed throughout the panel and not just isolated to the steel molecules that the towel was passed directly over?

If I am incorrect and the charge is isolated to the molecules that the towel passed over...how to static discharge straps function?

Thanks
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top