California Duster & White Vinegar as Microfiber Softener?

Ohio Detailing

Ohio Detailing

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Mr. MP and fellow AGO'ers :)

1. After only four days of ownership on our new car, to my disbelief and horror, I saw several hairline faint veritcal scratches running parallel on the hood when viewed in direct sunlight. I was told these very fine surface scratches could be a result of using an aged and soiled California Car Duster to prep the paint before QD spraying. Is this true, and if so can the duster be removed from the handle and washed - OR do you suggest not using a duster at all because of the associated risk?

2. I just threw a load of microfibers into the washer, the same brand new microfibers I used to QD our new car 2x in the past week (which is why I don't think QDing the car caused the scratches because the micros were brand new and we used heavy lubricated QD spray) and added 2 cap fulls of white vinegar per another members advice on another thread. Of course I am washing them in cold water and applying the extra rinse cycle to remove any residue, but my question is if I am using the correct variety and amount of Vinegar?

Thanks as always! I love learning - and AGO is the place to come for that! Have a good one Mike & Company...
 
I dont use a duster much at all, prefer the small one on interior for occasional dash dust between cleaning. I would be relucant to wash a duster however as it likely would remove the paraffin wax, maybe its time to consider a replacement ??
 
Unless you have a huge cap or a very small load of towels, that's a small amount of vinegar. I usually use 1 - 2 tablespoons of vinegar depending on the size of the load. I've also found the towels come out cleaner when I wash them in hot water.

Hot water shouldn't hurt the micro fiber. It's the hot air in the dryer you have to be careful of.
 
killrwheels@autogeek said:
I dont use a duster much at all, prefer the small one on interior for occasional dash dust between cleaning. I would be relucant to wash a duster however as it likely would remove the paraffin wax, maybe its time to consider a replacement ??
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A replacement!? AND RISK FILING CHAPTER 7 BANKRUPTCY? Haha ;) Now that you reminded me, you're right - it does work wonders on the interior as far as dusting; I'll stick to that. I didn't want to wash it either, because I knew the fibers were treated with a 'special' wax as the original packaging said, I didn't know it was paraffin though. Good advice Killr.
 
Jumpingbean said:
Unless you have a huge cap or a very small load of towels, that's a small amount of vinegar. I usually use 1 - 2 tablespoons of vinegar depending on the size of the load. I've also found the towels come out cleaner when I wash them in hot water.

Hot water shouldn't hurt the micro fiber. It's the hot air in the dryer you have to be careful of.
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Yeah, it was a very small load, about 10 microfibers and microfiber wash mitt from a quick detail the other evening. I will up the white vinegar in the future though for larger loads, thanks!

I was going to ask about the hot water while washing, because I had always assumed the opposite was true from the research I've done in the past, until you mentioned it was the heat in the dryer that can cause the real damage to the fibers (by shrinking them I believe, right?). Luckily, I dried the load before I read your post, but ended up setting the hear to the "very low" lowest setting. THANKS FOR THE ADVICE! I'm still a little paranoid to wash them in scolding hot water, but I will do the warm setting next time, and remove more dirt/wax residue without the risk of damaging their polishing/absorbing ability.
 
how to use a California duster:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gVU4C_6wOE]YouTube - Waterless Wash - Part 3.mpg[/video]
 
Personally I'd dump the duster. If the paint is too dirty to QD as is, then go for an ONR wash.

That's my opinion and I'd never let a California duster (or water blade) touch my paint, but I know that there are members on here who love them and use them all the time.

Your car and your choice.

Good luck:props:
 
It sounds like you used new MF towels right out of the package. That could cause marks/marring as they must be washed before use.
 
I still say wait till it hits BOGO and replace it, no bankruptcy needed just a great offer.
 
Matt said:
Personally I'd dump the duster. If the paint is too dirty to QD as is, then go for an ONR wash.

That's my opinion and I'd never let a California duster (or water blade) touch my paint, but I know that there are members on here who love them and use them all the time.

Your car and your choice.

Good luck:props:
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Great post... :)

I'm no expert by any means, but I just believe reducing ANY material or friction to the paint surface as much as possible is a good idea. I will only be using the duster for the interior before a wipe down of the dash/doors etc, and will use the sheeting method along with a shop-vac set to 'blow' to efficiently dry the vehicle without risk of rubbing missed contaminants across the paint.
 
First post on Autogeek so I figured it should be a useful one.

You can take off the red duster and wash it in the washing machine with a little bit of detergent on the cold water setting and it wont take off the wax that's on the duster. Just make sure it's not hot water as that will take off the wax. I wash mine every time it gets black-ish. The more you wash it the less chance of the dust and dirt damaging the paint.

Hope this helps. :xyxthumbs:
 
Mk23 said:
First post on Autogeek so I figured it should be a useful one.

You can take off the red duster and wash it in the washing machine with a little bit of detergent on the cold water setting and it wont take off the wax that's on the duster. Just make sure it's not hot water as that will take off the wax. I wash mine every time it gets black-ish. The more you wash it the less chance of the dust and dirt damaging the paint.

Hope this helps. :xyxthumbs:
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Wow - no way, I had no idea. Someone above has insisted it would strip the wax from the fibers, but if cold water will keep the wax intact, then it would be an excellent way to remove contaminants!
 
For those of you who use vinegar with their wash water when washing your mf towels. Vinegar will soften your mf's, but if used to often your towels will start to lose it's absorbency (is that a word?). This came from a Rep who sells MF's from Korea.
 
Rsurfer said:
For those of you who use vinegar with their wash water when washing your mf towels. Vinegar will soften your mf's, but if used to often your towels will start to lose it's absorbency (is that a word?). This came from a Rep who sells MF's from Korea.
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Wow! I appreciate that info. I will stop adding vinegar. You are always teaching me something new!
 
Old Tiger said:
Wow! I appreciate that info. I will stop adding vinegar. You are always teaching me something new!
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I would prefer to have softer towels over the short run (10-15 total uses @ 100% absorption) using vinegar to reduce any scratching to the surface of my car, than have the life span of the microfiber doubled, using less forgiving fibers.

PS: Has anyone else heard of this? I have always hear vinegar is pretty much a home run - I just think after 15 wash cycles, nearly any organic or even synthetic fiber will begin to lose its original effect.
 
Dynamic_Detailing said:
Wow - no way, I had no idea. Someone above has insisted it would strip the wax from the fibers, but if cold water will keep the wax intact, then it would be an excellent way to remove contaminants!
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Even a clean duster has more potential than a QD to scratch. If you drive the car, you are getting dirt and road contaminates on the paint including metallic brake dust particles. Then you use a dry device to rub them off your paint. They are picked up in the nap of the duster and dragged over the rest of the car.

QDs will help loosen the particles from the paint and lube the paint to help prevent them from scratching the surface. Additionally, you can turn the MF towel over to a clean side as often as you like. I typically do this after each panel. I own a large plastic tub full of MFs and change them when they get saturated.

I do own a Cali Duster. It only gets used on the car when it has not been driven since last cleaning and only has a light dust on the paint. It has never been used for anything else and is not even turning black.

I actually own a cheap duster as well. I use it to clean the dust off the cover in the spring before I remove it. I dont want any dust/dirt to get on the inside of the cover when I roll it up for storage.
 
5.4 Shelby said:
Even a clean duster has more potential than a QD to scratch. If you drive the car, you are getting dirt and road contaminates on the paint including metallic brake dust particles. Then you use a dry device to rub them off your paint. They are picked up in the nap of the duster and dragged over the rest of the car.

QDs will help loosen the particles from the paint and lube the paint to help prevent them from scratching the surface. Additionally, you can turn the MF towel over to a clean side as often as you like. I typically do this after each panel. I own a large plastic tub full of MFs and change them when they get saturated.

I do own a Cali Duster. It only gets used on the car when it has not been driven since last cleaning and only has a light dust on the paint. It has never been used for anything else and is not even turning black.

I actually own a cheap duster as well. I use it to clean the dust off the cover in the spring before I remove it. I dont want any dust/dirt to get on the inside of the cover when I roll it up for storage.
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You sound like a man with a plan! Dusting car covers and throwing the microfibers out with the wash water - ha! ;)

I really like and appreciate your comments, because you made several great points. I am now certain that I'll only ever use my mini Cali Duster for the interior (dash/doors) before applying water based cleaner/protectant to the vinyl, and will leave the paint to be taken car of with heavy QD and fresh MFs.

Sam's Club sells massive 20 packs of Microfibers that are honestly and truly very plush and well constructed, for less than $10! At that price, less than 50 cents per MF, they have lasted very long and have proven to be an invaluable addition to my detailing collection.
 
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