Dust

[wil2007]

Just finished washing my car.Dried car with 2 large waffle weaves. I used Griots spray wax as I died. As I walked back around with a new towel to get any new drips from mirrors etc. I was already gathering dust. Will polymer products help?

 

[Just02896]

Just finished washing my car.Dried car with 2 large waffle weaves. I used Griots spray wax as I died. As I walked back around with a new towel to get any new drips from mirrors etc. I was already gathering dust. Will polymer products help?

Are you getting dust or pollen? The only sure way to deter static dust attraction is to ground the vehicle to allow the static electricity to flow out and away from the vehicle. I use this method when correcting and coating vehicles and it works beautifully.

 

[Guessless]

I use Sonax BSD to top off my wax and it helps a lot with dust, but it's not full proof particularly as the dust where I'm is sometimes oily and wet as it gets mixed with the car pollution.

 

[Guessless]

Are you getting dust or pollen? The only sure way to deter static dust attraction is to ground the vehicle to allow the static electricity to flow out and away from the vehicle. I use this method when correcting and coating vehicles and it works beautifully.

Good to know, how do you ground the vehicle? Would a wire from the car chassis to a cold water pipe on the building do?

 

[Kamakaz1961]

Dust! It sucks!! Any amount of wind can accumulate dust. It is the Detailer's ARCH Enemy. We fight it we beat it and it shows its face again. Even in a controlled environment it can accumulate. Either way we just kick its azz everyday!

 

[wil2007]

Are you getting dust or pollen? The only sure way to deter static dust attraction is to ground the vehicle to allow the static electricity to flow out and away from the vehicle. I use this method when correcting and coating vehicles and it works beautifully.

Could be pollen here in Florida. Just amazed how quickly it was accumulating

 

[shagnat]

I'm in the same boat here in South Carolina. Thank goodness the yellow pine and oak pollen is mostly gone, but, everything else is kicking butt. No way to get my car dried before the pollen starts settling on it. Driving it does help get rid of it, but, don't fret, everybody is in the same boat. It's not like you're a white elephant (or is that pink?)
And once most of the pollen is gone here in the South East, the heat and humidity will be killing us...... there's no REAL winning down here when it comes to cleaning cars and keeping them that way. Just do the best you can and be happy.

 

[Lexi65]

Are you getting dust or pollen? The only sure way to deter static dust attraction is to ground the vehicle to allow the static electricity to flow out and away from the vehicle. I use this method when correcting and coating vehicles and it works beautifully.

Great...please extrapolate ... I have huge dust issues! Feed back please. :buffing

 

[spiralout462]

Dust?!?!? We just had a pollen EXPLOSION in the mid-Atlantic. You can taste it!

 

[FUNX650]

Are you getting dust or pollen? The only sure way to deter static dust attraction is to ground the vehicle to allow the static electricity to flow out and away from the vehicle. I use this method when correcting and coating vehicles and it works beautifully.

CC paint is, for all intents and purposes,
a ("plastic") resin system. Acts as an electrical-insulator. So does many waxes and sealants.

Since the static charge (from the interaction/"rubbing" between a vehicle and it's environment) is on the surface of either a "plastic", or an LSP---surfaces that are insulated from the vehicle's metal-substrates/frame/etc...

How exactly are you grounding the vehicle's paint? :dunno:

Bob

 

[Just02896]

CC paint is, for all intents and purposes,
a ("plastic") resin system. Acts as an electrical-insulator. So does many waxes and sealants.

Since the static charge (from the interaction/"rubbing" between a vehicle and it's environment) is on the surface of either a "plastic", or an LSP---surfaces that are insulated from the vehicle's metal-substrates/frame/etc...

How exactly are you grounding the vehicle's paint? :dunno:

Bob

From any bare metal surface in or around the engine bay area and down and out to a metal grounding rod 4' deep in the earth. Learned this trick from a friend who uses this method in the spray booth at his body shop. I thought he was joking at first but it works quite well. Works best on metallic paints but seems to work fine on non-metallic as well.

Here is an article written by Mike that covers static electricity.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...tricity-dust-attraction-your-car-s-paint.html

 

[FUNX650]

From any bare metal surface in or around the engine bay area and down and out to a metal grounding rod 4' deep in the earth. Learned this trick from a friend who uses this method in the spray booth at his body shop. I thought he was joking at first but it works quite well.

Your painter Friend is using Safe Practices...on uncured paint.
Does he ground the vehicle/vehicle panels in the drying booth?


Anyway...Like I mentioned:
The dust is insulated, from any metal surfaces, by the "plastic paint" and LSP film layers.

I honestly don't see how: Hooking up grounding, from the vehicle's metal surfaces, is going to release the static-charge build-up from the paint/LSPs!

Thanks for the link. Did you read this posting found therein?
(I wasn't too far off base):

Hi Mike,

My background is atomic and molecular physics where I did 10 years of research at various international facilities. I subsequently retrained to bring me into the chemical industry which is where I presently operate.

Reading your article I do appreciate where you are coming from but there are some things which have been confused conceptually. Free charge is what needs to be discussed, as you presented, at the atomic level, there is a great deal of localised charge but at a macroscopic level, this basically cancels out. The charge of resins (and materials in general) is not as presented. The resin is neutral, once applied/cured etc, it is quite quite neutral. Without interaction, there is no free charge either in or on the painted surface (as above, at least not which is not countered). It is now that the charging occurs. The key is that the surface interacts with the environment. It picks up and looses charge as a result. This happens to everything, whether it is paint, plastic, metal etc. - what happens next is what defines the effect you are discussing. In a metal the localised charge build up is rapidly dissipated because the surface is conductive - any electrons can be incorporated into the electron cloud. Most of the time, a large metal surface will have some direct or indirect contact to earth and will thus leak the excess charge away. Change to a plastic (or resin as you discuss) and the situation is very different. The substrate is not like a metal, there is no overlapping electron cloud which can easily incorporate localised charge variations so there is very little in the way of charge dissipation (it is, to some degree, an electrical insulator). This means that charge stays localised. With many interactions, charge builds up and cannot move anywhere (thus the term 'static' charge).

So as you can probably see, the dielectric (insulating) properties are thus critical in defining how a surface will 'charge up'.

Wax is, as alluded to, no good here - it is a fairly good insulator. Many silicones are the same so sealants are not a guaranteed solution. However it should be noted that this is not a totally blanket answer. There are many antistatic solutions which work in a variety of ways but the basic principle is to make the surface slightly conductive so that the localised charge can dissipate.

Now the proposed solutions:

- Grounding the vehicle - a perfectly reasonable suggestion and it will 'release' any charge which has built up over conductive surfaces. However it is not going to be a solution because, as above, the static charge will predominantly be trapped on insulating surfaces from which is has no way of reaching the earth/ground you have provided.

- Water wipe down - this will temporarily dissipate charge however all you really need is to sheet the water over the vehicle because the contact of water (which will be slightly conducting) with the localised charge will release it. The charge will then be able to flow to earth through the water. As such, even a rain shower will achieve the same thing.

- QDs - in many regards as above, the charge is dissipated through the product and to ground via you (your body). There is the added benefit that a good QD should almost certainly have antistatic properties which should inhibit surface charging for a period of time.

I hope that helps in understanding the effect.

Bob

 

[Just02896]

Like I mentioned:
The dust is insulated, from any metal surfaces, by the "plastic paint" and LSP film layers.

I honestly don't see how: Hooking up grounding, from the vehicle's metal surfaces, is going to release the static-charge build-up from the paint!

Bob

Maybe it gets discharged during the after compounding wash? Maybe the water provides the path to ground as it sheets across the paint and onto other metal parts? I'm fine with not knowing exactly how it works so long as it works! Lol!

 

[FUNX650]

Maybe it gets discharged during the after compounding wash? Maybe the water provides the path to ground as it sheets across the paint and onto other metal parts? I'm fine with not knowing exactly how it works so long as it works! Lol!

I'll bet (up to, and including, $2.00) that the above theory won't hold water---(HEE HEE)...once the car is dry, the subsequent LSP application has taken place, and a microfiber towel is used on the surface for "haze removal", leveling, Final Buff, etc.?

I have my suspicions:
Is it bad luck to be superstitious?


Bob

 

[swanicyouth]

Dust and pollen are just a fact of life. While it annoys me as well, I don't look for solutions because I don't really believe there is one. A coating may help, as it's likely less "sticky" than wax.

But, I don't believe in electrical charges and whatnot having a realistic effect on dust on your car.

 

[Setec Astronomy]

But, I don't believe in electrical charges and whatnot having a realistic effect on dust on your car.

We had a pro detailer on another forum (with a fixed-location, quite large shop) who said he routinely ran a wire from the chassis of the car to a water pipe to dissipate static buildup from when they were wiping down the car. He swore by it.

 

[swanicyouth]

We had a pro detailer on another forum (with a fixed-location, quite large shop) who said he routinely ran a wire from the chassis of the car to a water pipe to dissipate static buildup from when they were wiping down the car. He swore by it.

Maybe this works, maybe it doesn't. But the second you pull a car outside and take it for a drive it will get dust and pollen. Unless he had a REALLY long wire connected to his water pipe while he drove around. All my opinion though.

Dust that accumulates after washing and before polishing is another story. I find this is taken care of fairly easily with a Metro Sidekick.

Maybe you could run a wire from the positive terminal of the battery to your engine block and shock the dust off?

Look Ma, no dust:

 

[Setec Astronomy]

Maybe this works, maybe it doesn't. But the second you pull a car outside and take it for a drive it will get dust and pollen.

Quite true, the idea that people could use a product that will actually repel dust is a pipe dream.

 

[Just02896]

Quite true, the idea that people could use a product that will actually repel dust is a pipe dream.

My belief is that this type of product could easily be made however, where would that put all of the detailing supply companies? Probably in bankruptcy. There will always be more profit to be made in the treatment rather than in the cure! :-(

 

[swanicyouth]

My belief is that this type of product could easily be made however, where would that put all of the detailing supply companies? Probably in bankruptcy. There will always be more profit to be made in the treatment rather than in the cure! :-(

They could probably make the 150 MPG car as well if all those oil companies weren't in collusion.