what are your opinions of the California Duster?

[chuckr]

I've been using the CCD for over 10 years. Three different cars. I keep my cars covered and inside a garage. Never had an issue, but like others have said, you do have to be careful on the amount of dust/dirt on the car and use little to no pressure. I think I'm on the third or forth duster.

 

[Old Tiger]

:iagree:I use the CD first to get most of the dust off before using Optimum WW or Ultima WW. Don't go through too many MF's that way. Same goes for the glass, but I use a microfiber duster for glass as I don't want any wax on my glass.

Great idea for glass Ron! I will find one. You are indeed a Master!

 

[Kristopher1129]

I've had the same one for years. I basically only use it to remove buffer dust before I do a pre wax/sealant wipe down. No complaints about it. I've never seen it lay a single scratch.

How good is it to remove pollen from your vehicle every day? I wouldn't know. I tend to wash that off. I would imagine it wouldn't be good to just give your vehicle a random wipe down with though. I mean unless you detailed earlier that day or something. But, under that pollen is most likely dirt. If you drag that across your paint...you may be correcting before you know it. That's just my opinion. I have no experience outside of what I use it for. :xyxthumbs:

 

[RTexasF]

There is a top notch detailer is my area ( super luxury cars only at $500 a pop) told us a program the he ran for the local MB club that the duster increased his business and he loves when people use it. He also said that he never let it near a car of his.

I guess everyone has his own opinon. I have seen much of his work and tend to listen to him.

What he is depending on is for people to use them INCORRECTLY (scrubbing the surface with it) so he can come in and be the hero. They are safe when properly used. Just because your pal works on high end stuff doesn't mean he knows everything....NO ONE does. Even the very best will admit that.

To each his own. For me it is better safe than sorry. Have you ever tried to get damage out of a Black MB?

As a matter of fact I have and it was 95% corrected, done by me with my Cyclo. A California Duster could not cause damage unless you rubbed the handle across the finish vigorously or scrubbed the surface with the duster on a daily basis! I think you are placing too much faith in someone else's opinion. It's obvious you've never tried it yourself, have you? Look at how many people here have used one for years, myself included, with no problems whatsoever. Reconsider your position amigo. You are going on opinion not experience.

 

[ShaunD]

It's no more likely that you will scratch your paint w/ the duster than you will washing your vehicle in any other fashion. It's all how aggressive you are and knowing what it on the surface before you go scrubbing. You wouldn't scrub light dust and dirt off your car while wet washing it or WW, or QD'n it so why would you scrub dust/dirt off your paint with any dry product when you are just dusting it? The instruction tell you not to drag the duster over the paint, but to let it lightly touch the surface to let the static and paraffin wax pick up the dust and light dirt.
"For maximum effectiveness, lightly dust the surface. Do not apply pressure and rub your vehicle or use the Duster for scrubbing the finish. Use only in cool dry surfaces." That being said there is no reason pollen can't be removed with the Duster as long as the surface is not already covered with dirt, and not just dust and pollen. It is intended for the West where most times vehicles don't need water washings and water is restricted for washing cars and watering lawns. And if these owners of "high end" cars are getting scratches from using the Duster properly, they should contact the company since the packaging states, *Guaranteed not to scratch your car's paint.
I agree it works great after compounding/polishing to ensure you don't instill scratches while giving the paint a wipe down before the final polish and/or wax/sealant step. Not just my humble opinion, but The Original California Car Duster's packaging statements. :dblthumb2:

 

[Blackthorn One]

There is a top notch detailer is my area ( super luxury cars only at $500 a pop) told us a program the he ran for the local MB club that the duster increased his business and he loves when people use it. He also said that he never let it near a car of his.

I guess everyone has his own opinon. I have seen much of his work and tend to listen to him.

If the car has been well waxed or has sealant on it, there is no reason why it should mar the paint, so long as the paint is cool, and a very light touch is used, like a gentle sweeping motion. It doesn't matter what color the paint is. A light touch on a cool, waxed surface will not mar. The surface needs to be cool so that the layer of wax or sealant is HARD, to be durable enough not to be smeared off by the use of the duster. The warmer the surface, the softer and the more vulnerable the surface.That is what the wax or sealant is for, to form a sacrificial layer in order to protect the paint. Now, if there is no wax or sealant whatsoever, THEN it is possible to cause marring if the debris is harsh enough, no matter how gently you use it. Over time, you will instill noticeable marring on bare paint, although it will take much longer on acrylic urethane than on enamel, or other types of paint, for example.
I have been using a Cal car duster on urethane, enamel, and lacquer without incident for over 15 years. Black lacquer, that is.

 

[Shawn T.]

I have one and I am still trying to get the technique down after about 6 months. I have used it half a dozen times and no matter what I do I always have very light stright line scratches where I wiped off the dust. I am determined to get it to work but it's annoying trying to figure out the technique.

I have tried everything listed above and it still doesn't work right. Any suggestions?

 

[Matt]

I have one and I am still trying to get the technique down after about 6 months. I have used it half a dozen times and no matter what I do I always have very light stright line scratches where I wiped off the dust. I am determined to get it to work but it's annoying trying to figure out the technique.

I have tried everything listed above and it still doesn't work right. Any suggestions?

What type of car are you using it on? If you have a relatively new Lexus it will scratch no matter what you do. Look at it wrong and it will swirl, it's really that soft

So it could be that your paint is really really soft that's why it scratches. Also, what kind of dust is it? Just from sitting in your garage, from driving, or from being parked at work in the city?

I've never used one but I would suspect that some types of dust are "sharper" than others so may not be suitable for removal with a CCD.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk so please excuse any grammatical errors

 

[VISITOR]

never really cared for one of these, but it doesn't mean that it doesn't work. personally, i don't touch the paint till the next wash after it's been washed...

 

[Shawn T.]

What type of car are you using it on? If you have a relatively new Lexus it will scratch no matter what you do. Look at it wrong and it will swirl, it's really that soft

So it could be that your paint is really really soft that's why it scratches. Also, what kind of dust is it? Just from sitting in your garage, from driving, or from being parked at work in the city?

I've never used one but I would suspect that some types of dust are "sharper" than others so may not be suitable for removal with a CCD.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk so please excuse any grammatical errors

I've used it on a MINI and it scratched and on my Civic and it scratched. Both paints are relatively soft, the Civic especially, as I found out when correcting the paint.