Why You Should NEVER, EVER Wipe Dust Off Your Paint!

[Junkman2008]

You may as well be using SANDPAPER! That's what grinding dust across your paint is equivalent to!

I see this ALL THE TIME at car shows. People will pull up to their designated spot, break out a quick detailer and commence to installing every manor of swirl that you can possible install into a paint job. When I see them doing this to a nice car, I usually invite them over to whoever has a detailing booth and show them the error of their ways. This is just one of those situations that I had to correct.

A gentleman with one of the sweetest Camaro's (I think it was a 69'), did exactly that. He thought that because he was using a REALLY good towel, a quick detailer that claimed to encapsulate all the dirt you sprayed on and he had the best coating that money could buy, that he was safe from creating any paint damage. I had to unplug him from the paint matrix.

Call me Junkmorpheus.



So I see him installing all of these swirls and scratches into his paint and I asked him if he realized that what he was doing is creating a lot of paint damage. He said that because of what he was using and how he was using it, no damage was being created. So I told him that if he brought it over to the booth where I was working that I would not only show him the damage, I would fix it for free. He agreed and brought the car to me.



The problem with people being able to see the damage that they are doing to their paint is that they don't know how to look at it, or they see it and think that it is what comes with the ownership of a nice car. That mindset just blows me away. So what I do is I take a picture that clearly shows the damage, which makes it MUCH easier for the owner to see. Here is that damage, and he was doing this to the stripes that are PAINTED on the car. If you are willing to pay the money to get your stripes painted on the car, you should seriously know how to take care of them.

This is what I showed him:





Once he saw that, the lights came on. I then asked him if he wanted it fixed, for free. He was all for that until he saw me pick up the buffer. He was not trying to see a buffer anywhere near his car because of all the horror stories that he had heard about people, who had no clue as to what they were doing, wiping the paint off of their cars. I told him that if I damaged his car in any way, I would pay anyone he selected to repaint it. Then, the owner of the booth were I was working said that HE would pay double that price. The guy was still hesitant, but he allowed me to go at it. Here are the results after ONE pass:





At this point, the guy is HOOKED! He was so tickled that he offered to buy me lunch and everything. He asked me if he could try it while I watched, because he still didn't think that it was safe enough for him to try.

I told him NO. I said, "Let your SON try it." This is what happened:

I unplugged him from the paint matrix on that day and created two detailing monsters at the same time. His son wanted to take the car home right then and start working on it but I think dad wanted to get comfortable with it first.

I then went looking for someone else to unplug from the paint matrix.

[T.R.S.]

Why You Should NEVER, EVER venture outside!

It's way too scary, and you just might die!!!

[Junkman2008]

... or you could just scratch the hell out of your paint. But never fear if you already have done so. I have a thread for that.

[T.R.S.]

OMG I should just kill myself least an imperfection ever be discovered (at least I'll be able to take comfort going out still believing I lived in perfection, despite what they said).

[Junkman2008]

Originally Posted by T.R.S.

OMG I should just kill myself least an imperfection ever be discovered (at least I'll be able to take comfort going out still believing I lived in perfection, despite what they said).

In all honesty, some folks really don't drive anything worth caring about so this advice is not for all, especially if you drive a hooptie.

[T.R.S.]

You remind me of my grandma who wouldn't allow anyone into her living room, let alone sit on the plastic encased sofa.

[M5Rick]

These 'water free' sprays with wax and wipe off should be avoided at all costs..

[Junkman2008]

Originally Posted by T.R.S.

You remind me of my grandma who wouldn't allow anyone into her living room, let alone sit on the plastic encased sofa.

[Junkman2008]

I properly added the pictures again.

[Junkman2008]

Originally Posted by M5Rick

These 'water free' sprays with wax and wipe off should be avoided at all costs..

DEFINITELY. At all cost. 💀

[Dick_Lexus]

So is the housecleaner ruining the furniture by dusting with Swiffer's?

[Junkman2008]

Originally Posted by Dick_Lexus

So is the housecleaner ruining the furniture by dusting with Swiffer's?

Is your house furniture PAINTED WITH CLEAR COAT??? 🙄🙄🙄

[Suds]

Buy used, the damage is there, you can always make it a little better.

[Junkman2008]

Originally Posted by Suds

Buy used, the damage is there, you can always make it a little better.

He's being sarcastic. Pay him no mind. 😑

[c1pher]

I have self healing PPF which allows me not to worry as much and any swirls disappear.

[Junkman2008]

Yea, but that only works for so long. Why introduce any damage into your paint if you can just avoid it completely?

[ZL9M2]

wtf is with this guy

[Junkman2008]

Originally Posted by ZL9M2

wtf is with this guy

Who, me?

[TboneS54]

I can tell your enthusiasm is genuine, and you don't seem to be selling anything, but it's all coming across a bit "spammy" tbh.

[Junkman2008]

Originally Posted by TboneS54

I can tell your enthusiasm is genuine, and you don't seem to be selling anything, but it's all coming across a bit "spammy" tbh.

You are 100% correct. I am NOT selling anything because I don't have anything to sell. I don't detail cars for a living, I show people how to detail THEIR cars. So why do I do that? Because I am a teacher at heart. Teaching is what I do as a passion. But what do I do for a living? Anything that has anything to do with a computer. I have a business that I left Motorola and started back in 1999, and that's where I have been for the last 26 years. But detailing my cars is a passion that I have shared on the internet for the last 20 years. One Google search will reveal that.

But hey, if it seems spammy, I'll stop. I need to build another one of these monsters and my parts just arrived this evening.

[nazali]

does anyone have any thoughts on the old California duster ?

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by nazali

does anyone have any thoughts on the old California duster ?

I used one on my old Mercedes for years and now have purchased a new one for my Z4.

It does the job on a light coating of dust.