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From: South of Phoenix Arizona, but North of no-where.
Attract dust? (Not chicks )
I wonder if anyone noticed if their C3 seems to be magnetic towards dust? In particular Black Road dust. Sitting in the garage in really dusty Arizona does not seem to be a problem, just the average dusting if not covered. But driving on asphalt roads seems to attract black dust like a magnet, specially behind wheel wells and on the back around the tail lights ?
Could it be disc brake dust? Anyhow....my Black '68 must be filled with static electricity....
maybe we should attach a braided copper ground strap under the frame to discharge the fiberglass
I wonder if anyone noticed if their C3 seems to be magnetic towards dust? In particular Black Road dust. Sitting in the garage in really dusty Arizona does not seem to be a problem, just the average dusting if not covered. But driving on asphalt roads seems to attract black dust like a magnet, specially behind wheel wells and on the back around the tail lights ?
Yes I have noticed. But I have too say my C5 was worse. The whole rear bumper cover would be covered in road dust.
Its a fiberglass bodied car with a negative ground chassis. So everything that is 'electro-positive' wants to stick to it. It sits on rubber insulated tires.
This phenomena was first noticed in 1953.
My other metal bodied cars do not do this. Nor does my Fiberglas Boat.
Yes! AZ is the dust capital of the world. No kidding! When I was an Aerospace Engineer we used to abrade the fan blades of jet engines in the lab. We sprayed dust into the engines for durability testing. In fact, they used to call me 'Doctor Dirt'.
The standard the world over for this CERTIFIED dust (Made by of all companies AC DELCO!!!!!) was ARIZONA FINE ROAD DUST, ARIZONA COARSE ROAD DUST and the killer-diller 'QUARTZITE'. Those of you that live here know that Quartzite is an actual town!
However, none of this, is black. AZ fine and AZ course is coppery/irony orange and Quartzite is grey/white.
Diesel particulate is VERY small and when it agglomerates, is seen as black dust. As well as tire dust is black.
I get a lot of dust on my '73 and, in addition to my dry climate, I've discovered that certain paint protection products make the problem worse. Nu Finish seems to be okay but isn't perfect. I've also been using Turtle Wax Express Shine spray detailer. It's not perfect either. Several years ago Turtle Wax came out with a product called "Ice". That was the worst one I've ever used as far as attracting dust. You could literally watch the dust move through the air toward the car. I would love to know if any of the new ceramic type coatings or other protection products are better. I'd really like to find a product that repels dust.
Well, if there were a way for the plastic body to dissipate any static charges on it, we wouldn't capture nearly as much dust, pollen, etc. I don't think that would help with the bird - doo on black or dark blue cars, however. We may have electrical ground to our batteries...but no way to discharge to "earth" ground.
From: South of Phoenix Arizona, but North of no-where.
Well, that clears up a lot. Glad to see its not just me.
since the car is white the black dust shows up even more. And I think the black may be from what they are coating the roads with here. What they call "slurry coat", a mixture of ashphalt sealer and ground up blacktop. Its not just dust on the car but more grainy and impossible to dust off. It just jumps back. But I was afraid I was the only one and maybe it was a result of a bad misalignment of tires or the frame, even though the tires have not worn at all.
In addition, I regularly go over the body with Meguiars cleaner wax and a microfiber towel , which probably helps by adding a 'charge' , like rubbing a plastic comb.
BTW, my town of Queen Creek Arizona is nicknamed "DUST CREEK" ...specially since the 'creek' never has water in it, only dust. And heat....
Last edited by Redbirdman; May 15, 2020 at 12:24 AM.
I get a lot of dust on my '73 and, in addition to my dry climate, I've discovered that certain paint protection products make the problem worse. Nu Finish seems to be okay but isn't perfect. I've also been using Turtle Wax Express Shine spray detailer. It's not perfect either. Several years ago Turtle Wax came out with a product called "Ice". That was the worst one I've ever used as far as attracting dust. You could literally watch the dust move through the air toward the car. I would love to know if any of the new ceramic type coatings or other protection products are better. I'd really like to find a product that repels dust.
DC
Good Morning DC,
Might want to try this company's products if you feel like trying something different than what you have been using. I have been using Zaino products for 11-years with excellent results. I have used or tried just about every brand polish, wax, sealer known to mankind. Finally found one that I really like and that produces the results I was looking for.
You NEED to be careful about how you clean up your car. Tar is difficult (or impossible) to remove with car wash soap--and it holds on to grainy particles that can scratch your paint. If you want to get the car a good cleaning, you need to follow these steps.
Flush the car well with lots of water to get off any 'loose' grit.
Wash the car--gently--with lots of soapy water and a soft sponge. When particles loosen, then can find a new home in the sponge. Rinse out the sponge often to get rid of that.
Let car dry on its own. DO NOT dry the car by hand. Doing so can grab the tar/grit stuff and drag over your paint.
NOW, you can use a good tar remover product to dissolve the tar and wipe off the tar & grit. Best to use a soft cotton cloth which you can throw away when done. An old towel cut up into one-foot squares will work fine and you can use both sides of each square for 'work duty'. FINALLY THE NASTIES ARE GONE!!
Now you can wash your car again, as you would normally, to get it good and clean; then dry it to keep from spotting.
The MOST IMPORTANT step is the last step. Because you live/drive in an area where fresh blacktop/tar/sealer are used, you must have a good coat of protective wax or polymer sealer on your car...so that the gunk won't stick so well to your paint. Go for a really good quality product...maybe not the most expensive, but one that is not difficult to apply and gives good protection for the paint. From this point forward, when you notice tar/sealer stuff on your car, use the tar remover to wipe it off immediately; then put some fresh wax on the area you cleaned. That will prevent having a 'dingy' looking car and save your paint, too.
7t1vETTE...A couple of more cents to your good advice.
1. Here in "there's more Calcium-in-the-water,-than-water-land" Letting your car dry naturally, actually does MORE damage. We use a good old LEAF-BLOWER to dry the car rapidly and keep the calcium/ water spots from forming.
2. ALWAYS wash your car from the TOP-DOWN.....you don't want to contaminate your cleaning supplies with grit from the bottom of the car.
3. Micro-fiber towels should NEVER be used more than ONCE! They retain too much grit (even when laundered) and will put millions of swirl-marks into the paint.
Use then sequentially; 1st use Body, 2nd use Interior, 3rd use Engine, 4th use give them to your wife or use them on a PRIUS!
4. For those with Clear-coat base coat finishes. (Bowling green cars) It is permissible to use MINERAL SPIRITS to clean off tar and other oleaginous deposits. Then wash again as normal. I wouldn't use it on LACQUER.
Well, if there were a way for the plastic body to dissipate any static charges on it, we wouldn't capture nearly as much dust, pollen, etc. I don't think that would help with the bird - doo on black or dark blue cars, however. We may have electrical ground to our batteries...but no way to discharge to "earth" ground.
Yeah there IS a way...but you end up looking like a DORK! Back in the day, they used to put rubber and copper ground straps on cars...they'd hang down from the frame and drag on the ground. The copper wire and copper terminal would not make sparks.
Those went out with 'curb feelers' and 'necker's *****'. LOL
WOW! I forgot about 'curb-feelers'. Those would really be useful for some C3 newbies who didn't want to trash the front air dam on their first few drives.
Tweaking the nose a bit of our original Poster REDBIRDMAN a fellow Phoenetian.
So I''ve had the 69 convertible for 44 years. I'm not OLD now, but I was really young when I bought it.
Summer Day; New England. College Town (Hanover NH).
I'm motoring up the main drag in town. I'm college age myself (at the time). There is a beautiful CHICK sitting on one of those blue mailboxes at the corner. She's got 'hot-pants' on and a tube top. I have to stop at the light, side exhausts burbling...she's like 3 feet away.
Chickie; NICE CAR GUY!
Me; "Thanks, you're beautiful too"
In one athletic movement she launches herself off the mailbox and OVER the door into the passenger seat!
Chickie: "Take me skinny dipping"
From: South of Phoenix Arizona, but North of no-where.
An Arizona ‘dust devil’ I spotted just today......
the other end (just like a rainbow) usually comes down exactly in my pool!
BTW. “WOW! I forgot about 'curb-feelers'. Those would really be useful for some C3 newbies who didn't want to trash the front air dam on their first few drives”
CRAP.......I THOUGHT THE AIR DAM WAS THE CURB FEELER!
Last edited by Redbirdman; May 16, 2020 at 11:33 AM.
Attract dust? (Not chicks )
lol
