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Old 03-21-2014, 02:31 PM   #15
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RJD,

Take out a bright halogen or LED light and look down at your paint closely before and after you use the duster. That will be the only real test for you.

For me, I saw the scratches am I am very crazy with my paint/gelcoat on my cars, truck and boats.
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Old 03-21-2014, 03:46 PM   #16
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Proper use is to leave it in the garage IMHO.

Not trying to start anything here but unless your car is perfectly waxed up ,super slick and protected with a recent coat of wax( or your polymer of choice) and you are dusting off the lightest softest dust and you car has zero dirt on top of the paint your chances of scratching the wax layer on the car or the clear coat itself is very high.
Improper use of any product will create scratches seen in intense, broad spectrum or revealing light. I only use mine to remove dust prior to going under the car cover. It should never be a substitute to competent waterless/water washing and diligent maintenance of a protective coat of wax/polymer.

The OP's question is whether it can be used on the hood, and it can
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Old 03-21-2014, 04:39 PM   #17
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Couldn't agree more and had this argument several times.

Basically a duster is yarn and paraffin wax, it will scratch paint.
A quick detailer, or better yet, a waterless wash adds lubricity to the paint and microfiber is far more paint safe than yarn... It's not even close to which one provides more protection for your paint as your clean it.
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Proper use is to leave it in the garage IMHO.


As Todd explained, the duster is simply a yarn mop with the fibers dipped in paraffin wax. The wax in and of itself (the reason you have to wrap it in newspaper in the first place) won't scratch, its what it does after a few uses that becomes the problem.

As any of us who have any time logged in the detailing world know - dust particles are abrasive, thus wiping down a dirty car improperly causes swirls. Next time your car is dusty take a dry towel and wipe off one section and inspect, you'll likely see light imperfections in the direction you wiped.

Well, after a few uses that paraffin wax is going to be holding a good amount of those abrasive particles. Drag those over your paint ... BOOM ... swirl marks.

Theres then the argument of 'shake it out' or 'clean it'... not going to work either. No amount of shaking is going to dislodge all those dust particles from the finish. Wash the duster and the wax is removed... now you've just got a dry yarn mop. Don't see too many people jumping at the chance to use that to dust their cars.

In the end, the duster CAN be used to remove dust from your finish, but only if you're willing to reserve yourself to some level of damage being introduced in the process. If you don't mind some swirls - go for it! Sells a lot of car polish and pads for guys like me and Todd and keeps detailers all over the world busy with paint correction jobs!

In the end DRY removal is not ideal. Lubricating and lifting dust away from the surface with a waterless wash or rinseless wash product is the best option if you want to maintain swirl free paint. Anyone telling you there is a special way to use a duster or they've used one for years without issue is generally not scrutinizing the paint to the level most of us here. Remember - anyone can start a youtube channel and make videos in their garage - doesn't make them an expert.
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Old 03-21-2014, 05:26 PM   #18
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Anyone telling you there is a special way to use a duster or they've used one for years without issue is generally not scrutinizing the paint to the level most of us here. Remember - anyone can start a youtube channel and make videos in their garage - doesn't make them an expert.
Preach! Lol.
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Old 03-21-2014, 05:33 PM   #19
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Couldn't agree more and had this argument several times.

Basically a duster is yarn and paraffin wax, it will scratch paint.
A quick detailer, or better yet, a waterless wash adds lubricity to the paint and microfiber is far more paint safe than yarn... It's not even close to which one provides more protection for your paint as your clean it.
Out of curiosity, why do you sell it then?
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Old 03-21-2014, 06:27 PM   #20
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There is a wool dusters out on Detailers Domain that I would use in a pinch over the Cali dustmop for sure. Whole different animal.
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Old 03-21-2014, 09:03 PM   #21
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Out of curiosity, why do you sell it then?
That's a really great question. Anxious to hear his answer...
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Old 03-22-2014, 12:26 AM   #22
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The duster can be floated over the car and the static electricity has the light dust and pollen "fly" off the surface. And don't be fooled I can take as much care as anyone... A rinseless and a waterless also will add damage to the paint. At some point in the real world of daily drivers there is best practice and then there is acceptable. If I could afford a show car only. It would get only the best practices. Through rinse, foamed, rinsed and foamed again. Ph balanced soap in a grit guard equipped bucket with one or two rinse buckets also with grit guards. I'd wash one panel at a time and have two incredimitt's, one for the top 2/3rds and one for the bottom. I'd use about 25 gallons of water rinsing constantly. I would only dry with warm air from a master blaster. And even then I would have added "some" damage to the paint.

Find out what you can live with and what you can't. I have a daily driver that I take to shows. My paint blows away any other daily driver and holds its own with the best the show has to offer. But I am a freak detailer and know that there is no such thing as perfect paint or a routine that can't be improved upon.

Use the duster , just understand that every time you touch the paint some evidence is left behind. Be smart, don't mop you car with the duster. Also for the love of God please stop sanding on your car with that one rag that you have in the trunk that has been there forever!
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Old 03-22-2014, 10:14 AM   #23
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Remember - anyone can start a youtube channel and make videos in their garage - doesn't make them an expert.
Not that you'd be talking about anyone in particular....
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Old 03-22-2014, 11:02 AM   #24
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Out of curiosity, why do you sell it then?
I can't speak on Todd's behalf, but I'd assume he has very little in terms of input when it comes to what is sold on the site... plus, its a smart business move by those in control. People are going to buy dusters (for better or for worse). They might as well capitalize on those who want a simple solution for removing dust and don't care so much about the potential for damage.

Car care as a whole doesn't really have 'right' or 'wrong' choices... its the products and processes that make the most sense for YOU. If I were a guy driving a white car, that was mostly a commuter that I didn't care if it was flawless, just clean - I might be in the market for a duster.

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Not that you'd be talking about anyone in particular....
Not at all... if you browse YT you'll find 20 unqualified hacks spouting as self proclaimed experts for every one guy who really knows his stuff. Experience and reputation trump all.
Showmanship and presentation go a long ways, but once you sift thru the BS its pretty easy to tell who knows their stuff and who doesn't. The longer you look the more obvious the holes are... some of the most qualified, most talented, and experienced people in the detailing world are the ones you hear from the least. They are also the ones you rarely if ever see engaged in online p*ssing contests about process or technique.

As a very well respected friend of mine in the business once told me - "The ones that run their mouths the most, tend to be those who actually know the least"
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Old 03-22-2014, 02:05 PM   #25
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Not at all... if you browse YT you'll find 20 unqualified hacks spouting as self proclaimed experts for every one guy who really knows his stuff. Experience and reputation trump all.
Showmanship and presentation go a long ways, but once you sift thru the BS its pretty easy to tell who knows their stuff and who doesn't. The longer you look the more obvious the holes are... some of the most qualified, most talented, and experienced people in the detailing world are the ones you hear from the least. They are also the ones you rarely if ever see engaged in online p*ssing contests about process or technique.

As a very well respected friend of mine in the business once told me - "The ones that run their mouths the most, tend to be those who actually know the least"
Dylan, I agree with you but to a point.

First and foremost, detailing at some point is somewhat of an art to some of us which by nature makes it subjective. I think we agree on this since once you've established your technique based on proven standards, the rest is up to the talent of person. But how do you get to this point? Like you implied, you research, watch videos, network with others of similar interests, perfect your craft and occasionally you'll even disagree with those "in the know" along the way. All that said, detailing is not rocket science and is something that for the hobbyist or even the weekend detailer, is something that you can learn, perfect and speak about based on that shared experience even if some of what you've learned is from YouTube.

Do online p*ssing matches occur when those shared experiences differ in a public online forum? There's probably enough well document evidence of that within this one section of this forum to confirm that and for sure you, Todd, Matt, me, AJ(Junkman) and host of others can probably all raise our hand and say "yep been there.." But it doesn't make any of us an less of an expert than the other, particularly if we can identify those self proclaimed YT'ers experts. If all we learn from them is "what not to do" and then share it with each other as bad, inaccurate, or misinformation and discuss it amongst ourself respectfully, I think we're better off as an online community.

It's no different than some one on in this section pointing out a bad technique and all of us jump on them for the bad info. The challenge is doing it respectfully, but honestly.

So, if I'm being honest for those of us who have been hanging on the forum for awhile read between the lines of your post and the response to me, your comments appears to be a direct shot across Junkman's bow. There are several of the experts in this section who would probably jump right on that bandwagon and enjoy watching those sparks fly if that's the case, but there are just as many who relate to the techniques he demonstrates- the California Duster being one of them and many on the forum related to his demos and followed it with satisfactory results in their minds.

Here's my main point regarding the YouTubers- Seasoned detailers will know what is usable and what is disposable, but we can learn from the disposable even if it's what not to do.

As far as the real experts, if they're passionate about sharing their craft and communicate it in such a way that others can repeat that technique for the sake of community, then God bless and thank you to all them. Many of us fall I to that group. The rest of them who are not silent, are probably vendors who want to sell you (us) something, just be up front about and don't try to hide behind cleaver posts filled with double entendre.

Sorry to drone on. Guess I've been silent too long and need to get my car out.
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Old 03-24-2014, 08:27 AM   #26
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That California duster is more harm than good.. Even going over a car that was polishbed waxed clean etc with pollen on it will cause some sort of issue..When i first bought my 2011 SS first thing is bought a california duster.. after months of owning the car i was wondering why i was accumulating weird spider web type swirls on the car.. My washing technique was fine.. Used all clean Adams microfiber towels wtc.. After i did a paint correction and eliminated the Duster.. few months later no issues.. So.. I eliminated one thing and that was it .. the duster..

And yes i followed the instructions on how to season the duster ..!
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Old 03-24-2014, 10:11 AM   #27
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Out of curiosity, why do you sell it then?
Because, for what it is, the California Duster is the top-quality tool on the market. The overwhelmingy majority of people in this world don't care about swirl marks, surface scratches, etc... They just want a clean car and effortless use, which the duster will do...

My job is to educate people on our products, and I do so in an honest way. If they still want a duster, then I at least let them known the draw back and how to use it correctly.

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Old 03-24-2014, 09:08 PM   #28
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Because, for what it is, the California Duster is the top-quality tool on the market. The overwhelmingy majority of people in this world don't care about swirl marks, surface scratches, etc... They just want a clean car and effortless use, which the duster will do...

My job is to educate people on our products, and I do so in an honest way. If they still want a duster, then I at least let them known the draw back and how to use it correctly.

Amen!
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