Volcanic dust

Black Pearl

Member
Piece taken from todays auto trader. It is probably worth being cautious over the next few weeks, especially when it rains!



Volcanic ash deposits could cause irreversible damage to thousands of UK cars.

As a fine layer of ash settles, owners rushing out to clean their cars in the spring sunshine could unwittingly damage paintwork, glass and wiper blades if the rights steps aren’t taken.

A spokesman for auto care specialist Autoglym claims the ash particles are “substantially larger, harder and more aggressively abrasive on paintwork and glass than normal atmospheric contaminants.”

So, simply using a bucket of soapy water and a sponge could scratch the car’s surfaces, potentially causing hundreds of pounds worth of damage.

Follow these steps for a safe car wash, as recommended by the experts at Autoglym:

1. Thoroughly soak your car’s bodywork with water to loosen surface deposits.
2. Use a pH-neutral car bodywork shampoo solution to neutralise acidic fallout.
3. Use a number of smaller buckets rather than a single large bucket to minimise the risk of ash particles being reapplied to bodywork from contaminated water.
4. Keep the car wet with clean water while washing – this keeps the paint surface lubricated to reduce the risk of scratching from any dust that remains on the bodywork.
5. Pay special attention to wiper blades – which may scratch the windscreen, sweeping ash across the glass surface – and side window seals, which may harbour dust that scratches windows as they are wound up and down.
6. Rinse thoroughly with clean water to remove all shampoo from the car
7. Dry the car using a high quality microfibre drying towel or synthetic chamois.
8. Apply a quality polish or high definition wax in order to provide a durable, long-lasting layer of protection, preventing further contaminants adhering to paintwork and forming a barrier against acidic deposits.
9. Use a specialist automotive rubber treatment to cleanse and protect rubber seals, wiper blades and tyre sidewalls.
10. Wash frequently until the volcanic eruptions cease to minimise the risk of future damage.
 
two bucket method, microfibre mitt. Presoak with foam. Sorted.

This is my spring routine - the dust of six months is released, meaning I have a stupidly dusty car. Presoak and / or prewash with a pressure washer mean I get rid of it before it can contaminate my bucket.

Bret
 
hhhmmm this morning i was sitting at a junction in the early morning sun-when i noticed the drivers side of my windscreen has loads of tiny scratches at the end of the wiper swiped area.it did occur to me "volcanic ash?" i do use my wipers most morning just to clear the morning dew off the screen.ho hum
really should think about getting rid of the gto so i can put the a2 in the garage. lets hope they polish out cheers mike
 
The aircraft Engineers have been told to use soft brushes and No Sponges.
it smells of sulpher even though particales are very small
 
My car was really, really filthy at the weekend, after having washed it thoroughly last week it was way more dirty than normal - and covered in quite a gritty abrasive dust - convinced it was volcanic ash.

So I washed it and the surface was still really rough, so I clayed it, and gave it a two stage polish - once with Autoglym Super Resin, then with Autoglym Perfectionist Gloss.

Car looked great! Was about to get the camera out to take some pictures and it started raining - looks like I finished the gloss coat just in time as that stuff doesn't like being rained on!

Anyway, needless to say the paint looks great after that, the metallic flakes were sparkling nicely, and the water was beading away beautifully.

Does anyone think its worth applying a topcoat of wax over that lot?
 
I always top coat with wax but only straight after claying and polishing as rubbing the wax in now may scratch your paint as the fine particles will have built up again, the autoglym topcoat is good and i use it but i find the wax leaves a really solid surface that rain, fingers and sun cannot wear away for quite a while

Chris
 
I'll do a wax next time then - any wax preferences? I know people have all sorts of special waxes they swear by and hide away in a special box marked "do not use on pain of death"!
 
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