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FAQ - "When I polish I get dust everywhere, what am I doing wrong?"


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The next in my series of FAQ threads, addressing our most common questions and concerns with aspects of detailing.

 

So you've taken your first crack at machine polishing and noticed that as you start the machine is casting dried up polish everywhere. While not the end of the world it still can be quite annoying. This writeup is designed to help you identify the causes of 'dusting' and arm you with the tools to prevent it.

 

 

WHAT CAUSES POLISH DUSTING?

 

There are a few common factors that can be blamed for excessive polish dusting. First, understand that some dusting is normal, as products are worked its inevitable that some of the spent polish will be cast out. Typically you'll notice it most on the hood of a vehicle when it accumulates near the wiper cowl or along the wiper blades. Excessive dusting is caused by one, or a combination, of the following factors.

 

  • CAUSE: Too Much Product - A mistake most new machine polishers make it to assume that 'more is better' and while this may be true for some things, its not true in the world of detailing. Excessive use of polishes not only causes dusting, but it will also clog up the pad prematurely rendering it less effective, as well as not allowing the products to be broken down, subsequently resulting in less than stellar results. As a general rule use an "X" across the face of the pad with the polish for the first panel, for each panel after that add only 2-4 pea sized drops, much more than that should not be needed.
     

    SOLUTION:
    Try polishing a panel without adding anymore product. Simply prime the pad with a few shots of
    DS
    , then proceed as usual. The
    DS
    will reactivate a lot of the polish trapped deep within the pad and bring it to the surface. Continue using nothing but
    DS
    until the polish beings to thin out and dusting stops. From that point forward add only a few drops of polish with each new panel.


     

  • CAUSE: Insufficient Pad Cleaning - Once used and allowed to sit polishes will dry deep within the pores of polishing pads and become very difficult to remove. This residual polish trapped in the pad can then be responsible for dusting the next time the pad is used. To prevent this washing pads immediately after being used or allowing them to soak in a water/APC mixture bucket until they can be cleaned is helpful.
     

    SOLUTION:
    If you have a pad that has dried polish trapped in it that doesn't seem to come clean easily try washing with warm water and soaking for a few minutes before scrubbing. Unfortunately, pads with this issue will pretty much continue to have the problem until cleaned completely so you may need to swap to a new pad if you're in the midst of a detail with the problem starts.


     
    CAUSE: High Heat/Direct Sunlight - Even when using the appropriate amount of product for the job, environmental conditions can play a factor. High ambient temperatures or working on a panel heated up by direct sunlight will cause the polish to dry out prematurely. This dried polish then tends to be cast out of the pad and thrown on the car. If working in high heat/direct sunlight be prepared to work harder, though the products can be used in direct sunlight it does make them more difficult to work with.
     

    SOLUTION:
    If there is no shade or shelter available to work under prime the pad more frequently with Detail Spray and/or attempt to cool the panel down using damp towels or a spray bottle filled with ice water prior to polishing. If all else fails hold off polishing until you can work in cooler temps or find shade.


     
    CAUSE: Panel Gaps, Body Lines, or Protrusions - The Porter Cable 7424xp and the Flex 3401 are both tools that are only effective when the pad is flush with the surface being polished. When the pad comes out of contact with the panel or strikes a hard edge it can cause the pad to cast dust. While it may be tempting to just go right across that door gap to save time, realize that you're going to cause excessive polish dusting and other issues (including pad damage) by doing so.
     

    SOLUTION:
    Tape off badges, washer fluid nozzles on the hood, or other similar protrusions also present areas that will cause a spray of polish dust to fly so taping areas like this off and avoiding hitting them excessively with the pads will not only prevent dusting, but damage to pads as well. Avoid crossing body panel gaps, polish up to the line from either side, but not across. The same applies for hard body lines as well.


 

 

HOW SHOULD I REMOVE DUSTING IF I HAVE IT?

 

Generally polish dust isn't sticky so it will remove rather easily from all surfaces. Using forced air from a tool like the Metro Blaster Sidekick or the Master Blaster is a great way to get polish dust out of tight spaces without much effort.

 

For a little more low tech approach simply mist a small amount of Detail Spray or Waterless Wash onto a plush microfiber towel and use almost no pressure to remove. The moisture will cause the polish to cling to the towel and you won't be forced to rub excessively to remove.

 

Avoid spraying cleaners or Detail Spray directly onto polish dust as it will re-liquify the polish and make it more difficult to remove or cause smearing.

Edited by Dylan@Adams
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Thanks Dylan. I had this issue a little this weekend. I started around 9am while the sun was still somewhat low in the sky and the temps were cooler but I noticed that as it got around 10:30 and the sun broke the trees I started getting a lot of dusting as the panels (black truck) started to heat up rather quickly. Even though the temperature itself was still somewhat cool.

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Is there anything that can be done to fight clogging of the pad? I was using a pad brush regularly but after about 5 hours of use it seemed like the pad would clog back up instantly.

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Generally thats a sign of too much product being used, so you may want to try using less product, maybe even doing a pass with nothing more than adding detail spray to 'wake up' the dry product in the pad.

 

The other potential cause of pad clogging is not stripping old waxes from the finish. As you abrade the paint the pad grabs that old coating and holds onto it, clogging the pores, and giving the polish no were to go.

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Generally thats a sign of too much product being used, so you may want to try using less product, maybe even doing a pass with nothing more than adding detail spray to 'wake up' the dry product in the pad.

 

The other potential cause of pad clogging is not stripping old waxes from the finish. As you abrade the paint the pad grabs that old coating and holds onto it, clogging the pores, and giving the polish no were to go.

 

Yeah I did a wash with APC added to strip the coats of Quick Sealant on the paint, so I don't think that was my issue. I only used 3 pea sized drops of product on a 3 x 3 ft area, and would wipe the area off between spritzes of detail spray and going at it again - I think 5 hours of polishing may just be the limit for a pad with my current technique and level of skill? I never thought I would need 2 green pads since I only planned to use it on rather major spot corrections - but then my father-in-law decided to wipe my wife's car down with a bath towel and a hose . . . .

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Strangely enough I'm getting some reports that QS is standing up to APC washes, so maybe it didn't. Hard to say.

 

I was fairly confident that an APC wash removed it from my wifes ride, but other people are telling me that they've dawn and APC washed only to have the water still bead just fine like the QS just shrugged it off.

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Strangely enough I'm getting some reports that QS is standing up to APC washes, so maybe it didn't. Hard to say.

 

I was fairly confident that an APC wash removed it from my wifes ride, but other people are telling me that they've dawn and APC washed only to have the water still bead just fine like the QS just shrugged it off.

 

Interesting, that could very well be the case - I had two coats of Quick Sealant on her. Good stuff!

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Thats right... I remember you emailing me before the move about that. Well... given it wasn't on there long and there was 2 coats that might be a contributing factor. The crazy part of QS is a lot of the things its doing - it wasn't supposed to be able to do! LOL

 

I've actually got a piece of painted plastic that I've been doing various tests... seems full strength APC takes QS off if its submerged. IPA at 50% does the job as well... I'm trying to find the threshold of where a wash based solution does the trick.

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Just got done using 2step on my black car. Looks amazing......but......there are white specks all over the car. Tried using detail spray, waterless wash, washed the car with Adams shampoo, nothing is taking it off. If I catch a fingernail on a speck it comes off. I used glass cleaner on glass and trim and with effort it came off.

 

I really don't want to rub the paint I just corrected for fear of swirl marks.

 

Any ideas? Isoprpyl, pressure washer,clay??

 

Thanks in advance.

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Just got done using 2step on my black car. Looks amazing......but......there are white specks all over the car. Tried using detail spray, waterless wash, washed the car with Adams shampoo, nothing is taking it off. If I catch a fingernail on a speck it comes off. I used glass cleaner on glass and trim and with effort it came off.

 

I really don't want to rub the paint I just corrected for fear of swirl marks.

 

Any ideas? Isoprpyl, pressure washer,clay??

 

Thanks in advance.

I would try clay that would be your best bet.

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Just got done using 2step on my black car. Looks amazing......but......there are white specks all over the car. Tried using detail spray, waterless wash, washed the car with Adams shampoo, nothing is taking it off. If I catch a fingernail on a speck it comes off. I used glass cleaner on glass and trim and with effort it came off.

 

I really don't want to rub the paint I just corrected for fear of swirl marks.

 

Any ideas? Isoprpyl, pressure washer,clay??

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Did you clay before you did the two-step polish? Did you notice any of these specks before you polished? They could be dried polish, paint overspray, or something environmental. Try diluting some IPA and wiping down a panel to see if the specks go away. If you clay, you may have to polish some light swirls out. Least aggressive method first.

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First off, Welcome Kent!

 

It sounds like dried polish?  Have you tried soaking them?  Soak a thin MF towel in your wash bucket and place it over the spot for a few minutes.  That could soften up the spots enough to just wipe them off.  Anything more aggressive that Car Wash Shampoo, Waterless Wash, Rinseless Wash, or Glass Cleaner will remove the wax/sealant. 

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Nick...

 

Is his still true for the 2 step polish system?

 

I used it for the first time today and while the results were typical Adams fare, the Finishing Polish seemed to spit little white balls when it 'Had too much polish'. I've used Adams so long I still have (need to toss) a bottle of Machine Super Wax and yellow pads in both sizes...err... Just showed my age there. Lol, so this isn't my first rodeo with Adams.

 

When I used the pad brush on the white pad after seeing little white gimbals spit out of the pad, it did nothing. I set the pad aside and let it dry for about 20 min then used the pad brush and it dusted it out properly.

 

The correcting Polish seemed to operate (as far as dusting goes) like the prior orange (and green) product.

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Thanks for all the tips guys! This is for sure dried finishing polish (white stuff), it happened when I sprayed detail spray on the pad to revive the foam pad when you could tell a panel was getting dry

 

Paint was washed down with dawn to remove existing polish prior to machining with 2step. Car was clayed recently, so I confident these bumps were not there prior.

Edited by Larry Arizona
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Nick...

 

Is his still true for the 2 step polish system?

 

I used it for the first time today and while the results were typical Adams fare, the Finishing Polish seemed to spit little white balls when it 'Had too much polish'. I've used Adams so long I still have (need to toss) a bottle of Machine Super Wax and yellow pads in both sizes...err... Just showed my age there. Lol, so this isn't my first rodeo with Adams.

 

When I used the pad brush on the white pad after seeing little white gimbals spit out of the pad, it did nothing. I set the pad aside and let it dry for about 20 min then used the pad brush and it dusted it out properly.

 

The correcting Polish seemed to operate (as far as dusting goes) like the prior orange (and green) product.

 

Yep, still holds true (as will it with almost any polish,) with the main cause still being using too much polish in a given area.

 

Were you using foam or microfiber pads?

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Thanks for all the tips guys! This is for sure dried finishing polish (white stuff), it happened when I sprayed detail spray on the pad to revive the foam pad when you could tell a panel was getting dry

 

Paint was washed down with dawn to remove existing polish prior to machining with 2step. Car was clayed recently, so I confident these bumps were not there prior.

 

Kent, how much Detail Spray did you use each time you primed the pad? 

 

If you saw "splatter" like this, I'm guessing you may have went a little heavy with the DS.  One spray is usually all it takes, and if you over-saturate it with DS, this is usually the result.

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Foam, did 2 panels a day and fully washed pad with pad cleaner, so each day I started with clean pads, each panel used a total of 5 to 6 dabs, the slinging was from detail spray added to pad towards the end of a panel as Polish was drying out a bit, one spritz to revive it, but it slinged on me. The specs are like dried cement.

 

What is best way to remove specs?

Edited by Larry Arizona
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Yep, the new polishes will exhibit the same dusting characteristics as the old ones, with the main cause still being using too much polish in a given area.

 

Were you using foam or microfiber pads?

Foam. Speed of 5 on flex, newest gen pads. Car wasn't bad enough for MF PADS.

Edited by PaintTech
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