Pollen on car

[alexw32]

So it's pollen season and I've been visiting rural areas, so my red car has gained some yellow accents...

Doing some search online I found out that this innocent looking yellow dust is acidic and can damage paint. Well it rained last night and thanks to the ULW the rained wash off all the visible pollen... or did it?

I know a good option would be to use QD over the car, but honestly this can get time consuming, because pollen accumulates so often. Would it be fine to ignore it till I wash it every two weeks?

Also a side note on UQD, how does it compare to GD? Why is it that it's cheaper than regular QD without the enhancement effect?

Thanks for the advice

[Blueline]

Re: Pollen on car

I have had black cars for years, and in the spring they have turned yellow. Dry pollen on a car is not acidic and is fairly harmless, but when it rains, the combination of acidic rain and pollen, will make it stick to your car in spots when it dries. Then it becomes a problem. Do not wipe or dust dry pollen off your car. It needs to be washed of as in a normal car wash. Since it appears the rain washed most of it off on your vehicle, if it were me, I would just wait until your next scheduled wash. I do not use detailer spray waxes, due to my negative opinion of such products, I am sure someone will chime in with their opinion on which is better.

[alexw32]

Re: Pollen on car

Thanks for the reply. I would definitely be grateful if it can wait until I wash it over the weekend. The past couple of weeks of polishing and waxing has trained my eyes to be more careful than before, I learned how quickly bugs and water can leave etch marks if unattended. The sun exacerbates the process a great deal.

I just hope the pollen doesn't etch the paint so fast. The car received plenty of rain yesterday and looks fairly clean now, but you can't help but worry if there might be some residue hiding in water rings.

Interesting to hear that you're not fond of quick detailers when everyone else is hyped up over its ease of use and effect. Honestly I have some concern for it myself, for one thing, you need to buff it clean every time or it'll look hazy, but really, there does exist a chance of there being some dirt left between the towel and the paint when you do it.

I use it only for wiping dust, fingerprints and minor dirt, when I do want to apply more force I always wet both the surface and the towel, I use this technique for spot cleaning and so far it hasn't produced any swirls, checking using a bright led inspection light. Also, I don't like the scent of UQD, too pungent, my hands get covered in the smell after using it. Why can't they make unscented car products... just my personal opinion.

One question, what do you use as a drying aid instead? Because I found out that if you blot the car dry it takes more time, by the end there will be tiny water spots that have already dried, requiring the use of QD to clean those up...

[Blueline]

Re: Pollen on car

If you take off the hose nozzle and run the water gently from the hose from the top down, on a well waxed vehicle most of the water will sheet off. Depending on what is left, I will use my electric leaf blower to get the rest. What is left, you can get off with a Kleenex. Kidding of course, but you can blot what little remains of with a drying towel. It real helps to be able to dry in my garage and not in the sun.
As for pollen damaging paint I can reaffirm that it does not. My black car was in the garage and birch pollen had laid down on the back end of the car as the door is usually open. Sometime last week my daughter washed her truck and got spray on my car. (she is in real trouble). The beaded up water containing yellow pollen dried was sitting on the trunk for several days. Covered in dried yellow spots. I washed the car this morning and there was no damage. The read end/trunk is still swirl free and gorgeous black. Not sure what kind of pollen you have in Ottawa but the pollen here is not a danger.

[alexw32]

Re: Pollen on car

Lol, at least she's diligent enough to attend to the car herself instead of taking it to automatic car wash, fortunately your black car wasn't damaged, perhaps because it wasn't in direct sunlight? This gives me some peace of mind over the potency of pollen, somehow numerous articles online exaggerate its damaging effect.

Thanks for the tip on the hose technique, I'll try it out next time, I don't own a leaf blower but I have a small vacuum with HEPA and blow function I use just for the grills and tight spaces.

[Blueline]

Re: Pollen on car

Perhaps if it was sitting in the sun, it would have been a different pollen story. Your vacuum on blow should work, depends on blow rate (cfpm) . I had some small success with my small shop vac on blow cycle, as I refused to start up my big honking gas leaf blower in the garage (noise and fumes) so I bought an electric Black & Decker one at WalMart for about 40 dollars. Powerful little thing and works great.

[alexw32]

Re: Pollen on car

Washed the car today, no new spots on the hood and roof... seem to be some new ones on the side though, as well as a couple of major etching at the rear bumper where the trunk closes, that area really needs a strip of clear bra or something, because water always like to collect there and it's subject to a lot of dirt, applied 3 layers of ULW to that area before but it wasn't enough. Not sure is pollen added to the problem. UC or Scratch X... damn these water spots, so annoying.

Btw, do you wash behind the license plates? Cause I can see there's dirt and water spots behind it, I know this adds extra work and time, especially when I'm figuring out a way to decrease the time to wash the car, somehow it takes me two and half hours to get everything done, it's my second time washing a car and I'm still learning. I'm a meticulous person and like to park the car inside the garage after washing and inspect with a light, I always find some stubborn bug or tar remaining here and there... letting them sit would allow it to etch

One of the problems I have is that small water spots form by the time I get to it, even on an overcast day, I'm assuming I'm working too slow or my technique is wrong.

[The Guz]

Re: Pollen on car

Washed the car today, no new spots on the hood and roof... seem to be some new ones on the side though, as well as a couple of major etching at the rear bumper where the trunk closes, that area really needs a strip of clear bra or something, because water always like to collect there and it's subject to a lot of dirt, applied 3 layers of ULW to that area before but it wasn't enough. Not sure is pollen added to the problem. UC or Scratch X... damn these water spots, so annoying.

Btw, do you wash behind the license plates? Cause I can see there's dirt and water spots behind it, I know this adds extra work and time, especially when I'm figuring out a way to decrease the time to wash the car, somehow it takes me two and half hours to get everything done, it's my second time washing a car and I'm still learning. I'm a meticulous person and like to park the car inside the garage after washing and inspect with a light, I always find some stubborn bug or tar remaining here and there... letting them sit would allow it to etch

One of the problems I have is that small water spots form by the time I get to it, even on an overcast day, I'm assuming I'm working too slow or my technique is wrong.

Sheet rinse the car after washing to remove as much water as possible. Proceed with drying and then go around with your inspection. You will avoid spotting. A quick detailer or spray wax helps as a drying aid.

You may also want to look into a waterless wash or rinseless wash.

[Blueline]

Re: Pollen on car

Btw, do you wash behind the license plates? Cause I can see there's dirt and water spots behind it, I know this adds extra work and time, especially when I'm figuring out a way to decrease the time to wash the car, somehow it takes me two and half hours to get everything done, it's my second time washing a car and I'm still learning. I'm a meticulous person and like to park the car inside the garage after washing and inspect with a light, I always find some stubborn bug or tar remaining here and there... letting them sit would allow it to etch

One of the problems I have is that small water spots form by the time I get to it, even on an overcast day, I'm assuming I'm working too slow or my technique is wrong.

I do not wash behind the plates. It think it would be too much of a pain for me to remove the screws. As for the small water spots you get, you might be working slow, and you might not. I never wash in the sun, and always keep the car wet. When I finish washing the roof, and go on to the hood, for example, I will re-wet the top when I rinse off the hood. On to the next panel, and when I rinse it, I re-wet the hood and roof. I think if you keep re-wettting the places you have washed, you might not get those small water spots. On a side note, try not to let the detailing "hobby" drive you crazy. You will always find something if you look for it. Being on my third black car, I am far less of a perfectionist with the third, than the first.

[alexw32]

Re: Pollen on car

Thanks for your replies. I haven't tried sheet drying the car since it would mean having water splashed everywhere while you run into the garage to turn on the hose, but after seeing its effectiveness it seems worth a shot.

I finally found a dealer that sells ONR in my area so I got a gallon. I plan to do regular washes when the car is dirty and use this stuff for milder conditions.

Indeed I probably wait to long that the water/suds dry out before I get to them, perhaps I should wet them to buy extra time.