Yikes! Volcanic ash removal?

[ismaelg]

Hello,

Hundreds of miles away in a small island in the Caribbean, a volcano has been puffing for years. On rare ocassions, winds take volcanic ash all the way here and it has even shutdown the airport once before. This ash deposits on cars (and everything else) and it is quite nasty. Hosing it off doesn't help much. A friend of mine called me that he washed his car as usual and it is all scratched like if he used a fine grit sandpaper. I plan to wash mine with PLENTY of suds and work it very slowly but I'm worried.
Any advise on handling this?

Thanks,
Ismael

[TimG]

Re: Yikes! Volcanic ash removal?

maybe wash it using a PW to push the ash off the car then use a foam lance and spread the foam all over the car's surface so that it can pull the dirt off then rinse, then continue to wash via 2BM ...just a thought?

ps: Not sure how relative is my case to yours but when thick mud is splashed all over my car and its dried for days, the above is my usual remedy.


Tim

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: Yikes! Volcanic ash removal?

It sounds like it would need to be presoaked. Good luck with it.

[Markus Kleis]

Re: Yikes! Volcanic ash removal?

FYI, if it gets wet it can etch the paint as it is acidic. I recommend washing it quickly, but thoroughly once it gets wet.