a cleaning conumdrum..., advice sought Options

[1970 Neun vierzehn]

Without going into the why and wherefore, the 914 has gotten itself covered in a fine (poor adjective, there) coating of concrete dust. After removing much of it with a v. powerful leaf blower, I am still left with this very thin layer of dust.

Being reluctant to "flood" the whole car with water and thereby possibly relocating this contamination into all the crevices of weatherstripping, body cavities and the (still clean) engine compartment, my best thinking is to utilize "Griot's Spray-On Car Wash". Having used this product a few times on both my motorcycle and the 914 to remove both light dust and minor road film with no adverse effects, I'm disposed to use this product very carefully, using clean micro-fibre rags and not allowing any foreign material absorbed by the rags to be re-introduced to the cleaning process.

Any suggestions or advice is welcome and very much appreciated.

And Pat, don't suggest dry paper towels to wipe the car off with........that's absurd, think of the environmental impact of those towels going into a landfill! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wacko.gif)

[Tom_T]

First of all, we're talking about portland cement dust - not concrete, which is a mixture of sand, gravel & portland cement.

Paul -

So if it is "cement" - then first carefully pick off the gravel one by one, as the VP blower probably didn't budge them! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Seriously - second - you want to try to remove 99.99% of that dust DRY because water starts the process of setting the cement, and if you thought hard water spots are tough to remove - try portland cement! A auto detailing type of vacuum at a tight distance to the paint surface without touching should suck most of it up, then single use microfiber with some static attraction should work to get as much off dry as possible - from the fine film of dust.

Also of concern, portland cement is a very strong lye type base, so it will eat into your paint once wet. I know, as I had the misfortune of having my 85 BMW 325e parked at LAX for a week while I was at a conference up in Portland, and it was the week of the big fires a few years back (04 or 05 I think), when the ash plume went over LAX & closed the airport at times - it was on the news. Well wood ash also makes lye when wet, and the sea mist/dew at nights turned that crap into a cement like base mixture which "ate" the clearcoat on my bimmer! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

Your best bet is to FIRST carefully get off everything you can DRY, using a vacuum, single use soft terry or microfiber, etc.

Then once you get 99.99% off dry, go to Pat's method or similar in damp - not wet mode. It would also help to add something to the water to neutralize the base of the cement dust.

So Paul - who dropped the bag of Portland Cement or Concrete in vicinity of the 914!!?? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

I only say that cuz I did that DA move myself a few weeks ago on a run from Home Depot in our 88 Westy! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

PS _ "base" being the opposite of "acidic" but just as caustic to paint, etc. Hopefully I'm using the right term "base," but Pat the chemist can correct me if not.