Desk sheet - Dust

The Film on the Car, Which Is Dust and Not Damage

The most visible thing that happens to a vehicle on a long stay here, and the least important. Worth one page so that nobody comes back from a month away and concludes that something has gone wrong.

01What the film is

Fine mineral dust, moved by afternoon wind, settled out of the air. It is a normal feature of a dry climate with open ground in it, and it lands on everything: cars, fences, window ledges and the top of every wall in the city.

On a vehicle it collects most on horizontal surfaces, which is why the hood, the roof and the parcel shelf look worse than the doors.

Over a week it is noticeable. Over a month it is obvious. In both cases it washes off.

A close view of a fine reddish dust film across the hood of a parked car after standing outdoors for several weeks, no badge, no lettering and no license plate in frame, flat overcast light — A dust film of the kind described, on the surface where it always collects first. Illustrative of the type rather than a picture of a named place or vehicle.

02What it is not

It is not paint damage. Dust sitting on a clear coat does nothing to it. What can do something is rubbing a dry dusty surface, which is why the advice below matters more than the dust does.

It is not a sign of a bad lot. Every outdoor surface in this part of the country gets it. A lot with no dust on the fences would be a strange thing to see.

It is not neglect. Nothing is washed while a car stands, at any lot we place a reservation with, because that is one of the five refusals. A dusty car on collection is the expected outcome, not a failure.

03The one thing that makes it worse

Dragging something dry across it.

A dry wiper across a dusty windshield is the commonest mistake, and it can leave fine marks in the glass. Wet the glass first, then wipe.
A dry cloth across a dusty hood does the same to the clear coat. If you must clear a patch, use water.
A brush at a coin wash on a dusty car is worse than either, for the same reason.

The correct order is water first, then anything else. That is the whole of the practical advice, and it is why this page exists at all.

04Monsoon weeks make it look worse and change nothing

Between July and mid September the film gets rained on, runs into streaks, dries, and a new film settles on top. It looks considerably worse and is exactly the same problem. The monsoon sheet goes through the pattern.

05What a month of it costs

Honestly: one wash.

The things worth checking after a long dusty stay are not about the paint at all.

The door seals. Grit collects in the rubber channel. Wipe it before the seals get chewed by repeated closing.
The cabin air filter, eventually. Not after one stay. After several long ones, it is the part that quietly fills.
The wiper rubber. If the first wipe smears badly, the rubber has grit in it and wants cleaning rather than replacing.

06Whether shade helps

A little, and not for the reason people expect. A canopy stops some settling from directly above, which is where most of it lands, so a shaded stall does come back cleaner.

That is a side benefit rather than a reason to book one. Book shade for the dashboard and take the cleaner hood as a bonus.

07What this means for the reservation you should make

Nothing, and that is the point of the page. Dust does not change the band, the grade or the month you should choose. It changes what you expect to see on collection and how you clear the windshield in the first thirty seconds.

The one connection to the reservation: for a long stay in the windy months, a paved or well graded surface throws up less than loose ground, and that is a question about the lot rather than about the grade of stall. Ask it on the reservation form.