Volcanic ash

[resarias]

Hello,

Recently in my country the Turrialba Volcano has been doing a lot of eruptions, sending a lot of ash into the air and into the clouds, and now when it rains (every day now because we are in winter) the water comes with ash and this thing is really abrasive and acid.

What would be a recommended method for washing the cars (remove the ash) without causing scratches and after removing it what would you guys recommend to protect the paint against it.

Here are some pictures so you can see how the cars get every day, this car has a coat of sealant and a coat of wax over it.

They go from looking like this

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/Clean1.jpg (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/95104)

To this

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/Ash1.jpg (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/95099)

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/Ash2.jpg (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/95100)

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/Ash3.jpg (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/95101)

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/Ash4.jpg (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/95102)

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/Ash5.jpg (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/95103)

Thanks in advance for all the recommendations that you can provide me and greetings from Costa Rica.

Andres.

[davey g-force]

Rinse as much off as possible with the hose (or better still a HP washer).

Wash it using the 2BM, then apply a quality sealant or even a coating.

Hopefully none of those water spots are etched into the paint, but if so, they can probably be corrected...

[resarias]

Rinse as much off as possible with the hose (or better still a HP washer).

Wash it using the 2BM, then apply a quality sealant or even a coating.

Hopefully none of those water spots are etched into the paint, but if so, they can probably be corrected...

Thanks for the tip, what is interesting is that those are not water spots, is the ash accumulated I'm sure that if you do not remove it soon enough it will begin to etch the paint, the thing is that if I wash the car in the morning no matter what by evening it will be full of "ash spots" again.

[Eandras]

Use a pressure washer with a foam cannon. Rinse with clean water. Wash using a good quality car shampoo that has a lot of lubricity using 2 bucket method. As far as a sealant use whatever you have available to provide some sort of protection

[Don M]

I agree, wash FREQUENTLY and keep a strong coating of wax or sealant on the car. I just Googled "Is Volcanic Ash Acidic?" and I got this (among other) web pages, and YES it is acidic and VERY abrasive.

Properties of volcanic ash: (http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/ash/properties.html)

[BillE]

All good advice from everyone.

Having "lived" thru Mt St Helen's (35 years ago), I'd be more worried about the fallout getting into the heating system and engine air cleaner. That stuff can and will enter every little opening it can.

All I can say is, just try and keep up with the ash best you can until the mountain quits and then do a through cleaning.

Good luck...

Bill

[Desertnate]

Agree that a pressure washer and/or careful bucket washes are going to be the way to go.

I've not dealt with ash, but have lived in places where it rained mud due to high amounts of dust/dirt in the air. A car can turn brown in the span of a thunderstorm. The only way to get that stuff off was lots of moving water and patience.

[damaged442]

Definitely rinse it off as often as possible to deal with acidity, and make sure as little is there before you hit it with a wash mitt to counter the abrasiveness. Try to wax and/or coat to protect it best you can.

Good luck!

[resarias]

Hello,

I have been doing as you said, trying to first remove all the ash possible with water and then carefully washing with the two bucket method. I also think that frequent washes and a good sealant/wax is the way to go for this situation.

And as Bill said now I just have to keep up with the ash the best I can until the mountain quits.

Thank you all for the great advices, best regards and have a nice day !!!