All the cars locally in Devon are covered in the Icelandic volcanic ash. It is mainly affecting the windows, but you can even see it on the bodywork of my Silver Mk.3. Is it OK just to wash as normal (hose, shampoo,rinse and dry)? Will it scratch do you think?
On another point - what about driving with the top down? The weather is so warm and sunny that I can hardly contemplate driving with the top up but I already have swollen, itchy eyes and a sore throat. Could be hayfever I suppose, but I’ve never suffered before.
Went out this morning to check the ash (this can contain glass) previously had more deposits of Sahara sand (which also contains a form of glass)on it. I rinsed the car down first today prior to a shampoo etc. and drove around topless. Ash fall out may cause respiratory problems, if you think that you are susceptible to this then you could wear a mask/buff etc to act as a filter. If you wear contact lens use glasses instead.
Make sure you thoroughy rinse the car off first using a hosepipe, just letting the water run off not applying any pressure. Then carefully shampoo etc using light pressure and you should be fine.
Sadly going out for a thrash won’t blow the dust off. In actual fact the layer of air in contact with the bodywork will be moving along with the car so the dust will stay put. Very important in aerodynamics apparantly.
Pardon the pun but how do you know it is “volcanic ash” has a chemist/bioligist confirmed this or is it your honest opinion !! This ash has supposedly been blowing over Scotland for over a week now and as yet i have never read/seen any report of ash on the Scottish mainland.Like one of the other posters said,it’s more likely to be sand or dust caused by the local farmers.If your worried, hose down the car and drive with the roof up !! and if it is hayfever go to the chemist and get some anti histimine pills,sorted.
I’ve got loads of this muck on my car, even though the car is garaged. When you wash the car, make sure that you hose it down first, the longer the better. This stuff is very fine pummice and will ruin your paint!
Thanks for all your comments. I washed it all off on Tuesday - only for it to reappear, in a coarser form, on Wednesday! In the course of my work I have driven 20-30 miles in both directions and have seen the dust on cars everywhere, so unlikely to be localised farm ‘dust’. Everyone I have spoken to here, including civil engineers, environmentalists and generally intelligent people all seem to think that it is volcanic ash.
My cold/hayfever symptoms have now disappeared so may just have been a summer cold?
Now that the wind has changed direction I will wash it again today ready for St Georges Day celebration drive across Dartmoor tomorrow, with the SouthWest group. (He is the Patron Saint of England, by the way!)
