# "Giant acid pollen cloud...can burn through paintwork"



## nogrille (Oct 27, 2005)

Anyone heard about this?

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-st...cloud-sparks-hay-fever-alert-115875-23088669/


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

the next door neighbour has silver birch trees that grow and hangover our driveway, 
they are a f-ing nightmare!!!

planted by the last owner, we hate them, the neighbour hates them, but we can't do anything, she tried to get them removed 3 different companies were called, but they are an endangered species of tree apparently so you can't touch them!(remove them.)
will need to be cut back a bit in the summer.


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## Rust.Bucket (Feb 11, 2011)

'the car must be thoroughly washed and not just wiped over...'
Another excuse for many on the forum to get their kit out again!!


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## Dohnut (Feb 4, 2011)

Wouldn't trust the mirror to tell me the correct day - used to work for them so I know what they are like. 

Until I see this on credible news sites I wouldn't take any notice of this personally.


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## adi1 (May 4, 2010)

CraigQQ said:


> the next door neighbour has silver birch trees that grow and hangover our driveway,
> they are a f-ing nightmare!!!
> 
> planted by the last owner, we hate them, the neighbour hates them, but we can't do anything, she tried to get them removed 3 different companies were called, but they are an endangered species of tree apparently so you can't touch them!(remove them.)
> will need to be cut back a bit in the summer.


Bad news all round if the trees have a preservation orders you can't even prune them back.
Be better just chopping them down yourselfs or you could do it the right way and get in contact with your local council about lifting the order


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

not sure what sort of preservation order is on it, but we were told its okay to prune them back as far as off our property, aslong as its done by a professional and no damage is done to the tree.


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## Avanti (Jan 17, 2006)

CraigQQ said:


> the next door neighbour has silver birch trees that grow and hangover our driveway,
> they are a f-ing nightmare!!!
> 
> planted by the last owner, we hate them, the neighbour hates them, but we can't do anything, she tried to get them removed 3 different companies were called, *but they are an endangered species of tree apparently so you can't touch them!(remove them.)*
> will need to be cut back a bit in the summer.


That's surprising, we have those near by me, they grow really quickly


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## adi1 (May 4, 2010)

A trunk diameter over 75mm (3in) when measured at 1.5m (59in) from ground level, is required to give notice to the local planning authority concerned regarding felling any tree.
The world as gone mad!!


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## TOGWT (Oct 26, 2005)

As well as being allergic pollen is also very abrasive (due to its exine or barbs) and slightly acidic dust, although its inert until its mixed with moisture and should therefore be removed from paint surfaces as soon as is practicable.


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## PrestigeChris (Nov 17, 2009)

just lop the trees down, what are they going to do when they have already gone through a chipper? lol cant make you put them back up


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## uruk hai (Apr 5, 2009)

PrestigeChris said:


> just lop the trees down, what are they going to do when they have already gone through a chipper? lol cant make you put them back up


I'm unsure if it has changed over the last few years but I used to know a guy who wanted to cut down two tree's that were in his back garden in order to have a drive way, the council said he couldn't but he went ahead and failed them anyway. He did get the space he needed to get his car in the garden but he ended up getting quite heavy fines over it !

Had a tree in the front garden years ago and at the time we were told by a tree surgeon that the only way we could cut it down without permission was if it was dead ?


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## Tweak (Sep 17, 2010)

If a tree is your problem drill a hole in it, then keep pouring tardis into the hole, that should kill off the tree. I believe that this also works on small children and pets... =p


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## McClane (Dec 9, 2010)

Indeed, bit of old engine oil, dead trees, danger, must come down.

Although it would be much better in the long run if they could be moved. That said, would need to look at the CO2 footprint of removing + transporting vs. just replanting some elsewhere.


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## dwmc (Jun 6, 2010)

never seen this happen before after a little shower through the night and dust / pollen must have used my shiney car for a landing bay .

just took pic a few minutes ago and thought i`de share










i keep my car nice n clean throught the year , due to dust settling on car yesterday i gave it a gentle rinsing / snowfoaming ect and it look bloody great but after the shower through the night and after reading the article i`de thought i`de go see if there was any dust settled again ,

back soon as i`m off to get the crap of me car before the sun bakes it on


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## McClane (Dec 9, 2010)

I've had this sort of dust keep settling on my car over the last 2-3 weeks. Was kind of hoping it would be Saharan sand, in line with the warm weather we've been having come up from Africa. Either way, I washed both ours again this weekend, and within two days it was back. Just trusting the FK and Colli that's on them to do it's job.

I think my OH's mini that got a nice thick coat of 1000p two weeks ago will be better prepared than my car with had 476 aroudn Jan


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## Kelly @ KDS (Aug 4, 2008)

I have seen a couple of cars with this damage on them happened over the weekend , also had a car in to correct as the water marks etched in very deep (we are talking about the entire car) it was covered in a yellowish dust (just like the cars in our car park now) it wipes off and leaves no trace of being there .

but a few of the cars have had a light rain on them , this is the ones that have etched in badly.

Not seen so many cars in a short space of time locally with deep etching, owners asked what is it to which i replied not sure really .

I guess it could well be to do with whats in the air at the moment , it looks like its rained with acid , due to how quick and how deep the etching is .

Kelly

www.kdsdetailing.co.uk


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## gally (May 25, 2008)

Not great! The dust/pollen is just crazy at the moment.


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## McClane (Dec 9, 2010)

kdskeltec said:


> I have seen a couple of cars with this damage on them happened over the weekend , also had a car in to correct as the water marks etched in very deep (we are talking about the entire car) it was covered in a yellowish dust (just like the cars in our car park now) it wipes off and leaves no trace of being there .
> 
> but a few of the cars have had a light rain on them , this is the ones that have etched in badly.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the info Kelly. Useful to know what you're seeing come in day-to-day if it's something that affects all of us like this might :thumb:.

Watch this space I suppose.


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## E38_ross (May 10, 2010)

i'm hoping it won't eat through a coat of gtechniq C1 which was only applied about 2 weeks ago. if my car isn't protected from it with that, it won't be with anything else! being at uni, i can't clean the car at the moment either. disaster!


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## Chufster (Nov 21, 2010)

uruk hai said:


> I'm unsure if it has changed over the last few years but I used to know a guy who wanted to cut down two tree's that were in his back garden in order to have a drive way, the council said he couldn't but he went ahead and failed them anyway. He did get the space he needed to get his car in the garden but he ended up getting quite heavy fines over it !
> 
> Had a tree in the front garden years ago and at the time we were told by a tree surgeon that the only way we could cut it down without permission was if it was dead ?


I'm sure there are plenty of ways of arranging for the tree to die!


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## dwmc (Jun 6, 2010)

gave it a wash n dry ( safe usual way of course ) and within an hour after drying the dust is already starting to settle again .

on a plus side for you pro`s there be plenty more wanting paint corrections doing if this keeps up . it`s worst i`ve ever known it


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## jonezy (Sep 30, 2008)

yeah copper nail hit into it around the root area. remove once dead to avoid suspicion


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## McClane (Dec 9, 2010)

dwmc said:


> gave it a wash n dry ( safe usual way of course ) and within an hour after drying the dust is already starting to settle again .
> 
> on a plus side for you pro`s there be plenty more wanting paint corrections doing if this keeps up . it`s worst i`ve ever known it


Was meaning to start a thread on this very matter! Get your dust pics out!

My OH's mini would've been a winner. The piano black roof looked almost green/mustard in different lights after three weeks gathering this stuff (we were on hols for quite a bit of that, so low mileage).

As I eluded to, it'd been SRP'd and FK1000p'd just prior, so was looking rather smart before hand. At least it came off a treat.


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## dwmc (Jun 6, 2010)

get your dust pics out :thumb: . 

i`ve never know it to be as bad as this before , i`ve seen the dust spots left from when dust settles on the beading water after rain then dries but that soon goes with a gentle rinse ,


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## Kelly @ KDS (Aug 4, 2008)

the etching was worst on dark colours , this is due to much higher temps on top surfaces in the sun . 

A few years back with a similar problem i tested many different coloured cars for panel temp . 

was 23 deg c in the shade 

silver / white 27
light blues/greens 35-40
reds mid blues 50 
and black 82 :doublesho

most oven's are baked around 60 deg c for cure fresh paint , and on bake cycle for around 40 minutes and then panels are only at 60 deg c for a small percentage of that bake cycle as the panels slowly warm up . 

compare that to 80 deg c sitting in the sun for 5-8 hours per day in the summer you can see why comtaminants will etch in so quickly . 

same for bird lime always etching into dark colours much quicker than light coloured cars on hot sunny days 

kelly


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## E38_ross (May 10, 2010)

kdskeltec said:


> the etching was worst on dark colours , this is due to much higher temps on top surfaces in the sun .
> 
> A few years back with a similar problem i tested many different coloured cars for panel temp .
> 
> ...


kelly,

you reckon this will get past a coat of C1?

 cheers for the info so far, helpful as always! also...you know if the wilton house supercar thing is on again this year? met you, tracey and the gtech lads there last year :car: was great to see that M3 (among many other exotica!!)


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## TOGWT (Oct 26, 2005)

Heat and moisture (reactivity) act as a catalyst; which creates a very aggressive reaction with an acid, etching the paint surface


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## McClane (Dec 9, 2010)

dwmc said:


> get your dust pics out :thumb: .
> 
> i`ve never know it to be as bad as this before , i`ve seen the dust spots left from when dust settles on the beading water after rain then dries but that soon goes with a gentle rinse ,


Tell me about it!

Silly bugger I am, I just washed it without stopping to do so on Saturday. I'll make sure to catch it if it keeps coming down.

I saw a totally coated Alfa on the way home. Who'd have thought a red car could look yellow!!?


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## jacko666 (Aug 31, 2010)

I had a tree disappear over night lol dam pollen and sap on my scooby


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## PootleFlump (Jan 1, 2006)

PrestigeChris said:


> just lop the trees down, what are they going to do when they have already gone through a chipper? lol cant make you put them back up


If the tree has a preservation order on it the fine is upto £20,000 a tree and the council can enforce a replacement order so they can make you replant a tree  If there isn't a tree preservation order feel free to lop the thing down, my neighbour had a silver birch and they drop these little things that get everywhere and stick to drying towels.


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## Superspec (Feb 25, 2011)

I saw a kid cutting through the trunk of a massive tree down with a saw a few years ago.....wasn't his, was on a main road. The fire brigade had to cut it down afterwards because it was unsafe. I figured it would have something to do with the folks who lived near it.....probably couldn't get it cut down so vandalised it so it had to be cut down. 

The kid got arrested I think so I wouldn't advocate it!


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## The Doctor (Sep 11, 2007)

Easiest way to neutralise it is use TFR on the car before washing by hand. TFR is alkaline so will chemically neutralise the acid.


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## dwmc (Jun 6, 2010)

kdskeltec said:


> the etching was worst on dark colours , this is due to much higher temps on top surfaces in the sun .
> 
> A few years back with a similar problem i tested many different coloured cars for panel temp .
> 
> ...


i remeber reading the info on the test you did , very informative as usual . 
i new black would be hotter but didn`t realise just how much hotter it was .


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## rovex (Apr 17, 2011)

Im hoping my 6 layers of werkstat will protect the car. I have a fine layer of yellowish dust now, and it should all wash off fine just with a jet wash, no brush or mit. All the non detailed cars in my street look absolutely terrible at the moment.


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## ScuffsNScrapes (Apr 23, 2009)

CraigQQ said:


> the next door neighbour has silver birch trees that grow and hangover our driveway,
> they are a f-ing nightmare!!!
> 
> planted by the last owner, we hate them, the neighbour hates them, but we can't do anything, she tried to get them removed 3 different companies were called, but they are an endangered species of tree apparently so you can't touch them!(remove them.)
> will need to be cut back a bit in the summer.


Just chop them down, or nail in lots of copper nails and say you didnt know


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## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

The Doctor said:


> Easiest way to neutralise it is use TFR on the car before washing by hand. TFR is alkaline so will chemically neutralise the acid.


Excellent bit of advice. :thumb:


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## Mirror Finish Details (Aug 21, 2008)

I have been using the superb california duster every evening just before the dew sets in and have not had any problems, I also dust it in the morning again.

Looked at the cars, dark green and dark blue in the Sun Gun tonight and no marring so I will keep this up till the dust dissapears.


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## Orca (Apr 16, 2007)

Is this what we're talking about? Taken just the other day ...









http://www.pjgh.co.uk/gallery_albums/swd_2011/DSCF6179.jpg

Wash, polish ... wax.

It happens all the time ... just wash regularly and ensure there's a sacrificial layer of wax. Surely? It can't be as bad as road salt liberally sprayed over in winter, can it?









http://www.pjgh.co.uk/gallery_albums/swd_2010/DSCF4079.jpg


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## Jed (Aug 1, 2010)

I only just noticed this thread, that dust has been on my pug a few days now, it's due a full polish and seal on Sunday, so hopefully this'll sort it out, if not, the cars spare now any way, so I could just flog it!


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## Arch Stanton (Apr 24, 2011)

Good sluice with water to get the dust and pollen off and you'll be fine. Every now and then we get one of these "Saharan dust cloud" events and you're car gets covered in dust. 

With regard to chopping down/killing trees, please don't. Our trees are under threat from all kind of threats/pathogens and they need every help they can get, currently there are pathogens/insects that are affecting horse chestnut, willow, oak, elm (what's left of them), ash, spruce and larch that could see huge numbers being decimated. Look after our trees, you'll miss them when they're gone - and I say this as a TVR owner and woodworker


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## Mirror Finish Details (Aug 21, 2008)

It's only dust.

Can't believe the panic, just a good dusting off and all is ok.

I rinsed my neighbours cars down then poured 10L of Deironised water over it and it dreid nicely in the sun with no problems.

As someone said I would be more concerned with salt than a bit of dust.


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## Adrian Convery (May 27, 2010)

CraigQQ said:


> the next door neighbour has silver birch trees that grow and hangover our driveway,
> they are a f-ing nightmare!!!
> 
> planted by the last owner, we hate them, the neighbour hates them, but we can't do anything, she tried to get them removed 3 different companies were called, but they are an endangered species of tree apparently so you can't touch them!(remove them.)
> will need to be cut back a bit in the summer.


Constantly pour some sort of poison into the roots or something until it dies? Would that work? lol


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## BAXRY (Aug 11, 2009)

CraigQQ said:


> the next door neighbour has silver birch trees that grow and hangover our driveway,
> they are a f-ing nightmare!!!
> 
> planted by the last owner, we hate them, the neighbour hates them, but we can't do anything, she tried to get them removed 3 different companies were called, but they are an endangered species of tree apparently so you can't touch them!(remove them.)
> will need to be cut back a bit in the summer.


Just chop it down your self no one will find out or kill it by drilling a hole to the core and it will bleed out and wither away.


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## Jed (Aug 1, 2010)

Car users get enough flack about being unkind to the environment with us openly discussin how to get rid of protected trees, I don't think it shows DW in a good light really.

If you intentionally kill them and cut them down you will very likely be prosecuted and have a considerable fine to pay, my father in law has 13 protected trees in his back garden and looked into 'removing' them, the fines can be massive!


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## ant_s (Jan 29, 2009)

Lol yeah it's only dust, it just gives everyone a DW a chance to give their car some time if needed, and wether we talk about killing tree's on here or not it's still his choice whether he will or not. He just said how annoyed with it he was lol.


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

PootleFlump said:


> If the tree has a preservation order on it the fine is upto £20,000 a tree and the council can enforce a replacement order so they can make you replant a tree  If there isn't a tree preservation order feel free to lop the thing down, my neighbour had a silver birch and they drop these little things that get everywhere and stick to drying towels.


yep thats the problem the little yellow bits that come off them. i just park my car as far as possible from the tree and it seems to avoid them, the problem is my work car park now, its never been a problem before, but yesterday when i came out of work the cars covered in sap and tree bits.. gonna park at other side of hotel for summer.



PrestigeChris said:


> just lop the trees down, what are they going to do when they have already gone through a chipper? lol cant make you put them back up


no but they can fine the hell out of me :lol:

im not planning on killing any trees, they are not on my property, i will likely get someone to prune them back if the neighbour doesnt, last summer they had someone come in to prune thier side and remove any overhanging into my drive.. now they are just as bad, they grow like hellfire!
if it was on our property i would have looked into the costs of having it dug up and moved elsewhere.


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## Colt Man (Dec 3, 2008)

Ive seen evidence of this this morning with a car ive had dropped off, its also showing evidence of burning through as the car is a faded red corsa and now has red spots where its eaten through the oxidisation


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## PootleFlump (Jan 1, 2006)

I've not noticed any burn from the dust/pollen although there is a considerable amount of pollen landing on the car. Having said that living next to Gatwick airport, I'd be more worried out the pollutants pouring out the back of the planes as they take off.


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## McClane (Dec 9, 2010)

Jed said:


> Car users get enough flack about being unkind to the environment with us openly discussin how to get rid of protected trees, I don't think it shows DW in a good light really.
> 
> If you intentionally kill them and cut them down you will very likely be prosecuted and have a considerable fine to pay, my father in law has 13 protected trees in his back garden and looked into 'removing' them, the fines can be massive!


I see your point that we shouldn't put the car above everything else in the grand sceme of things, but to be fair, we, well, I mentioned to the OP about investigating moving them or planting some more somewhere else. It's the rules that are bent meaning he couldn't even move them if he wanted to.

That's exactly how sustainable resources work though. We chop down tree's all the time to make stuff, just plant some more :thumb: Otherwise the coffee-table industry would be right up there with Tobacco in terms of hatedness :thumb:


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## TOGWT (Oct 26, 2005)

ant_s said:


> Lol yeah it's only dust, it just gives everyone a DW a chance to give their car some time if needed, and wether we talk about killing tree's on here or not it's still his choice whether he will or not. He just said how annoyed with it he was lol.


The inner layer is made of cellulose and is similar in construction to an ordinary plant cell wall; pollen will literally 'wear' away wax or polymer sealants. Pollen isn't removed by air friction as you drive because it adheres to a surface with microscopic barbs that can attach to even a very slightly uneven surface, and adheres to a natural wax better than a synthetic polymer

As well as being allergic pollen is also very abrasive (due to its exine or barbs) _and slightly acidic dust_, although its inert until its mixed with moisture and should therefore be removed from paint surfaces as soon as is practicable.


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## Obsessed Merc (Apr 10, 2011)

Originally Posted by CraigQQ 
the next door neighbour has silver birch trees that grow and hangover our driveway, 
they are a f-ing nightmare!!!

planted by the last owner, we hate them, the neighbour hates them, but we can't do anything, she tried to get them removed 3 different companies were called, but they are an endangered species of tree apparently so you can't touch them!(remove them.)
will need to be cut back a bit in the summer.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2 copper nails will do the trick. Will take a few months.


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## ant_s (Jan 29, 2009)

So with everyone recommending copper nails, why them?


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## Tips (Mar 27, 2011)

ant_s said:


> So with everyone recommending copper nails, why them?


Have a read here.


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## Typhoon 180 (Oct 26, 2006)

here are a couple of cars that have been hit with this acid pollen, pics not that good as only had my phone


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## Beau Technique (Jun 21, 2010)

See what you mean by the matted finish Steve.


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