California Duster: Will It Scratch Your RV or Clean It?

The Original California Car Duster is intended to dust a vehicle between washes to remove a light coating of dust or pollen.

This keeps the car (or RV) shiny and clean between washes and also leaves a nicely waxed surface to protect the paint. (The duster doesn’t apply wax, but keeping your rig waxed is the best way to maximize the benefits of using one.)

We’ve been using the original California Duster on both our RV and our car for as long as we can remember.

But is the mop head of this super duster capable of scratching the surface of your RV or car?

That’s an important question, and we’re here to answer it.

What Is a California Duster?

The California Duster is essentially a mop designed to dust your vehicle or RV to remove dust, pollen, and other light airborne particles.

When the weather’s dry, dust accumulates when you’re parked or driving, especially at the rear of the RV, or when boondocking in dusty areas.

Using paraffin wax to attract dust particles, the California car duster lets you quickly remove dust from an otherwise clean RV.

The long head allows for the easy cleaning of large areas, and the long plastic or wood handle design makes it easy to reach high places.

The California Duster was originally designed to clean cars, and we use ours on both our car and our RV.

Just give it a good shake before and after each use to quickly, easily, and safely remove the dust from your RV or car.

We’ll link to the standard California Duster and the extendable California Duster so you can compare them both:

How Do You Use a California Duster?

As you’ll notice in the product information pamphlet, before using a new California Duster for the first time, you’ll need to place it on newspaper for about 48 hours.

This is because the excess paraffin wax needs to be absorbed before your initial use. The newspaper absorbs the excess wax. (Your duster may leave some streaks during the first few uses, but that will stop quickly, once it gets a little dusty.)

You’ll use the California duster just as you would any other type of duster, lightly running it over the surface of your RV and/or car.

This is perfect for cleaning between washes. It uncovers the shine and keeps additional dust from just adding to the first layer. (For more on washing and waxing, see our post on the 5 best RV wash and wax products.)

The duster is also fantastic for cleaning your RV solar panels. (See our post on how to clean RV solar panels for more information.)

When you’re finished dusting, you’ll simply shake out the duster, and store it in the included carrying case until the next use.

Check out our YouTube video for a visual demo:

Can the California Duster Scratch my Car or RV?

When used properly, no, it won’t scratch your car or RV.

It’s so safe for automotive paint that we’ve seen lots of professional detailers who are responsible for cleaning expensive exotic cars at auto shows using a California Duster to keep Lamborghinis and Ferraris clean and looking their best throughout the show.

In fact, one-half of The RVgeeks used to work in the car industry and attended several auto shows as a manufacturer’s rep. The California Duster was THE standard for keeping cars dust-free at car shows… and in showrooms.

Even many of the most exclusive luxury and sports car makers use them on their vehicles, so we know they’re designed to be safe and scratch-free, even on the most expensive finishes.

But here are a couple of quick caveats:

1. Never set the duster down on sandy/dirty ground where it could pick up hard items that could then scratch the finish of your rig or vehicle.
2. Never use the duster on a vehicle that’s dirty or muddy. They’re designed for removing dust and pollen between regular washings, not for actually washing a dirty car or RV. Generally, once you’ve driven in wet weather, it’s time for a wash, not just a dusting.

Our general rule of thumb is that we never use the California Duster to clean our car or RV if we’ve driven them in the rain, snow, or mud. We use it only to remove light dust/pollen/film.

How Long Does a California Duster Last?

We used the duster shown on the top of this photo for several years. (Yes, YEARS.)

They actually work better once they get a bit dirty, and they work very well for a long time thereafter.

When it’s finally time to replace ours with a brand-new one, we simply retire our old duster to dirtier jobs, like cleaning wheels, tires, and mud flaps, without using it on painted surfaces anymore.

We’ve been using a California duster for more years than we can count, and we think it’s the best 10-minute spruce-up you can give your RV. That’s especially true for us boondockers, who spend a lot of time traveling in dusty-but-dry areas.

Want to keep your rig clean and shiny between dustings? Here are some of our favorite products for doing just that:

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