A coating of dust on any surface will kill the shine. A California Car Duster easily removes dust — without harming the paint.

By Bob Livingston / Photos by author

eeping a tow vehicle or dinghy clean can be a never-ending battle. Wash the truck one day and by the time you reach your destination, it’s dirty again. So, out comes the bucket and microfiber towels and after an hour or two, the paint is shiny clean. But what if the only “blemish” is dust? Car buffs who display their prized vehicles at shows always have mega-expensive paint jobs and they know that keeping the dust off is important. Most turn to a California Car Duster (calcarduster.com) for quick touch ups. It works well when removing the thin layer of dust on your tow or dinghy vehicle between trips, and can work well on an RV, too, although there’s way more area to cover.

With the California Duster, dust is lifted off the surface by 100% cotton strands that have a special wax baked into the fibers (knock-offs commonly found online and at discount stores are not usually as effective). These strands of red-colored cotton will last a long time; as a matter of fact, the company says the duster will pick up more dust as the strands get dirtier. It’s possible to wash the strands, but the company also recommends against it. Trust me, the duster lasts long enough to amortize the small investment in buying a new one — and the cost is worth the convenience afforded by fewer washing sessions.

I’ve been using the Original California Car Duster with a plastic handle (part #62443) for years and it seems to be large enough to clean my Ram 3500, dual-rear-wheel truck; it sells for $20.99. The duster can also be purchased with a wooden handle (#62442) for $27.99. I’m going to replace my current duster with the X-Large California Super Duster (#62557, $32.99), which has a wooden handle and is 30 inches long; the extra reach and larger mop head will make it more practical to cover the hood and roof of the truck as well as RV sidewalls.

Recently, the California Mini Duster caught my attention. It’s perfect for dusting dashboards and instrumentation. The Mini Duster (#62447) has a plastic handle and is 12 inches long — but the mop head is only 7 x 5 inches, which is small enough to reach into tight quarters. It’s also perfect for dusting mini blinds inside the RV. All the dusters come with carry bags.

If you appreciate driving clean vehicles, you’ll want a California Car Duster in your cleaning kit.