Concrete dust all over exterior, and engine...What should i do?

[scottrx7tt]

My wife and I built a new house about 6 months ago. There was a problem with an area of the concrete in the driveway butting up to the garage floor slab, so they had to cut it out, and repour. They asked us to leave the garage doors partially open so they could get the concrete out. I come home to 1/8" of dust all over EVERYTHING in the garage, along with the exterior of my car, and on the engine. I am not sure how to handle this. The builder is supposed to come tomorrow to asses the situation. I am a little scared to even start the car, fearing that it will suck the dust into the intake. Anyone have any ideas?
Here some pics...

[DRACO A5OG]

Good excuse to drive her fast then when you are done remove the air filter and shake or better yet use an air compressor and blow out the filter. If you have a spare swap it to be absolutely sure future start up will not have any particles that may pass thru. My 2 cents :-/

[pmax]

Leaf blower ?

It's your car but I would clean that up myself rather than leave it to the workers.

[ClickClickBoom]

Immediately place it on a transporter directly to me, trust me, I know to make this right.....
P.S. Are the tires new?

[Reiver]

I know you have an air compressor right.....point/squeeze.

[JT912]

I would opt for removal by a shop vac with maybe a micro fiber rag over a soft bristled attachment. Blowing the dust is just going to redeposit it as it settles. Probably should also invest in a drywall dust-type bag for the vacuum. This will take some time to clean up. The contractor should be willing to give you a break for having to deal with this.

[gliding_serpent]

Imagine people who live on a dirt road.

Agree on the vacuum.

[porterdog]

Compressed air or leaf blower; I wouldn't spray the air filter element though.

[mattC2993]

I would start with vacuuming using a soft brush type attachment. After that I would used compressed air (or the vacuum in reverse) to blow the cracks out and then would wipe down more durable surfaces. A pressure wash and fast drive would be last

[schnelltarga]

Something similar happened to my BRG MG Midget when the lot next to my office got new gravel and grading without any notice. I first blew off the dust with a leaf blower with a concentrator nozzle to increase the velocity and then immediately power washed to get any residue. Be sure to vacuum the interior, the dust is very invasive.

[tcar]

Originally Posted by mattC2993

I would start with vacuuming using a soft brush type attachment.

No.

Concrete dust is very abrasive. Do not use a brush or a cloth, even with a vacuum.
Even a soft one, not even a tack rag.

Push car outside and rinse all off with hose, just lots of water, no hard spray, no sponge or cloth.

Let air dry. Do it again until you see no trace of gray residue.

Cover distributer and rinse motor.

New air filter before you start it up at all probably a good idea.

Using a blower would probably force more dust into the heating-vent system.

[saxen]

^ yes!!!

It's really not a big deal- annoying but it won't hurt anything - go drive your car!!!

[70basket]

Plus 1 on the rinsing. That stuf is very fine sandpaper any rubbing will scratch rinse it very good then wash.

[mattC2993]

Rinsing will just push muck into crevices to come and haunt you later. I'm just glad my cars don't have paint worth fretting over

Originally Posted by tcar

No.

Concrete dust is very abrasive. Do not use a brush or a cloth, even with a vacuum.
Even a soft one, not even a tack rag.

Push car outside and rinse all off with hose, just lots of water, no hard spray, no sponge or cloth.

Let air dry. Do it again until you see no trace of gray residue.

Cover distributer and rinse motor.

New air filter before you start it up at all probably a good idea.

Using a blower would probably force more dust into the heating-vent system.

[Targalid]

I have a mile and half of gravel road before I reach the first pavement. After a wash and wax, my car looks like yours before I ever reach the pavement. Best advice above is to wash it with water using a garden hose, several times. Don't rub it with a wash rag until the grit has been washed away. Very little if any of this concrete dust reached your air filter but you can blow it out if it makes you feel better. As for your garage, I think a shop vac will be needed to get all that dust.

[bpu699]

Rinse it off immediately!!! Concrete is alkaline, and eats paint if you leave it on...

Sounds like the concrete guys may owe you some money to detail/clean your car and garage...

[tirwin]

Ok, my $0.02. Velocity and abrasive material don't mix well where paint is concerned. Back it out, carefully vac off what you can without actually touching the car. I say vac to try to pick up as much as you can straight off the surface. Blowing across the surface is going to tend to create scratches.

Rinse off the rest with a hose on low. Swap the air filter. Cover the car. After you get everything else in the garage cleaned up (so you don't stir up more dust later that settles on the car) give the car a good wash and use a clay bar. A little effort with a DA polisher should easily get out any microscratches. Depends on the condition of the paint of course.

Pain in the tail, I know, but I wouldn't trust someone else to make it right.

[Brudock]

I would drop an email to Larry from Ammo
Home | AMMO NYC
https://www.youtube.com/user/AMMONYCdotcom

That guy is a huge Porsche fan and very good detailer he can probably recommend you something. He might even do an episode on his YT channel !

[fbarrett]

One of the early 1980s Porsche Parades was in Portland, Oregon, just after Mt. St. Helens erupted. A lot of car washing went on. Our 914 survived the drive from Colorado, and no one else seemed to have problems.

Frank

[McLaren-TAG]

Yes indeedly-doo we've hit page TWO on how to best remove concrete dust.