what's the best way of drying a washed car?

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: what's the best way of drying a washed car?

If you do decide to try out that microfiber towel i will suggest you wash it at least once or twice before using. The first time i used it, it left so much lint behind on the car i almost threw it away but after i washed it i have not had that problem again and it is now lint free .

Thanks alot for the tip. Appreciate it.

[thewanandonly]

Re: what's the best way of drying a washed car?

how do you was the water magnet correctly?

[Jeepster04]

Re: what's the best way of drying a washed car?

Ive got some California drying towels and they seem to work about the same if not better than the water magnets. Only thing I dont like about them is they tend to 'grab' the finish and not glide smoothly over it. I always keep wax on my jeep so I know thats not the problem. They are amazingly soft which I thinks has something to do with the grabbing effect.

[ortizmro]

Re: what's the best way of drying a washed car?

Been using the Absorber with no issues. Used to use the large blue MF towels from Walmart that have been mentioned here - they work well too but the Absorber seems to work much better for me....

[Derrick]

Re: what's the best way of drying a washed car?

how long does the walmart towel last? i want to buy the water magnets but i have read they dont last long. anyone use the old school chamois? how is the california dry blade too? does that leave scratches?

Well i have only been using the Walmart MF drying towel for a few months but it is still working ok. Like i have seen alot of inputs on it and i think it is personal preference. Some people like it and some don't. I like it because it is soft and large and i get good results with it. I think the best idea is always to try different products to see which works best for you and your style. As for the waterblade i have one of those to and it works well but it can as has been know to leave huge scratches in paint. It doesnt do the scratches itself but if there is any kind of particle on the car the blade will drag it across the finish leaving a huge scratch. I use it everyonce in a while but only when working in doors because if you are drying the car outside there is not telling what might fall onto the car from the wind or trees around and then if you dont catch it before running over it with the water blade then your left with scratches again.

[Kooz]

Re: what's the best way of drying a washed car?

Been using the Absorber for many years with no problems. No swirl marks or scratches.

[roushstage2]

Re: what's the best way of drying a washed car?

how do you was the water magnet correctly?

The way I have found is you wash with a mix of about 50% APC, 49% laundry soap, and a dab a dish soap. I set the water level to a large load and the hottest temperature setting, but put in a small load size, maybe even a bit less, of APC/detergent/soap. I put it on a heavy duty cycle for the longest time. When rinse time comes around, I add white vinegar to the rinse water. The trick is to keep doing a rinse cycle with vinegar until there isn't a layer of soap at the top (will really only happen if you use too much soap). Usually one extra rinse for me just to make sure all of the soap is gone.

This so far is the only way I can get my WM towels to keep absorbing water.

[Deaner5]

Re: what's the best way of drying a washed car?

I currently use my Meguiars Supreme Shine Microfibers for drying duties. I've read to put a full stream of water on the car(no sprayer that is) and it will run off and not have much to dry, it works great.

I think Nappers hit the nail on the head, when using the stream from just the hose a decent amount of water will just shed right off if you have a decent layer of wax on the car (and I assume most of us do). I think it is called the "flooding technique."

As far as towels, I use the cheap MFs from Sam's Club and they work fine for me. Again, I think like everyone else has said it is a personal preference thing. Try the flooding technique though, it works really well.

[JG_Detailing]

Re: what's the best way of drying a washed car?

I only use a mircrofiber towel on my vehicle and my customer's.

[PaBlkBrd]

Re: what's the best way of drying a washed car?

Stream water,water magnet, and then the air blower!........job done.

[helix139]

Re: what's the best way of drying a washed car?

i have tried about all the different methods but one that i really like and leaves no swirls is this ultra plush microfiber drying towel. I got it from walmart. It is very soft and large, it can hold alot of water and i just simply lay it over the area and run the towel across the surface applying no pressure. Just the weight of the towel is enough. Works great and i have seen no swirls since i started using it.

I can second that. I used one today on my 08 Bullitt Mustang. It's amazing the amount of water they soak up. Like you said, just lay it flat, and pull it off. I did throw it in the laundry in between washing and waxing. It works well also to pull off the excess wax.

[Silverado12]

Re: what's the best way of drying a washed car?

The way I have found is you wash with a mix of about 50% APC, 49% laundry soap, and a dab a dish soap. I set the water level to a large load and the hottest temperature setting, but put in a small load size, maybe even a bit less, of APC/detergent/soap. I put it on a heavy duty cycle for the longest time. When rinse time comes around, I add white vinegar to the rinse water. The trick is to keep doing a rinse cycle with vinegar until there isn't a layer of soap at the top (will really only happen if you use too much soap). Usually one extra rinse for me just to make sure all of the soap is gone.

This so far is the only way I can get my WM towels to keep absorbing water.

Wow, quite a process. I simply wash my water magnets on hot with regular laundry detergent and occasionally my microfiber detergent, rinse twice, and they always work fine for me.

[roushstage2]

Re: what's the best way of drying a washed car?

Yeah, well I just got done one using one and it didn't work. Seems I have to spray them down with a QD or such before I use them. Maybe I'll just stick with the CA Drying Towel.

[Sprzout]

Re: what's the best way of drying a washed car?

I know that my dad bought one of those California Water Blades, and we tried to use it on a car to dry it off. However, every time I tried to dry the car off with it, it just left streaks of water on the car which I then had to go back over with a MF anyway.

Seems to me that I'm doing double the work at that point, so why not just start with a MF towel or chamois or something similar to begin with? Now, I'm not saying that this is what happens with EVERYONE who uses it (I may have been using it incorrectly) but for me, it just means double the work. Why bother?

[thewanandonly]

Re: what's the best way of drying a washed car?

is the big blue walmart towel made by microtex? i heard their towel **** lol. any input?