Drying your car..

[Jarhead0754]

No leaf lower here. I use my air compressor to hit all the cracks and then dry with a water magnet. And I use the sheet method so really there's very little water to dry up, just what I blew from the cracks really.

[Top Gear]

Re: Drying your car..

My introduction to the gas blower issue was before I bought mine. The landscaping crew came on their weekly rounds and it was during pollen season. One of them kindly blew all the junk off my car...or so I thought. A closer look showed it was covered in tiny oil spits from his machine. I was pissed, and had to wash the car just because of that. Let's just say they avoid my car (and others) now!

I then bought an electric model for a mere $30 based on suggestions from this forum. It's loud for sure, especially for me, but not as loud as a gas model, it's very light, and I don't have to wear it. I've asked the neighbors and they say it's no bother, about like a vacuum cleaner outside. 10-15 minutes ain't bad, anyway. For the roof, even though I'm tall and the car is fairly low, I hold it in the middle by the snout and above my shoulder so I can blow downwards.

The "Homelite" one I got is powerful enough to do anything a gas model will do, such as blowing leaves

Also, using the blower, for me, is very easy - and dare I say, fun I blow out all the gaps and cracks, wheel wells, wheel barrels, jambs, engine bay when I wash it, and even give the interior a quick blowout for dust (sounds lazy, but it reduces touch detailing effort there). When I do the interior in earnest, I use the blower again along with the vacuum and the other usual suspects.

Anyway, it's not a solution for everyone. Michael Stoops and others have said they literally cannot use a blower because of spotting, while I have to use one to avoid spots. We all have our ways of getting this stuff done in the weather we deal with In my case, I came to this solution because of the sometimes tropical humidity here, when drying any other way is totally pointless.

[GLOCKer]

Re: Drying your car..

I use an electric leaf blower, and work from the top down making sure to hit all of the door shut lines, window drains, and mirror areas. Usually when I'm done, there is almost no water left on the car and no need to follow up with a wipe-down. If I'm just washing my car, I'll follow it up with a quick-wax product (I'm transitioning over to Meguiar's QW) to take care of wiping any leftover droplets off. If not I go right into a polish.

Are there any wands or attachments for an air compressor that I should consider? I'm always afraid of dinking into the side of my car with the end of the blower or dragging the chord across a panel. Some sort of compressor attachment would be nice (but I'd still have to deal with the air hose).

[ClearlyCoated]

Re: Drying your car..

Are there any wands or attachments for an air compressor that I should consider? I'm always afraid of dinking into the side of my car with the end of the blower or dragging the chord across a panel. Some sort of compressor attachment would be nice (but I'd still have to deal with the air hose).

I purchased a WorxAir cordless leaf blower for that exact reason. The 20v lithium battery that comes with the blower is adequate for drying one full sized car, but I chose the optional 32v battery for an extra $40 so I won't have to worry about my battery running out. The WorxAir comes with a number of attachments, but the most useful one was the 12" wide nozzle car drying attachment. The edges of the attachment are lined with soft rubber, so the risk of scratching your paint is minimized.

[KY Gan]

Re: Drying your car..

Hi, I got a water magnet cloth from Meguairs. Its been used every week for the past 6 months. It seems like it's stop absorbing water.
Anyone know if this indicates it's spoilt or there is something I can do to rejuvenate it ?
Thanks.

[The Guz]

Re: Drying your car..

I use he water blade along with a microfiber drying towel.

I'm surprised you use the blade. They are known to cause scratches.

Hi, I got a water magnet cloth from Meguairs. Its been used every week for the past 6 months. It seems like it's stop absorbing water.
Anyone know if this indicates it's spoilt or there is something I can do to rejuvenate it ?
Thanks.

Sounds like it's time for a new one. Get a few more.

[davey g-force]

Re: Drying your car..

Hi, I got a water magnet cloth from Meguairs. Its been used every week for the past 6 months. It seems like it's stop absorbing water.
Anyone know if this indicates it's spoilt or there is something I can do to rejuvenate it ?
Thanks.

Have you been using it with a drying aid such as UQD or UQW? If so, they can sometimes cause your towels to repel water.

Sometimes a good warm wash with an APC can fix it. Otherwise, yeah, just get another one.

[KY Gan]

Re: Drying your car..

thanks. will try the warm water option and if not roll a new piece out soon.

Could we use the microfiber towels to dry the car instead ? What's the difference compared to the water magnet ?
Thanks.

[davey g-force]

Re: Drying your car..

You can, yes. WM is more absorbent though.

Both need to be clean / washed before using.

[Top Gear]

Re: Drying your car..

I use he water blade along with a microfiber drying towel.

I'm surprised you use the blade. They are known to cause scratches.

Yeah, I've used a blade/squeegee from Target (and felt guilty doing so ). It works well after a rainstorm if the car is clean, but is probably better after a wash, in that way. Yes, it can appear to scratch, and you have to wipe it after every pass. However, the seeming scratches are extremely superficial, possibly just dirty water itself, and are easily gone during the next wipe of QD, QW or UWWA. One of those tricks for the field, since I still swear by the electric blower at home, myself.

[The Guz]

Re: Drying your car..

Video is a little older but it gets the point across

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Drying your car..

Take the nozzle off the hose and let the water gently run from the top down, and if you have a well waxed car, so much water will run off, you can almost finish the rest with a Kleenex. You guys with the leaf blowers must have very understanding neighbors, especially if you wash and dry your cars as much as I do, and using loud gas blowers like mine.

Noise and neighbor irritation notwithstanding, sometimes pulling out a leaf blower is just too much of a pain. If you've got really hard water you often end up with little water spot tracers that need to be cleaned up. Keeping the car well waxed and using the method Blueline suggests results in very little water left on the car, which is easily blotted up with a waffle weave drying towel. And there's usually just enough water left that it makes for the perfect opportunity to use a spray wax while drying. The car below has Ultimate Paste Wax on it, applied perhaps 3 weeks prior to this little demo.



Now, having said all that, there is no right or wrong here. Whatever works best for you without creating any undo marring of the paint - and let's face it, over time you're going to get at least some marring regardless how careful you are - is the right process for you.

[Top Gear]

Re: Drying your car..

Video is a little older but it gets the point across

Clearly, that is not the technique I was talking about, Mike. Nevertheless, even that exaggerated blade/squeegee "damage" (which I haven't seen happen) is, for a waxed surface, easily wiped off in the regular course of all the other wiping off we're already doing. It's an option for some situations.

Noise and neighbor irritation notwithstanding, sometimes pulling out a leaf blower is just too much of a pain. If you've got really hard water you often end up with little water spot tracers that need to be cleaned up. Keeping the car well waxed and using the method Blueline suggests results in very little water left on the car, which is easily blotted up with a waffle weave drying towel...

Again, not to be pedantic, but I have to point out the vast difference between weather regions, which affects how water dries. What works in a desert does not work in a rain forest, and vice versa.

Often, where I am, the water beads will not evaporate quickly at all, and hand-drying, even after "flooding", makes no sense - lots of wiping, ringing out, etc. However, the beads can sit there and slowly generate spots underneath, even with filtered water. Thus, the blower is the best way. Usually takes me about 10 minutes, which is before the time the spots form, and long before the water could possibly be wiped off. The surface is dry and needs no wiping, unless I want to QW.

Out West where many of you are, it seems the water beads evaporate very, very quickly, and of course cause spotting immediately. I get that. By the time you've blown off one panel the rest of the car is already spotty, or the blowing itself evaporates enough "under bead" water immediately to cause spotting itself. So, wiping techniques make more sense, as you'll be doing that, anyway.

So, if you did what I do, you'd have spots where I do not. If I do what you do, I'd be wiping and wiping late into the night when it takes you only minutes, and then I'd be QD'ing or UWWA'ing again to remove wipe holograms and streaks, then I'd have to wash the many, many towels it took to do all that.

Both approaches make perfect sense depending on where you are, and make no sense elsewhere, which is why we seem to be speaking different languages here

[DasBurninator]

Re: Drying your car..

You guys don't find leaf blowers to be bulky and difficult to maneuver around a vehicle?

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Drying your car..

Both approaches make perfect sense depending on where you are, and make no sense elsewhere, which is why we seem to be speaking different languages here

And that is exactly why I said this at the end of my previous post:

Now, having said all that, there is no right or wrong here. Whatever works best for you without creating any undo marring of the paint - and let's face it, over time you're going to get at least some marring regardless how careful you are - is the right process for you.

There are several valid and highly effective techniques available for virtually anything to do with car care, and we all pick those that seem to fit best with our personal preferences and situations. While one may seem odd to some and normal to others, none of them are really wrong. Well, unless you are, in fact, doing something truly "wrong", like leaving your wash mitt on the driveway between panels as you're washing and rinsing the car. Yep, a former neighbor of mine used to do that while washing his black BMW M3. Horrifying!!!