Microfibre drying, leaf blower, etc.t

[Jasonk]

Thanks to hours of reading this forum, I have converted to the 2 Bucket Method (2BM) for washing. And I am amazed at how much dirt ends up in the rinse bucket!

i read here someone claimed to use a leaf blower to dry their car with. I have a leaf blower and figured it couldn't hurt. So I had a go, and whilst it got a lot of water off, it was a pain in the backside to use and seemed a lot of effort for not enough result. Now it could well be a technique thing I am getting wrong, or it could be a running joke to catch out the newbies - in which case it sure worked.

So I moved onto the stock of microfibre drying towels I have, and here is the thing. It feels like I am going to need 10 or 12 of the large ones to dry one car. After a panel or two, one gets saturated, and no matter how much water I try and squeeze from it, at that point all it seems to do is spread the water around on the panel. So I move onto the next cloth, and by the time I have dried my wife's Ford Territory i need to sun dry or tumble dry some cloths before I get to my Honda. I think I am doing something wrong, but can't work out what it might be?

Also, I clayed and carnubad the cars three weeks ago, have washed them weekly since and today gave them a going over with Quick detailer after their wash. The look really good, but I am wondering, for the guy who doesn't mind spending a few hours on the car every week or so, what's the best 'next step' after the Carnuba wax? Ie, personally I really like the wet/ deep shine look? Any suggestions on what's the best product to achieve that between Carnuba waxes?

One last thing, does waxing more regularly than every 3 months or so have any negative effects to the finish?

[The Guz]

Re: Microfibre drying, leaf blower, etc.t

Did you flood the surface to remove as much water as possible prior to drying? It works very well as long as there is some sort of wax on the paint.

I would also recommend you invest in a few waffle weave towels. They work much better than a typical microfiber as they hold more water.

As always a good reference video.

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?41790-Meguiar-s-Quik-Tips-Video-Series-Washing

In regards to maintenance, try a spray wax. Ultimate Quik Wax is always a favorite. Any spray wax will do but UQW is the most durable and imparts a hydrophobic property on the paint.

Have you also considered going the route of a sealant to give you something that lasts longer? Such as ultimate wax, M21 or NXT.

[BillE]

Re: Microfibre drying, leaf blower, etc.t

One nice thing about using a leaf blower is that you can get into the little nooks and crannies that collect water and always continue drip and just blast the water out.

Bill

[exploreco]

Re: Microfibre drying, leaf blower, etc.t

Agree with Guz about getting a few of megs big Waffle weave towels and doing the sheeting/flood method. If you do that you can usually get by with one to two of those towels. I started out using the leaf blower after joining this site and few months ago bought the DP turbo dryer which works really well on a maintained car. Gets most of the water off and gets the water out of the cracks. I either spot dry as I got or I dry it and then follow up with QD or QW after. But I almost always grab the DP turbo dryer. My neighbors get such a kick out of watching my blow dry my car, lol.

[Jasonk]

Re: Microfibre drying, leaf blower, etc.t

Did you flood the surface to remove as much water as possible prior to drying? It works very well as long as there is some sort of wax on the paint.

No, and that might well be a lot of my problem too. I will remember that for next week.

I would also recommend you invest in a few waffle weave towels. They work much better than a typical microfiber as they hold more water.

As always a good reference video.

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums...Series-Washing

Finding some of these items in Australia isn't always easy. I spent ages looking for the Meguiars Water Magnet cloths last week through the three local outlets most likely to stock them. Will see if I can google some of these and get hold of them.

In regards to maintenance, try a spray wax. Ultimate Quik Wax is always a favorite. Any spray wax will do but UQW is the most durable and imparts a hydrophobic property on the paint.

Have you also considered going the route of a sealant to give you something that lasts longer? Such as ultimate wax, M21 or NXT.

Not yet, but it seems a good idea.

At at present where our cars are parked at home gets snow like flurries of dead leaves seemingly all the time, or at least whenever I want to wash the cars! Sin fact yesterday my wife's car got bird **** on the side I just washed before I had finished the other side.....

i I have a solution for that, however, a concretercwith a bobcat will be here in half an hour to quote on a much larger / wider driveway and to put a concrete slab where the garden and that tree currently are......

[Jasonk]

Re: Microfibre drying, leaf blower, etc.t

One nice thing about using a leaf blower is that you can get into the little nooks and crannies that collect water and always continue drip and just blast the water out.

Bill

Good point. And it occurred to me yesterday as I waited for a couple of hours for the water dripping to stop that might be a good use for the leaf blower, but I had made a poor job of my first go figured getting advice off people who know first might help.

[Jasonk]

Re: Microfibre drying, leaf blower, etc.t

DP turbo dryer which works really well on a maintained car. Gets most of the water off and gets the water out of the cracks. I either spot dry as I got or I dry it and then follow up with QD or QW after. But I almost always grab the DP turbo dryer. My neighbors get such a kick out of watching my blow dry my car, lol.

i will google that one too. I have a heat gun in the tool box and thought about that, but wondered if the heat might be a problem on the paint - you can make bacon crackling with one in a few minutes.

[Mr Miyagi]

Re: Microfibre drying, leaf blower, etc.t

are you using an electric or gas leaf blower? I use my gas one all the time to do 90% dry..then do the last 10% with waffle weaves..Not sure you are seeing a big pain with little gain? I can 'blow dry' my whole car in about 5 minutes…then another 5 to do the last 10 %. Of course, door jambs, under the hood, back hatch, etc takes more time than the rest combined..

[davey g-force]

Re: Microfibre drying, leaf blower, etc.t

I see you're in Sydney.

If you're having troubles finding the Meg's waffle weave towels, just pop in to MotorActive / Meguiars headquarters in Silverwater and you can get one from there. There are a few local online retailers that have the non-Meguiars versions too.

I agree with a spray wax after washing. You can do that on a partially wet vehicle, as you dry. In that case there is not much need for a blower IMO. Just take the nozzle off your hose for the final rinse, as flood / sheet the water off, so there is not much remaining.

UQW is the most durable of the spray waxes and is just a pleasure to use. If you want to keep the deep, rich look of carnauba (like your base wax layer), then try GCQW (Gold Class Quick Wax). Just be aware, it won't be as durable as UQW, but if you are doing this every week, that's a moot point really..

[Eldorado2k]

Re: Microfibre drying, leaf blower, etc.t

Don't use a heat gun to dry your car...

[Blueline]

Re: Microfibre drying, leaf blower, etc.t

If you have a well waxed car, use the flood method first, as someone already stated. Most of the water will bead and run off. I tried my gas blower and it was just too big, too powerful, too heavy, and too stinky to use in the garage. I used the blower on my shop vac a few times and it was good, but a pain to set up, so I bought a little blower, rated at 75 mph blow, and it does a fine job. Some times, I don't even need to use my waffle weave. Probably would not work fast enough out in the sun, but 5 or 10 minutes in the garage is all it takes.

[Jasonk]

Re: Microfibre drying, leaf blower, etc.t

are you using an electric or gas leaf blower?.

Petrol (gas). I will have another go at it, but I think I really need to get a special attachment. I Have a small hand sized air pump that pushes through heaps of air ano might see if I can rig something up as this would be ideal for water in nooks and crannies. I have a fair sized dust extractor unit and might see if that can help out.

[Jasonk]

Re: Microfibre drying, leaf blower, etc.t

I see you're in Sydney.

If you're having troubles finding the Meg's waffle weave towels, just pop in to MotorActive / Meguiars headquarters in Silverwater and you can get one from there. .

i had no idea that place existed. Will try it this weekend!

, then try GCQW (Gold Class Quick Wax). Just be aware, it won't be as durable as UQW, but if you are doing this every week,

That sounds like the product for me!

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Microfibre drying, leaf blower, etc.t

Some great drying tips here, but I'd like to make a couple of observations from personal experience:

1. If your car doesn't have any wax on it (ie, you last waxed it a year ago and it's a daily driver, or you're working on someone else's car that is less than well cared for) then water is going to lay on that paint in a big ol' sheet and the bonded contaminants on the paint surface are going to hold on to it. Drying will be a total pain in the backside. The nozzle-off-the-hose sheeting method isn't going to do much, either.

2. With a good coat of wax on the car the nozzle-off-the-hose sheeting process is an enormous benefit. Check out this little video clip showing just how effective this is:


3. A couple of Water Magnet waffle weave drying towels should be more than sufficient as long as you're keeping a good coat of wax on the car and you do the above sheeting process prior to drying the car. I use two Water Magnets when drying any of our cars; one folded in quarters for the initial wipe and a second, also folded in quarters, as a follow up/final wipe. The first one never gets wet enough that wringing releases anything from it. I also spray a couple trigger pulls of D156 onto a panel (Ultimate Quik Wax or Gold Class Quik Wax will work equally well) before wiping the panel dry.

4. While many people do seem to really like drying with a leaf blower, I've never found it to be anything but an exercise in frustration, noisy, and time consuming. So, JasonK, you are definitely not alone here!

5. For water that always likes to hang on in all those little nooks and crannies (window trim, especially at the base of the glass/top of the body panel seems to be especially offensive in this regard) I prefer to use my wet/dry shop vac. Crazy as it sounds, it works like a champ. I've got a hatchback that seems to hold gallons of water in the seal that surrounds the fixed rear glass. A leaf blower will knock some of this out, as will the blow gun from my air compressor. But just when I think it's all gone, I return a couple minutes later only to find a trail of water running down the hatch. So I blow it out again, and a few minutes later there's that trail of water again. Repeat. Repeat. But with the shop vac, it's one pass and done. Finished. No more frustrating, dribbly little trail of water two minutes after I thought I was finished. I've been doing this for years, and none other than Kevin Brown recently mentioned in a podcast with Larry Kosilla that he's been doing the same thing for years as well. Larry thought Kevin was nuts, but I'm here to tell you it works like a charm!

6. Save the leaf blower or air compressor for drying tires and wheels - it's absolutely brilliant for that! I use a Tornador blow gun on my compressor for tires/wheels after drying the rest of the car. It saves time and prevents towels from getting overly dirty. There isn't as many places for water to hide here like there is with body trim pieces, nor can the sheer volume of water be retained in the places that do exist - like around the lugnuts.