What do u use to dry off ur car
New Member
Joined: 08-19-07
Posts: 185
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From: Burnsville, MN
I never liked the idea of 'driving' it dry, even with as short of a drive it is, settlements easily make its way onto the paint, and when you go over it with the towel you get fine hairline scratches.
I use this: http://www.griotsgarage.com/catalog....1003&SKU=82187
then this: http://www.griotsgarage.com/catalog....1003&SKU=11117
That towel holds so much water you only need one to dry the whole thing, but the squeegee blade helps get rid of 85-90% of the water anyways.
Then of course follow up with some Zaino
I use this: http://www.griotsgarage.com/catalog....1003&SKU=82187
then this: http://www.griotsgarage.com/catalog....1003&SKU=11117
That towel holds so much water you only need one to dry the whole thing, but the squeegee blade helps get rid of 85-90% of the water anyways.
Then of course follow up with some Zaino
Senior Member
Joined: 07-27-05
Posts: 1,439
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From: Pennsylvania
Senior Member
Joined: 07-27-05
Posts: 1,439
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From: Pennsylvania
Heres a link for the california car blade, in case you never saw one
http://www.californiacardusters.com/18waterblade.html
http://www.californiacardusters.com/18waterblade.html
Junior Member
Joined: 03-17-05
Posts: 499
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From: Windsor, Ontario, Canada
This may sound crazy, but you'd be surprised how well it works.
First, once I am done washing the car, I spray it down, get all the cracks and crevices free of any remaing soap, then I take the nozzle of the hose, and let the water flood the paint.
By doing this, it allows the water to sheet off the paint, leaving very little water remaining on the paint. But this alone won't get all the water off.
Conventional towel drying only goes so far, and my air compressor has a nasty habit of blowing oily moistuized air onto my car.
One day, I stumbled upon a leaf blower in my grandparents attic, one that had never been opened. Being completely clean and devoid of any grass, I decided to give it a try. I fired it up and blew the water right off the car. The nice thing about this tactic is that it blows the water out of those hard to towel areas (jambs, panel gaps, trunk, under the spoiler, wheel stud holes, side view mirrors, etc). I am very careful as to not touch the car with the blower, but I do get it very close to the paint. This also seems to take larger water droplets and disperse them into an almost mist on the paint.
Once I have blown most of the water off the paint, I then reach for the softest microfiber towel I have, and a bottle of Megs QD. I'll mist each panel as I go, making light passes with the towel to spread the QD and absorb the rest of the water.
The end result is a shiny, just waxed look, with no water spots. The other thing I like about the "leaf blower" method, is that when you wax the car, you don't have to worry about water dripping out of the crevices after you've dried the car. I always hated having the car clean, the coming out an hour later to see water spots trailing from the taillights and other gaps. This method eliminates all this.
Although, using a leaf blower to dry your car does draw a few strange looks from neighbors, although, I fire the same strange looks back when I see them trying to "detail" their cars with a $20 buffer from Canadian Tire, using a wax removal bonnet to put the wax on...
First, once I am done washing the car, I spray it down, get all the cracks and crevices free of any remaing soap, then I take the nozzle of the hose, and let the water flood the paint.
By doing this, it allows the water to sheet off the paint, leaving very little water remaining on the paint. But this alone won't get all the water off.
Conventional towel drying only goes so far, and my air compressor has a nasty habit of blowing oily moistuized air onto my car.
One day, I stumbled upon a leaf blower in my grandparents attic, one that had never been opened. Being completely clean and devoid of any grass, I decided to give it a try. I fired it up and blew the water right off the car. The nice thing about this tactic is that it blows the water out of those hard to towel areas (jambs, panel gaps, trunk, under the spoiler, wheel stud holes, side view mirrors, etc). I am very careful as to not touch the car with the blower, but I do get it very close to the paint. This also seems to take larger water droplets and disperse them into an almost mist on the paint.
Once I have blown most of the water off the paint, I then reach for the softest microfiber towel I have, and a bottle of Megs QD. I'll mist each panel as I go, making light passes with the towel to spread the QD and absorb the rest of the water.
The end result is a shiny, just waxed look, with no water spots. The other thing I like about the "leaf blower" method, is that when you wax the car, you don't have to worry about water dripping out of the crevices after you've dried the car. I always hated having the car clean, the coming out an hour later to see water spots trailing from the taillights and other gaps. This method eliminates all this.
Although, using a leaf blower to dry your car does draw a few strange looks from neighbors, although, I fire the same strange looks back when I see them trying to "detail" their cars with a $20 buffer from Canadian Tire, using a wax removal bonnet to put the wax on...
Senior Member
Joined: 11-11-05
Posts: 9,438
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From: Oceanside, Ca
interesting, I'll try that when I get home...for now I have a huge microfiber towel...it isn't like the ones you wipe the wax off with, its textured...I'd love to get another one but I can't remember where I bought it.
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Joined: 11-06-06
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From: Fort Wayne, Indiana
Senior Member
Joined: 03-17-06
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From: Moncton Newbrunswick Can.
Junior Member
Joined: 03-17-05
Posts: 499
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From: Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Although "The Absorber" looks interesting, my Waffle Weave Microfiber Drying Towel has always lifted every last drop of water off my car without scratching, so I have no reason to get one.
Between air blasting the water, my WW MF towel, and some QD, I can get it spotless with no water spots in a very short amount of time.
Between air blasting the water, my WW MF towel, and some QD, I can get it spotless with no water spots in a very short amount of time.
New Member
Joined: 06-30-06
Posts: 63
Likes: 0
From: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Although "The Absorber" looks interesting, my Waffle Weave Microfiber Drying Towel has always lifted every last drop of water off my car without scratching, so I have no reason to get one.
Between air blasting the water, my WW MF towel, and some QD, I can get it spotless with no water spots in a very short amount of time.
Between air blasting the water, my WW MF towel, and some QD, I can get it spotless with no water spots in a very short amount of time.
Junior Member
Joined: 03-17-05
Posts: 499
Likes: 0
From: Windsor, Ontario, Canada
The less time you have to spend creating friction between the paint and another object, like a drying towel, the less chance you have of swirls. Especially using the blot dry method. Your just placing the towel on the surface, allowing it to absorb the water, then lifting it off. By not actually dragging a towel across the surface, you have little to no chance of inducing any kind of marring.
That's another reason I love drying with the leaf blower. Besides the obvious advantage of being able to blast water out of those crevices that seem to store water long after you've dried, it gets the car damn near dry all by itself. That way, the blot method with the WW MF doesn't take you longer than a couple minutes.
Between waxes, I've been using Prima's Hydro, which is a wax-as-you-dry product. So after a wash, I just spritz that onto the paint, then go to it with the WW MF. Comes out looking deep and wet, and is a great way to keep the depth and reflection up between wax sessions.