The PERFECT Drying technique

carguy · 12-03-01, 08:53

I started this as a reply to the "MF vs. Chamois" thread but decided it was important enough to warrant its own thread. Guys - I believe I have come up with the absolute best drying method, which has evolved over time and I've tried a lot of stuff. I've only gotten this far recently, but I've tried it now 3 times and I am absolutely convinced it is "right".

Premise: I think we all agree that rubbing of any sort is the enemy, so the goal must be maximum drying with minimum rubbing. (And of course it goes without saying that you better have done a good job washing in the first place - we don't want to be rubbing dirt around on the paint!)

Observation: Nothing completely dries with minimal swipes and no scratching better than a MF towel. However MF towels load up with water pretty quick and don't work well once they're very wet. Which leads me to:

The Technique: First thing is to get MOST of the water off without touching the car. I've tried driving it, leaf blowers, air compressors, you name it - but frankly, low-pressure, high volume water is easiest and perfectly sufficient. Take the nozzle off the hose. Let it pour over the top. You will see the water sheet off. Move the hose down to "feed" the sheet as it flows down the car - this will keep the sheet wide and it will carry away more water that way. (i.e., feed the wet part, not the dry part.) This gets rid of about 90% of the water.

The remaining 10% is still enough to soak a MF towel - so - take a nice absorbent terry towel in one hand and your MF towel in the other. BLOT - do not rub - with the terry towel. This gets rid of all the remaining drops and leaves only a little moisture behind. One wipe with the MF in your other hand- voila! A perfectly dry car, wiped ONLY with MF, only one pass per area. A single terry and a single MF are more than sufficient.

PLEASE TRY THIS!!! If you can come up with anything better I want to know it.

Likecars · 12-03-01, 09:02

I'm with you carguy.

For the last month I have been removing the nozzle to sheet the water off. I picked up a 28x36 MF towel this weekend which has plenty of room to absorb what little water remained. I am able to cut out the middle man(terry towel) now.

LC

Ng Luder · 12-03-01, 09:27

my own method that ive been using for a long time is very similar to urs carguy. i use the water flow method to sheet practically 95% of the water first. but instead of a normal towel, i use y absorber. i just let it lie flat on the paint and then pick it back up the same way i let it down. that absorbs practically all the water thats left. one more final pass with the MF towel and ur set

FLONI · 12-03-01, 09:29

u da man...the part about blotting the parts that left over...and following with an MF.....thats the best of both worlds...i love it...the absorbent terry soaks it up(but no damge cause no rubbing)...then you can go right onto the MF....also very smart is the following the stream downward(feeding it)..like u said....smart dood...this could become the wave of the future....puter...cancel your WB order...

ill give it a try this w/e....thx

Guess My Name · 12-03-01, 10:05

Something you could add would be to park it at a pretty big angle to help the sheeting action.

I have use the method you proposed by I still use the leaf blower. My freaking hood is too big to get it too sheet in one rinse so I tend to get some big drops around. Plus I like to blow out them areas prown to drips. Also the panels covering my bed are a bumpy plastic which does not sheet for crap.

So I basically use the method you described with the follow changes:

After sheeting I blow dry with large, loud, gas powered leaf blower!!!! I like that part kinda fun plus people think I am strange anyway.

Then I use my absorber or a few MFs for blotting.

Other than that pretty much the same.

Oh yeah I do use the Cali Water blade on the windows after the blow dry. Kinda quickly gets them dry before they can spot.

carguy · 12-03-01, 10:10

Guess my name - I can see where you need the blower for a truck!

also - I too use a CWB for my windows.

Intermezzo · 12-03-01, 10:25

Hey, thanks for sharing that bit of info. I think I'll try it out.

I think that is how BradB dries his car, except he uses the Water Bandit to blot out the water and then the final pass with MF. Not sure though.

ZV · 12-03-01, 10:26

not one product seems to be "perfect", a combination seems to be the way to go. I love cotton and have not found any one product that beats it yet, but that combo seems to work good.
The sythetic towels are so hard to manipulate and leaves streaks, so I don't use mine much. Good job.

Intermezzo · 12-03-01, 10:35

One thing I might add is to use a little bit of QD on your final pass with the MT to reduce swirls even more.

darbh · 12-03-01, 11:07

Sheeting is a proven and accepted technique. Like Guess My Name, I sheet and then use a blower. The only thing left on the paint is occasional very small specks of water. These can be blotted away with a towel.

Carguys concern was rubbing the paint, which is a correct concern. The above approach results in the least paint rubbing of any method I know.

carguy · 12-04-01, 01:00

Intermezzo - yes - after the car is dry I often QD the whole thing.

darbh - next time try the terry instead of the blower. Since you're just pressing/lifting, you don't scratch the car. It is also more "environmentally friendly". But either way - we all seem to be in agreement here.

ZV - you said "The sythetic towels are so hard to manipulate and leaves streaks" - this has not been my experience at all. There ARE el-cheapo towels. Get yourself at least one Meguiar's Ultimate Wipe (sorry - haven't personally tested the varieties available here at CMA - I'm sure someone can recommend them). But the Ultimate Wipe is the best thing I have ever used, bar none, at being EASY to use and NOT leaving any streaks. I actually don't dry with these 'cuz they're a little small - I use a thicker MF drying towel. I use the uw's for all QD'ing and buffing-out operations. I think several vendors carry it - I know Griot's carries it as item 11117A.

Ng Luder · 12-04-01, 01:04

carguy, can u send me a link to where to get the Meguiars UWs? also, are they basically another brand of MF towel? how does it compare to say the Ultimate towel or neatitems?