The california Jelly

[absoluteczech]

If properly used and cleaned can this cause scatches or harm the paint in anyway? im a bit uneasy about it, does anyone or has anyone used it?

[Brace1]

The general consensus is to stay away from it. Any grain of sand can easily be dragged across the paint and create a major scratch (a few posts attest to that). They`re great for glass though.

[Accumulator]

Yeah, that`s the (potential) problem with all such squeegees- something getting caught between the blade and the underlying surface can cause a scratch...and the likelihood that it`ll eventually happen is pretty much a near-certainty.



I wouldn`t want a scratch on my glass either; at least scratches in paint can usually be polished out.



But the blades themselves aren`t gonna scratch, so it`s not really deceptive advertising or anything like that. It`s just that nasty real-world-application that can cause problems ;)

[danforz]

+1 to the above...



If you care about marring, you`d probably rather have a MF WW running across your pain then rubber. If your really insane about marring, you could avoid rubbing anything across your paint (during the drying process) and use the blot method:



1. Sheet vehicle dry with weak to moderate flow from hose

2. Use power blower (if you have one... not really needed)

3. Blot left over beads of water on your vehicle

[absoluteczech]

thanks guys

[dheath]

Ive used it many times, including on my own black car. I haven`t seen any marring/scratching as a result.



It is safer to use other things (ie. WW), but honestly anything and everything can marr your paint. It really depends on how careful and thorough you are while operating it.

[BigAl3]

ww + mf/drying towel = :2thumbs:

[absoluteczech]

whats WW ?

[Accumulator]

whats WW ?



Waffle Weave MicroFiber (a type of microfiber towel made for drying).




but honestly anything and everything can marr your paint. It really depends on how careful and thorough you are while operating it.



Pardon my nit-picking, but it`s not like the various wash media can all mar in and of themselves, but rather that if dirt gets between them and the paint the *dirt* can cause marring ;)

[cshorey]

I noticed the reference to a "power blower" to dry a car. Are you referring to a particular product? Could you use an air compressor to aid in drying? or maybe the blow feature on a shop vac?



I have upgraded to a WW microfiber drying towel (used it this last weekend for the first time and was amazed at how well it worked. I can`t believed have I gone so long without one of these.



thanks,

chris

[Old Pirate]

The wonders of WW/MF towels, file 13 the jelly blade!

[Accumulator]

I noticed the reference to a "power blower" to dry a car. Are you referring to a particular product? Could you use an air compressor to aid in drying? or maybe the blow feature on a shop vac?



Shop vacs might have contamination issues as the output is "exhaust" from the vacuum and is rarely all that clean unless you`re using a HEPA filtration system.



Air compressors are great for blowing water out of nooks and crannies but are very inefficient at overall drying because their output is concentrated in a narrow stream (doing a whole sedan is a real PIA and it`s hard to work fast enough to avoid spotting).



Best is a dedicated unit, usually an electric leaf blower that`s never used for anything else. I have an AirWand attachment on mine and I really like it (but it took a while to get the hang of it, at first it seemed like just another gizmo with no real value).



But these methods only work well when you have a good healthy LSP that the water will run off of.

[absoluteczech]

oh i have a waffle weave i love it

[3puttjay]

Wal-mart has a 2 pack of WW MF`s in the houseware sections. It`s very economical at $3 for the pair. And if you sheet the water off with a hose (no nozzle) it should only take one towel to dry your car.

[dheath]

Pardon my nit-picking, but it`s not like the various wash media can all mar in and of themselves, but rather that if dirt gets between them and the paint the *dirt* can cause marring ;)





while we nit-pick, you can technically use anything to wash or dry your car and push so hard as to mar the paint (including a sheepskin mitt or a WW). My point was that most of the problems people have with swirls from washing and drying are a result of the user, and not so much the products.



Of course the product selection has to be within reason (ie. don`t dry your car with a boulder)