The PERFECT Drying technique question

[schneider325]

i have read this and I have a question.



He says to use a regular terry cloth to blot and a MF to wipe.



Well im kinda confused...what is a terry towel? I mean some times i see that its a terry towel but in the discription it metions that it is a MF towel? whats the difference



ok im going to get the

concord buffing towel

ultimite drying towel

ultimite detailing towel



now would i use the drying towel for bloting and the detailing towel for wiping the rest dry?



thanks!

[SVR]

Well I tryed that method tonight but disliked the blotting. I am going to stick to removing most of the sheeted water with one of my terry towels and then do the final drying with my Aquatouch tricot ultra MF drying cloth. Worked fantastically well today. Man these things suck up water. Have ordered another couple tonight

[Accumulator]

schneider325- It`s been a while since I read the "Perfect Drying Technique", so please excuse if this isn`t the answer you`re looking for. From what you`ve posted, it *does* sound a little confusing. Here`s what I do and my thoughts on drying in general:



I blot with a Waffle Weave MF (WW) and usually follow up with *very gentle* wiping. Yeah, I sometimes think I oughta do it all by blotting, but that`s just not what I end up doing.



I`ve found that "plush" MFs don`t absorb all the water, certainly not as much as WWs. But even WWs often leave a tiny bit of water after the first pass. I`ll follow up (to get *all* the water) with either another WW or (less often) a 100% cotton towel (usually a Charisma).



You can cut down on the effort a little by just laying the WW on the horizontal panels and letting gravity do the blotting, but this will leave a lot of water behind so maybe it`ll be worth it to try and maybe it won`t.



You can use a 100% cotton terrycloth towel if it`s soft enough that it won`t mar your paint. Once the car has been washed and rinsed, it *should* be clean, so the only issues are a) is the towel softer than your paint and b) is the towel absorbent enough to get all the water off the paint. FWIW, some would argue that hardly *any* towel will really be so soft that it won`t mar if you rub too hard, but if you have your LSP on there it will provide a sacrificial layer between the towel and the paint anyhow.



I`ve found that WWs absorb the best of all MF towels, but all WWs are not created equal. Some (like the gray ones from Ian at MicroFiberTech) are a LOT softer than others, especially after they`ve been used a few times.



Again, this is a bit far afield from your inquiry, hope it was of some use.

[chris0626]

First, this caveat: Listen to Accumulator before you listen to me. That guy has lots more experience, and he scores a Perfect 10 on Autopia`s scale of Anal Detailers. :D In short, he has my ultimate respect.



Like Accumulator, I haven`t read David`s "Perfect Drying Technique" for a while, but I`d be perplexed nowadays if he really says to use a "regular terry cloth to blot and a MF to wipe."



In Autopia terms a "regular terry cloth" is a high-grade 100% cotton, long-fibered cotton towel. And you`ll only find those at high-end department stores and linen stores. (Think $15 towels.)



I got very lucky when I got turned-onto Autopia. One of my first MF purchases was a waffle-weave drying towel from Microfiber Tech. It`s big, and awesomely absorbent. I can dry my entire Jag or Benz with it, and it leaves only a few droplets. I wipe those up with Autopia`s grey waffle-weave towel.



As I think Accumulator was saying, I just don`t find regular MFs to be satisfactory for drying. The waffle-weaves do a much better job for me. As he said, all WWs are not created equal.



And when I started reading here, I read that one should just "blot" the towel onto the car`s paint. I tried doing that -- honest I did. But it took forever, and it felt unnatural. Finally, I`ve come to the conclusion that IF (big "IF") your towel is soft enough, it`s ok to wipe the water off the car (moving in the direction that air moves past the car). That has saved me a lot of hassle.

[3Wheeler]

So is using a CWB totally out of the question when it comes to the Perfect Dry ?

[schneider325]

thanks ALOT guys! i just bought a bunch of towels from http://www.exceldetail.com/Index.html.



I bought the Gold kit plus...Excel Hemmed Edge 16x24 microfiber towel and the Excel Edgeless 16x16 microfiber



plus i bought the washmit there cause it looks to be the same thing as from autopia yet 2 bucks cheaper. lol



im going to try and do my final order tomorrow from autopia for all of my polishes i need and what not! my pads and a couple other things i got at PAC are coming in tomorrow yahoo

[schneider325]

Originally posted by 3Wheeler

So is using a CWB totally out of the question when it comes to the Perfect Shine ?



noo from the looks of it the CWB is the preferd towel for doing QD and final buffs.. since it is so expenice and what not.



am i correct?

[3Wheeler]

Hey Schneider325,



Thanks for the reply! :cool:



Unfortunately, you and I are at odds over the meaning of the acronym CWB. I think it stands for California Waterblade, a fancy squeegee for “scraping� water off cars.



On the other hand, here’s what you have to say about it:




Originally posted by schneider325

......from the looks of it the CWB is the preferd towel for doing QD and final buffs.......



Now what do we do? Hopefully there`s not some acronym bureaucracy outfit to get tangled up with, while we sort this thing out............ ;)

~3W

[chris0626]

Heh-heh-heh! :lol NOW we have you in our clutches.



Yep, there`s an acronym-dysfunction operating here.



The CWB is the California WaterBlade, essentially a squeegee. Some folks here use it. Me, I`ve tried it once, and would not let it touch my car EVER again.



The CBT is the Concours Buffing Towel, an awesome towel available from the Autopia store. Similar to DFTowel`s awesome towels. Try one -- please -- just so you`ll know what true luxury is.



-- We now return to our regularly-scheduled programming. --

[3Wheeler]

Hey Lynn,



May I ask what caused your aversion to the CWB? I`ll toss mine if there`s any question about it adversely affecting the car. :scared

~3W

[medic159]

Funny nobody has mentioned the good ol` leaf blower. I find using the leaf blower to get off 99% of the water, especially in thhose hard to reach places, then the remainder with a towel works best.

[togwt]

~One man’s opinion / observations ~



Drying a Vehicle using water:

·Use a low-pressure, high volume water flow with the Ultimate Nozzleâ„¢ (or if you prefer remove the nozzle) you will see the water ‘sheet’ off, move the hose down to "feed" the sheet as it flows down the panel, this will keep the ‘sheet’ wide and it will carry away more water.

·The remaining water can be removed using a 16� x 26� Autopia Ultimate Detailing (waffle weave) Towel, pull the towel gently across the panel or using a blotting motion, do not rub This gets rid of all the remaining drops and leaves only a little moisture, which can be removed with the towel.

·Use the blow side of a vacuum cleaner to remove water from crevices, wing mirrors, license plates, etc

·Use a water blade to remove water from glass surfaces ( * I * won’t use a water blade on a paint film surface only on glass)

·Dry doorjambs, sill area, seams and crevices of hood and trunk with a 16� x 24� Waffle Weave towel



~Hope this helps~



Experience unshared; is knowledge wasted…/ Jon

justadumbarchitect * so I question everything *

[Glossequation]

Originally posted by 3Wheeler

So is using a CWB totally out of the question when it comes to the Perfect Dry ?



Not at all--



1. Wash

2. Rinse

3. CWB

4. Leaf Blower for the rest (including door handles, windows, etc.)

5. Finish with 100% cotton towel.



The perfect dry is subjective, as is evident by SVR`s discontent with part of the technique and others who have probably found it does not work for them. Find something that works and stick with it.



I lost my CWB last week and I hated drying my Denali without it, too much time.



p.s.--the leaf blower works GREAT for wheels and tires too.

[Pstone]

IMO . . . I love using a CWB (Cal. water blade). I use the Cal. Dry Blade actually (about $10 at Pep Boys) Same as the CWB, but only smaller. I have two dark Saab 9-5`s a blue and a black. I see no marks left behind from using a water blade first to remove 98% of the water and I follow up with a large Waffle Weave drying towel for the last remaining drops. Other wise the WW would be sopping wet for the second car. There is so little water remaining on the WW drying towel after both cars that I can just open the WW up somewhat and lay it out in the trunk to dry.

That being said, of course I would only use it after the car is washed and it already has a good coat of wax.

With this method I just put both cars in a row and it takes me 10 min. to wash and dry two cars including spraying the wheels with "McGuires Hot Wheels wheel cleaner and a wheel brush lightly used (the small one for wheels about $4.00 (great stuff, makes all the difference with the wheels clean). I actually look forward to doing them. I also use the California Duster between washings, almost daily each morning to remove any road dust and pollen and do an occassional QD. The Duster is a must have for me, best invention yet for keeping that just washed, pristine look.

Good Luck

Paul

[NJwrbT-WRX]

I use the CWB and get the rest with a Magic Towel or a blue Viper MF.



I feel funny about the CWB sometimes, but I love how easy it is, and cannot really see any reason to stop using it.



-joe