Whats the deal with Drying?

[the caveman]

I know that most people use a big microfiber or pressurized air to dry their cars but whats really wrong with using a squeegee on windows and The Absorber on paint. Or is there nothing wrong with it and its all preference. Any feedback would be great. thanks

[Beemerboy]

Caveman

Its really preference I use terry towels and some here sear by MF only. As long as the car and the towels are really clean you should have no problems

[probegt]

Yes it is a personal preference. The favorite thing is still my Absorber and I havent had any problems with it. I personally cannot get the WW method down.

[joyriide1113]

well they say that using the absorber is good and all but what happens is that there might still be come dirt or other grime in the rinse water and the absorber instead of catching and locking it like a microfiber would, would just slide it across the paint... i havent used a WAFFLEWEAVE towel yet but i have used a plush microfiber drying towel that i found in target... all i can say is that my drying time was cut in half and it didnt leave little water streaks. i highly suggest u get one or even better a waffleweave. that way even drying the car is easy and pleasureable. ii know a lot of people dislike having to dry the car.


a good way to use the waffle weave/ microfiber towel is to take off the spray nozzle from the hose and let it run freely over the car. that way most of the water catches it self and runs down the paint hense making drying even quicker... i assume one waffleweave could do a whole car. the most anyone should need is 2 and thats if u`re drying an excursion...

[joyriide1113]

well they say that using the absorber is good and all but what happens is that there might still be come dirt or other grime in the rinse water and the absorber instead of catching and locking it like a microfiber would, would just slide it across the paint... i havent used a WAFFLEWEAVE towel yet but i have used a plush microfiber drying towel that i found in target... all i can say is that my drying time was cut in half and it didnt leave little water streaks. i highly suggest u get one or even better a waffleweave. that way even drying the car is easy and pleasureable. ii know a lot of people dislike having to dry the car.


a good way to use the waffle weave/ microfiber towel is to take off the spray nozzle from the hose and let it run freely over the car. that way most of the water catches it self and runs down the paint hense making drying even quicker... i assume one waffleweave could do a whole car. the most anyone should need is 2 and thats if u`re drying an excursion...

[00GREENMACHINE]

Yes it is a personal preference. The favorite thing is still my Absorber and I havent had any problems with it. I personally cannot get the WW method down.

x2.

I love mine. I bought a nice WW blue to dry and I ended up using it to clean door jams

[CharlesW]

One thing that is very important and seems to never be mentioned.
Be sure your car is clean before you start drying it. If your MF, Absorber, or cotton terry towel gets dirty when you are drying the car, you didn`t have the car clean when you stopped washing it.
If my vehicles are really dirty, I have been known to wash & rinse them, then mix up a fresh bucket of shampoo & water and do it again. It only takes one area of dirt that you miss to mess up your paint because you picked it up on whatever you are using to dry the car.

Charles

[tguil]

Charles,

Whenever I start to feel overly obsessive compulsive about having a clean vehicle, all I have to do is to read one of your posts and I know that I am not alone. :beer (root beer of course)

Tom :cool

[CharlesW]

Charles,

Whenever I start to feel overly obsessive compulsive about having a clean vehicle, all I have to do is to read one of your posts and I know that I am not alone. :beer (root beer of course)

Tom :cool

Tom:
I can`t even imagine what it must be like with a 10 mile gravel commute. My wife`s Grand Prix has been on a gravel road once for about 300 feet at about 2 mph. My worst day ever of cleaning my car, I washed the same vehicle 4 times. Washed it, got hit with a sprinkler, washed it again. splashed from a puddle of water that another car went through, washed it again, got covered with gravel dust from a construction zone, washed it again and put the dam thing in the garage.

Charles

[JaredPointer]

Another vote for personal choice. I have tried the waffle weaves and was not very impressed. I use my WW`s for other things now. I really like the big blue MF towel from PAC to dry with, and oddly enough, a big blue MF from Wal-Mart does a fine job too. Charles is right about it being clean. No matter what you use to dry, if you get grit in the towel it will marr. Just take your time and use some common sense and you should be okay.

[dalmore]

I`m a minority here - I use a CCB and follow up with a blower for the leftovers. Again the trick to mar free drying seems to be to start with a clean car and a clean dryer - be that absorber, blade, MF, WW or chamios ...

[Bill D]

Clean, soft and absorbant drying media helps most. I even QD the finish right before blotting it dry as added measure against marring.

[kimwallace]

One thing that is very important and seems to never be mentioned.
Be sure your car is clean before you start drying it. If your MF, Absorber, or cotton terry towel gets dirty when you are drying the car, you didn`t have the car clean when you stopped washing it.
If my vehicles are really dirty, I have been known to wash & rinse them, then mix up a fresh bucket of shampoo & water and do it again. It only takes one area of dirt that you miss to mess up your paint because you picked it up on whatever you are using to dry the car.

Charles

Be careful when blowing off the car, you might be blowing dirt from the cracks

[Thomas Dekany]

a good way to use the waffle weave/ microfiber towel is to take off the spray nozzle from the hose and let it run freely over the car. that way most of the water catches it self and runs down the paint hense making drying even quicker... i assume one waffleweave could do a whole car. the most anyone should need is 2 and thats if u`re drying an excursion...

I will say that having 3 layers of Natty`s on my girlfriend`s Sienna and a layer of #16.... even after alot of snow and what have you I washed the car 2 days ago. Hasn`t been washed since before Xmas. Rinsed with the nozzle on and I tell you that 90% of the water was gone. There was hardly any water to dry off. Hope my post helps you.

PS: I was an absorber user but once I tried the WW big towel, I never used the absorber again. Dry a minivan and there is nothing to wring out. - saves time too.

[togwt]

It is very much a matter of personal choice( a doctor will diagnose an illness and numerous other doctor’s will advise a very different but effective treatment for it)


1. Chamois Leather:
Genuine chamois leather is a unique and natural product, which is extremely soft, flexible, and absorbent
Typically chamois leather is used to dry off surfaces after washing; this is due to the absorbency and softness of the leather, the particles are held within the hollow fibre of the leather, eliminating abrasion. The chamois needs to be damp, but not wet to work, it is made by splitting the skin into two pieces; the selected sheepskins are 100% cod oil tanned to give the luxurious, golden, soft finish that can absorb six times its weight of water.

A Microfiber chamois (woven in a very similar texture) is a machine washable alternative that you don`t have to soak before use and it releases dirt, brake dust and stains much easier that natural chamois (Groit`s Microfiber Synthetic Chamois) doesn`t dry hard, is very absorbent, easier to wring out and it will not `shed` and lasts longer and is less expensive than its natural counterpart.

The inherent problem of any flat weave drying towel; is that it breaks the surface tension to ‘lift’ the water from the surface along with any protective wax

Modem synthetic materials have gained ground and the use of chamois is being replaced by Microfiber waffle weave technology as they hold more water (approx. 5 times more water, therefore require wringing out less often) and will not `pull` wax from a paint surface as the ‘dimpled ‘pattern of the towel allows air pockets that do not allow ‘lift’ like a flat towel surface

2. Water Blade:
The best-known brand (The Original California Water Blade) is made of medical-grade silicone so it should not scratch. It can be used to remove water without causing scratches by applying very little surface pressure with the blade, wiping with long strokes in one direction only. If there is any grit left on the car after washing, the blade may pick it up and drag it across the paint, much the same as a towel would, this can be avoided by wiping the blade with a clean damp towel after every pass.


The water blade should be protected when not in use. If it is crushed in storage, the edge may take a set and leave a stripe of water on the car, the water blade comes with a protective plastic case, use it for blade storage.

Like any tool, the water blade does require a little bit of technique and practice. The first few times I used mine, it tended to chatter on the surface, resulting in incomplete drying. It turns out this is eliminated by using just the right angle and pressure on the blade. Smoothness can also be affected by the surface condition of the paint (wax, sealant oxidation, etc.) and any coating that might be on the water blade itself.

Caution: do not use- a water blade to remove rainwater as there could be road grit on the paint surface or the rain may contain impurities that could scratch the paint.

3. Drying a Vehicle using water:
•Use a low-pressure, high volume water flow to `break` the surface tension of the water laying on the paint surface with the Ultimate Nozzle™ (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 24" x 30"waffle weave towel (Sonus Der Wunder Drying Towel) by pulling it 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
•Dry doorjambs, sill area, seams and crevices of hood and trunk with a Waffle Weave towel

JonM