A few people here have asked me to post about the AirWand, beyond my usual "I love it, buy one."

The AirWand is used to dry objects--including vehicles. It`s basically a hose-and-nozzle combination and a shoulder strap, both of which can be attached to a variety of electric leaf blowers.

For general information on the AirWand, do an Internet search on The New AirWand or go to the eponymous dot com. The following will assume a basic knowledge of the AirWand, which is readily gleaned from the website.

My AirWand came complete with a leaf blower (Weedeater 2595, rated at 12amp, 195mph) as a "Complete System"; it is now apparently sold without one. As best I can tell, it now includes only the AirWand nozzle, a flexible hose with plastic fittings, and a shoulder strap with "D"-rings. Compatible leaf blowers are listed at the website.

Short Version: Highly recommended but with certain caveats, some of critical importance.

I do not recommend using the AirWand before addressing the most serious of its shortcomings, which are described below. Fortunately, the fixes are easy.


Shortcomings and Solutions:

- The AirWand Nozzle

This is a minor problem.

The nozzle is two pieces of plastic joined together. The two halves fit together imprecisely, with one side or the other standing proud of the seam at various points. Some of the raised areas are sharp enough to be uncomfortable to hold.

I filed the seam flat and followed up with some sandpaper. Quick, easy, ugly, and comfortable. I recommend smoothing the entire seam, even the small area on the bottom of the nozzle upstream of the air outlet, as I seldom hold the AirWand by the nozzle`s handle in the seemingly obvious manner.

Also, note that the protective fabric surrounding the air output is coarse enough to mar automotive paint and should not be allowed to touch the vehicle being dried. There is no need to get too close to the vehicle, as an appropriately powerful leaf blower will get the water off from a few inches away.

The remaining shortcomings are of far greater significance but can be easily rectified through the use of self-amalgamating tape. I`m currently using F4 Tape, which performs better than the others I have tried.

- D-Rings for Shoulder Strap

The D-Rings can easily be deformed in the course of normal use. This can result in their detaching from the leaf blower, allowing it to fall free.

After struggling with rebending the rings a few times, I wrapped each of them with the F4 Tape, using a figure-8 pattern, at the points where they enter the handle of the leaf blower. Although the tape prevents the rings from pivoting, I have not found that to be a problem.

- Hose`s Connections to its Fittings

The hose attaches to a swiveling fitting at the nozzle and a fixed fitting that attaches to the leaf blower.

These fittings attach to the leaf blower and the AirWand nozzle quite securely, through friction and molded ridges that enhance the security of the connection. To maintain this secure connection, I do not recommend frequent removal of the nozzle from the hose`s swivel fitting nor of the fixed fitting from the leaf blower. I do recommend checking these connections regularly just to be on the safe side.

Unfortunately, the hose itself can detach from these fittings, posing a potentially critical threat as the uncontrolled hose could strike whatever`s being dried.

The hose attaches to its fittings by being threaded into them. Although seemingly secure, with the rigors of use these connections, especially at the nozzle, can fail and/or the hose itself can wear out in the areas where it is frequently flexed.

I found that once the hose detaches from its fittings, it will not reliably reattach; I was never able to reattach the hose, or a attach new one, to those fittings in a secure manner (which certainly surprised me). A worn hose can sometimes be patched with the F4 Tape, but I`d try that only if the worn-through areas are small, and at that time I would purchase a replacement hose, keeping the original one as a spare.

(Note that replacement hoses, with the fittings in place, are available as spare parts from the AirWand website. In a pinch, a short-term fix can be effected by using an appropriately sized hose from a Shop Vacuum, but this should be considered a very temporary solution.)

I secured the hose at both connection points by wrapping the junction points with the F4 Tape. Since doing so, I have experienced no more detachments, and I expect this to have permanently solved the problem, although the hose will undoubtedly wear out at some point and require another replacement. Wrapped properly, the plastic fitting at the nozzle end will still swivel to allow easy manipulation.

If desired, removing the tape from the hose fittings is readily accomplished since the self-amalgamating tape adheres to itself rather than the equipment.


Usage:

While how to hold and use it might seem intuitively obvious, I found that there is a learning curve for developing the optimal technique. I refined my technique over the course of numerous washes, and I do many minor things differently depending on what vehicle I`m drying.

I seldom hold the nozzle by the handle like a suitcase, preferring to either hold the body of the nozzle directly or to hook my thumb around one of the handle`s uprights, as I find this is more comfortable and gives me greater control. I adjust my grip almost constantly when drying some vehicles.

To concentrate the flow of air for sideview mirrors, seams, wheels, and other areas that require stronger airflow, or when I wish to limit where the air goes, I cover a portion of the output slot with my free hand and forearm.

The AirWand is excellent for drying large panels, but even when covering the nozzle as described, I still find I need to use the air compressor to thoroughly dry certain areas.

I do not try to blow all the water off, merely about 85%. I found that it`s easy to waste time trying to blow more off as opposed to using a drying towel to get what`s left, which will be required anyway if complete drying is desired.

I find the AirWand works best on a hydrophobic (e.g., LSPed) surface where it will remove most of the water through displacement, i.e., blowing it off the panel being dried onto an adjacent panel or, preferably, completely off the vehicle. On a less hydrophobic surface it seems that a greater portion of the drying is accomplished through evaporation, which could pose problems depending on the nature of the surface and the quality of the water. I would be especially careful when drying tap water on surfaces that are hydrophilic, textured, or matte-finished, lest the evaporation result in waterspots.


Noise:

Some leaf blowers are quite loud, and hearing protection is probably advisable although I don`t use it.


Customer Service:

Akram is a good, honest person, but he isn`t always prompt about checking either his website`s orders or his email. I have twice required that the payment service I used contact him to get a response, so I recommend using a payment service that can assist with such matters.

Once he realizes that the order has been placed, he does promptly ship the products, accompanied by such profuse apologies that I found it easy to forgive him.


Final Thoughts:

Modified as described, and used properly, I find the AirWand to be a wonderful tool, and I never dry a vehicle without using it as the first step. I wish that the Autopia Store or some affiliated vendor would sell them, or that somebody would offer a truly optimal version of the basic design.