Absorber - Your thoughts??

MuttGrunt said:
Very nicely stated. I believe the absorber to be VERY good. That being said, I recommend everyone to take a look at the pros and cons of anything.

I wash my mitts / mfs very well and inspect them after drying to make sure there's nothing stuck to them that I can see with the naked eye. I then use them to gently wash my car. Even still, and despite my best efforts, I'll still get RIDS - not so much as super-swirls. Absorber or not. Waffle weave or not. Shag style mf or not. MF Mitt or not. Lambs wool mitt or not. I always feel better knowing I'm doing all I can in prevention, and would rather have a clean car withs RIDS than a dirty car that has perfect paint.



besides... 3M ultrafina is my friend :)
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Wow you get RIDS by washing. You must be using a scrub sponge. All joking aside, you may be getting slight marring, but not RIDS as careful as you are.
 
i am still using both absorber and WW.

No issues so far. Absorber does absorb more water compared to WW.

Still...can't live without both:bigups
 
I feel like such a slacker after reading this! I barely have time to wash my cars and dry them once, let alone two or three times!



What does wiping the car do that blotting can't?



Unfortunately, I have to wash my cars outside in the wind and sun, so when I do get some spotting, I am able to remove it by gently following up with Z-6.
 
Legacy99 said:
Wow you get RIDS by washing. You must be using a scrub sponge. All joking aside, you may be getting slight marring, but not RIDS as careful as you are.
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Oh no - I'd like to think I get RIDS over anything else as thats just a few stray marks. I'm not saying I make deep RIDS - but they are in fact more like RIDS than swirls as they follow no pattern, are isolated marks, and are deep enough to be seen (while shallow enough to easily remove by refining). Maybe they're more like RIS :chuckle:
 
David Fermani said:
I think when people(mainstream America) think of Chamois they think of the old school deer skin ones. Those things were terrible. They'd leave streaks, an oily film and would dry out and crack apart. The Absorber is head and shoulders better IMHO...
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Thanks for explaining, I think you've jogged my memory a bit.



Noting that it's been forever since I last used one, my best real chamois (John Bull brnad) didn't cause the same issues that my cheaper ones did; no streaking or film. But yeah...now that you mention it they *did* leave more residual water than the Absorber (though even those leave some IME).





Accumulator - Are their any RIDS on any of your vehicles with how careful you are with your system?
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[expletive]...are you kidding?!? :chuckle: Sure, most/?all? of my vehicles have *SOME* wash-induced marring, at least after a year or two of washes. But the ones I *really* take care of are mighty close to 100% (too-deep RIDS, not from washing but rather rocks/etc., excepted) ; you wouldn't spot anything unless you a) really knew how to look, and b) had the right facilities for a truly rigorous inspection. While they'd benefit from a little burnishing, I haven't polished either the S8 or the daily-beater minivan (!) for well over a year and they'll still pass muster in any lighting. My other vehicles....well, they're still better than most concours cars I've seen. Only an Autopian would spot anything on them and it's not like they need redone every year or anything like that due to obvious flaws. I usually start spotting things after about two years or so, at which point normal people still can't see anything.



But yeah, I want to be perfectly clear that IMO it's literally *IMPOSSIBLE* to completely avoid wash-induced marring if you touch the vehicle. Somehow, some way, some time a little speck of something is gonna get pressed against the paint and moved. Just because you spend forever doing a wash with some insanely involved system (yeah, I mean me ;) ), that doesn't mean it'll never happen. Gimme a half-hour hour with any car, in my shop, and I'll find some spot(s) where there was an "oops". Heh heh, just ask ebpcivicsi, whose work I consider truly exemplary.



And *using* a vehicle...eh...with people/dogs/life happening every day, it's really hard to never have anything bad happen.



buffer barry said:
I'm so glad I knew how to detail a car long before I came to Autopia you guys make this so darn confusing.
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:spit: Wooh-hooh, that's great!! Ain't that the truth?!?



Heh heh, you'd look at my wash regimen about the same way I'd look at your "let's get out the sandpaper", but for different, maybe even oposite, reasons of course :D :hifive:



You and I have gotta get together some time so we can tell each other how crazy we are ;)
 
I used to use the Absorber, but once I tried a waffle-weave towel, I was sold on that. Softer, and plenty of absorbency.
 
Well I'm still pretty new to this but I flush, then use a Guzzler ww towel and I couldn't wring it out if I wanted to, there's not enough water in it after doing the whole car.
 
I used an Absorber for years until I tried the Water Sprite. I was sold. It works much the same way as the Absorber but absorbs better, and never any marring. They call it a synthetic but the best way I can describe it is that it seems to be part natural chamois and part Absorber. Kind of like a blend of both. The absorber will last longer, though.
 
mborner- Yeah, there are some subtle diffs between the various "rubber chamois". I've used different ones but to be honest I can't recall the diffs/my preference right off-hand :o



Griot's (smooth and textured), Water Sprite, Water Bandit, Absorber, Sensei Sport Towel, eh...I forget if there were any others :think:
 
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