The PERFECT Drying technique

Bill D said:
With the rain season here, it sure seems like I'm using my Air Wand and mini blower every other day!. Got to take it easy when you first acquaint yourself with it. I'm still figuring out the perfect way to handle it, but coupled with the mini blower, it gets up to 90-95% of the water off the car. The rest you got to QD and dry with a WW.
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Any harm in doing that to a car that is wet and dirty after a rain? I guess it's no different than driving down the road with the wind blowing against it. I'll have to look into trying this
 
RedlineIRL said:
Any harm in doing that to a car that is wet and dirty after a rain? I guess it's no different than driving down the road with the wind blowing against it. I'll have to look into trying this
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It may seem counterintuitive, but you want to rinse down the wet-from-the rain car first, then dry it. I can do that in my garage, because I just squeegee away the excess on the floor, but one could pull up to the driveway, rinse down the car, while it's still in the rain, pull it in the garage, and then dry with the blowers. Also, the rain here is fairly clean. When I lived in NJ, maybe only part of the time at best, could I get away with doing this.



Not an option for someone without a garage or needs to keep the car outside all the time though, so it's only for special circumstances.
 
Accumulator said:
Especially if you use a CRS for the rinsing :D
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Certainly! I've had mine for a year, and wow, one of those must haves for the super enthusiast! It's worth it just for rinsing down house windows alone!
 
On sliding glass doors and high arch windows, it can seriously save your mental health. Usually I'm good just with the foam gun,a squeegee, the Air Wand and a few WWs, but the haze here can be so much of a nuisance, if you want clear house windows, especially in morning light, DI water is worth it.
 
I have been using showroomfx waffle weave mfs for the blotting part but I do more of gliding wipe. Then I go over the same area with the big yellow chemical guys plush drying towel to make sure it's dry that's my favorite combo
 
Bill D- Heh heh, living in a woods, and having the dogs...well, perfect house windows aren't on the program :o Couldn't even get to some without a boom or somesuch anyhow.



armenakadino said:
..Then I go over the same area with the big yellow chemical guys plush drying towel to make sure it's dry that's my favorite combo
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I've sometimes thought about trying some of the plush drying MFs, but I don't want to leave a tiny bit of water behind the way my other plush MFs tend to do.
 
My drying technique is to pour a couple of gallons of distilled/de-ionized water over the car, just enough to wash away the tap water. Then drive on the freeway for 2 miles. Can't get easier than that
 
jupiter said:
My drying technique is to pour a couple of gallons of distilled/de-ionized water over the car, just enough to wash away the tap water. Then drive on the freeway for 2 miles. Can't get easier than that
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Hey, I'm envious! My vehicles have soooo many nooks and crannies (that retain water, sometimes even dirty water) that I could never do that :(



Not to mention it'd take me many gallons and doing the roof of the SUV might be a challenge... Speaking of which, getting *all* the water out of that things roof rack rails is a huge PIA.
 
Have any of you put the air wand on a metro master blaster? Since I got that machine I haven't touched a wheel with a drying towel or had a drip come off a car. Door jams are almost instant too.







Click on the picture.



To the person who asked about water left behind the two bucket method, try using a grout sponge instead of a wash mitt and fill the sponge with as much water as it will hold, then start at the top and move the sponge slowly and see how much water you leave behind.



BTW, I cut a diamond pattern into my grout - hydrophilic - sponges. I lay the sponge on a flat surface then use a razor blade to slices into the sponge about three quarters of an inch apart and halfway through to create the diamond pattern. I use separate sponges for the top and bottom of the car.





Robert
 
WhyteWizard said:
Have any of you put the air wand on a metro master blaster? ..
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A few of us kicked that idea around once. IMO the Metro's hose won't flow enough (volume-wise) to be truly compatible with the AirWand, which has a pretty big hose-end opening (haven't measured it, but it's around 4").



Heh heh, I'm tempted to quip that if somebody can afford both the AirWand and the Metro, they can also afford the dedicated leafblower to go with the AirWand ;) Really, it's not all *that* pricey but that's just IMO and as I'm always saying, it's easy for me to spend your money.
 
The Metro can be viewed as kinda pricey but I can easily see a serious enthusiast rationalizing the purchase of both.



The Air Wand is more economical. The complete blower and Air Wand attachment is some of best ~$100 I've spend on detailing equipment. :xyxthumbs:
 
Bill D said:
..The complete blower and Air Wand attachment is some of best ~$100 I've spend on detailing equipment..
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You've had that a while now, and presumably give it a lot of use. Does the AirWand still attach to its hose securely? I had to replace mine (gee, I can't remember which parts I had to get :think: :confused: :nixweiss ) after they came undone in what could've been a disatrous manner.
 
Accumulator said:
You've had that a while now, and presumably give it a lot of use. Does the AirWand still attach to its hose securely? I had to replace mine (gee, I can't remember which parts I had to get :think: :confused: :nixweiss ) after they came undone in what could've been a disatrous manner.
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Yes, I've had for a while now and it gets regular use, even heavy use during the wet season here. Everything remains attached fine. I always remember to handle the unit lightly though, and that may be why everything is still staying put :nixweiss:
 
Accumulator said:
Speaking of which, getting *all* the water out of that things roof rack rails is a huge PIA.
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As a relative newbie to the SUV world I can second that. After my first wash I thought I was done and pulled it into the garage and thought I had gone through a waterfall as the water caught in the roof rack spilled out. You could hear the cursing in the next county!!! :(
 
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