The PERFECT Drying technique

My favorite method is to spray ProActive (prowax.com) detailer on top of the water beads. It flattens them out and most of the water runs off. I use a waffle microfiber to finish the rest. Its real easy and you QD at the same time. ProActive leaves a real nice finish.
 
...well sort of and it does work. I give the car a good wash and then use a low pressure, high volume water to sheet off the shampoo. It really does amaze me by how much water it gets rid of. After that, I just blot off the remaining water beads with Autoglym's Aqua Dry Synthetic Leather Chamois.



I have to take extra care to dry the car as quick as possible so as not to leave behind water spots.



And BTW, thanks for the drying technique tip, carguy. :up
 
Hey folks, great subject and wonderful input.



My process is in the wash itself. On those vehicles with grit and grime from a recent rain I always wash WITH a flow of water. Add a few drops of cooking oil to my water and soap and this helps to capture and rinse away the grit.



I discovered by accident the advantage of a "flowing" rinse one day when I also accidentally ran over my hose nozzle. The client came out and saw me doing the final rinse and was amazed at how quickly the car dried "itself" and gave me a "Man, you are awesome, where did you learn that trick from?" I didn't have the heart to tell him......"Uh....just now when in my stupidity I ran over my nozzle!":D



The final rinse is followed up with an electric, not gas powered, leaf blower. The gas powered is too loud and I fear gas and oil leaking on the car. The electric is enviro friendly and I can twist and turn it without fear of dripping gas on the car.



All that's left is a few drips that can be, as Car Guy said, blotted up.



Anthony
 
I recently purchased an interior dryer from Top of the Line to dry the interior of vehicles. But I have found another use for it also. I use it to dry the vehicle after I wash it. It dries it quickly and you have very few water spots left. All I have to do is dry the windows and I am done. I have found that it serves two purposes both inside and outside of the car.
 
So if I use the ''sheeting'' method, should I go straight to a leaf blower and then finish small spots with a MF waffle Weave? The part I hate most about washing a car is drying so this sounds good. By the time I'm done doing Carguys method then the other parts of the car will have water spots. It's just to tough to do all this before water spots dry onto the car's surface especially on a car that hasn't been waxed.
 
Infamous,



use this method (I :up it). Try do it not in direct sunlight, better when the su is setting, this way you will not get any water spots. I also qd after a wash to revitalize the paint and prevent any water spots that exist.
 
I just washed my car today. I don't know how much longer I can do it! I have absolutely NO choice but to clean in direct sunlight OR when the sun is setting (have to be quick before it gets dark). We're on well water (with a water softener), and the water spots appear before I'm done drying the car. I *was* drying the car with a chamois, but there is too much rubbing for my liking (that and I have to work the water spots out as I'm cleaning. On bad days, the side of the car will dry before I have a chance to dry it out, leaving it looking worse than before I cleaned it).



Here is my method:

Light pressure wash prior to cleaing (and to get around wheel wells/wheels)

Chamois Dry

QD (Zaino/Meguir)



I'm really starting to get disgouraged (sp). What can I do, besides the above, to improve my problem? I only have the small MF from Meguir's and have NO idea where I can purchase larger MF towels locally (Ottawa, Canada).
 
Konowl, I have similar concerns. Because I'm thorough (i.e., slow as molasses!) I have to take special care to avoid the waterspot problem. So, throughout the hour or more that it takes me to wash, I keep hosing down the entire car. Also, picking up on a thread here, I spritz her with distilled water before the final drying.



For drying, I'm using the big waffleweave. It's a dream! :up
 
:welcome, acura_honda. For some of these basic questions, the search engine will be very useful for you.



I did a simple search: "CWB OR blade" and came up with lots and lots of relevant threads. As you'll see, this subject has been talked to death on Autopia, and there's still no consensus. These three threads might be good for starters:

http://www.autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=22827&highlight=CWB+OR+blade



http://www.autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=22439&highlight=CWB+OR+blade



http://www.autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=19545&highlight=CWB+OR+blade
 
YES. Do NOT use the California Water Blade or similar on the body. It's only a matter of time before you put nice big scratches into the paint.



They're great for glass, though.
 
I have hard water and always get spots no matter how quickly I dry. Obviously, I can't wash in the garage, and the sun hits in front of the garage by 10:00 AM. A leaf blower helps. Also, ONR has been a real eye opener because it seems to soften the water and leaves the paint so smooth.



Although the leaf blower helps, I bought an "Air Wand" nozzle on eBay and have found that the thin, long nozzle stream really makes the leaf blower twice as easy to work with; skims the water droplets off so nice. Leaves very little buffing to complete the job.





airwand.jpg




Jim
 
jaymz- Yeah, I really like the AirWand, but there's a bit of a learning curve to it IMO and I'd sure *NEVER* let that "MF strip" touch my paint.



Holding your free hand over part of the opening is a good way to concentrate the airflow.
 
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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