Water Blade - Recommend? Yes/No?

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dr427

New member
I love the idea of the Water Blade, but I am hesitant to think the California water blade would be okay to use on a finish. It seems it could potentially harm or remove carnauba waxes and would drag residual dirt along. Where as microfiber seems to lift away any debris from the surface, BUT the blade would be a fast way to dry a car.



What is the truth behind these. Are they okay to use?



Anytime I see "As Seen on TV" I am VERRRYYYY leary!
 
I love my water blade. Its dirt that is going to scratch your car. If you didn't wash your car properly, or if you are just trying to squeegie the water off your car after a rain storm, then you are probably going to get scratches. The CWB itself won't scratch your car any worse than your mf towels or your wash mitts will. Its all in proper use of the product. I've been using the CWB for a few years and can't say that I've ever seen it cause any damage that I've noticed. That doesn't mean it hasn't caused any, it just means that I usually polish the car after I wash it anyway and wouldn't have long to notice it. 'Caution' is the key word when using any product. The truth is, any product can damage your car if used improperly or applied wrong.
 
I've found that if I keep my car waxed and polished that the water just sort of falls off anyway. The only time I've had to use it for the last while is on cars without any wax on them. That's why I say I have to polish them after I dry them anyway. There really is no better drying method than a good layer of wax and a waffel weave microfiber towel. Well, that and the 'Perfect Drying Technique" (search under those words). :xyxthumbs



Would you use the CWB on your Cavalier? Would you use the CCD on one of your cars then? ;)
 
Well couldn't be any more black and white if we tried!



I really don't like my generic absorber chamois, it clings to the paint so hard if there is any dirt on it its just going to tear up my paint. So I have been looking for an alternative too. I guess I'll just try to save up for one of those really big waffle weave MFs...
 
Jngrbrdman said:
Would you use the CWB on your Cavalier? Would you use the CCD on one of your cars then? ;)
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I may but I dont want to take any of the rust off of her:p









EDIT> I use a leaf blower and a MF to dry my cars, After the blower there is so little water on the paint it isnt funny, but then I use that crappy Z polish too:D
 
I took some paint off my spoiler using a CWB. You're supposed to be really careful and use very light pressure around edges. I guess I wasn't careful enough.



Anyhow, it won't touch my car again.



Invest in some of those $2 microfibers--heck of a deal.
 
atldave said:
I took some paint off my spoiler using a CWB. You're supposed to be really careful and use very light pressure around edges. I guess I wasn't careful enough.
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I have to seriously doubt that surgical grade silicone took any paint off your car. There had to be something else involved with that little problem. I wouldn't blame the CWB though. There is no way that blade could scrape paint off.
 
Linda (TaxLady) and I were tinkering with the idea of wrapping a water blade in MF, and using it that way. Might be onto something. But I prefer to use the BIG BLUE TOWEL from CMA.

I'll experiment with wrapping a CWB with MF this weekend.
 
jcattarulla said:
Linda (TaxLady) and I were tinkering with the idea of wrapping a water blade in MF, and using it that way. Might be onto something. But I prefer to use the BIG BLUE TOWEL from CMA.

I'll experiment with wrapping a CWB with MF this weekend.
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Er.. I think that would defeat the purpose of the CWB. ;)



I've never had a problem with mine... the only way I could see it doing any damage is:

A.) If you put the blade directly ontop of a piece of dirt and dragged it along the surface. This isn't an issue if you washed the car properly though. Any other dirt is suspended in the water being pushed ahead of the blade.



B.) You're careless and let the plastic handle hit the paint.
 
jcattarulla said:
Linda (TaxLady) and I were tinkering with the idea of wrapping a water blade in MF, and using it that way. Might be onto something. But I prefer to use the BIG BLUE TOWEL from CMA.

I'll experiment with wrapping a CWB with MF this weekend.
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I'm not so sure about this. The MF would soak up some water instead of pushing it and it seems like you are making more surface area for dirt to be trapped under. Interesting though, let us know if you decide and try it. Nevertheless, I even stopped using the CWB on my windows. A waffle weave is still faster for those areas.
 
Jngrbrdman said:
I have to seriously doubt that surgical grade silicone took any paint off your car. There had to be something else involved with that little problem. I wouldn't blame the CWB though. There is no way that blade could scrape paint off.
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I agree. The paint was probably loose already.



I used it (in the summer) and liked it a lot. It sheds off water quickly and saves me time. I just made sure to keep the blade clean, but as I used it more I kinda found it wasn't picking up dirt and I was cleaning it less. I'm not the only one that's become this way (who was that again...?) but I've become more casual with the blade as time goes on. I think it's been pretty good to my paint and haven't picked up any swirls or scratches from it to my knowledge.



I do however, hesitate to recommend it to casual users (like my friends) or people who don't want to bother with keeping the blade perfectly clean.



BTW, my package no longer said "As seen on TV" :D
 
I have one and do use it to dry after a dawn wash or stripping everything off the paint. As long as I make sure there's nothing on the paint or blade to cause scratches, I'm fine with it. But I use the same drying method as RCG mentioned after normal washes (again, another Zaino user)
 
Wow, what a great response on this thread! How about colors. For those that do use a CWB is it used regularly on dark or Black?



And as for the "As Seen on TV" their website still boasts it.
 
Forrest had a great analogy that he used the other day re: CWB.



Take a piece of paper and place it on your fingertip. Put about 2 pounds of pressure on it - how does your finger feel?



Now, take a sharpened pencil, and place the tip on your fingertip. Put about 2 pounds of pressure on it - how does your finger feel?



Think of the pencil as the CWB (very finite edge - pressure is dispersed across a very thin surface), and a towel as the paper (large surface area, displaces the pressure across a broad surface).



No CWB for me.
 
Great analogy! That puts in words what I was sort of thinking in my mind. I suggested the CWB be added to the reviews section today. I think it would be a great addition to the Chamios-Drying folder.
 
I love the Blade and use it all the time.



Have I ever scratched a car with it?... Yes.



So I never use it on a customers car, just mine.



Dirt can be lodged in between the handle and the T-bar.

This dirt drips down in a water bead and gets dragged onto the paint. This is very very rare though but I still play it safe with customers cars.
 
geekysteve said:
Forrest had a great analogy that he used the other day re: CWB.



Take a piece of paper and place it on your fingertip. Put about 2 pounds of pressure on it - how does your finger feel?



Now, take a sharpened pencil, and place the tip on your fingertip. Put about 2 pounds of pressure on it - how does your finger feel?



Think of the pencil as the CWB (very finite edge - pressure is dispersed across a very thin surface), and a towel as the paper (large surface area, displaces the pressure across a broad surface).



No CWB for me.
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I hear ya Steve, back in school we did this math problem. Something like "if a woman weights 110 lbs, and she's wearing high heels with a 1 inch heel base, how much pressure is she putting on the ground". It sounded trivial, but when you calculated it out, she was exerting a LOT of weight right on that 1 inch square part of the heel.



So, same could go for the CWB. You pick up a piece of dirt.. and along that fine edge the pressure is much more than you think.
 
I've looked at 'em since moving to Autopia, and it took me about 4 seconds to decide "No way!" Obviously, some of you have had success with them. But as long as there's a detailing method that has equal results with lower risks, that's the way I'll go. My choice was the awesome Super Large Waffle-Weave Towel from http://www.microfibertech.com/largeWaffle-weave.html. I've used it through several washes now, and I continue to be truly amazed at how it dries the entire car without ever needing wringing. Thank you, MF Tech. :bow

Birthday Fairy, don't even think about bringing me a CWB. :nono
 
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