Car Drying

Tom

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Staff Team
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#1
There are 2 methods that work great for drying your car after washing-

This is my favorite method :)

1- I use an electric leaf blower to remove the majority of water from the surface, from around and in the mirrors, the door jambs, trim, windows, etc, etc.

It works great and there is absolutely no harm to the car(just be carefull to keep the air on the vehicle and do not point at the ground). I always stressed when I thought I was finished drying only to notice water dripping from "hidden" locations on the vehcle..., this eliminates that scenario:)

After using the leaf blower and removing most of the water, it is time for the "final dry". I use a large 24"x36" "Waffle Weave Microfiber Towel". The correct way to dry is to either "blot or pat" the water with the towel and allow it to soak up the water(you never want to "wipe" with ANY type towel, as this could cause swirls or micro-marring if anything has been trapped between the towel and surface of the car).

One other way that works well is to hold the towel by 2 corners while slowly and lightly "dragging" the towel along the surface, using ONLY the weight of the towel.

2- If an electric leaf blower is not available-
After washing, turn off the water, remove the water sprayer, turn on the water about 1/2 way and use the water to dry the car..., this may sound strange at first, however, using a sweeping motion, working from the top down, it will sheet the majority of the water off the car.

Follow up using the Waffle Weave Microfiber Towel as described above.

Courtesy of Wayne Recla at WaynesTowels
 
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Northern California
#4
I tried using the bare hose end to do my final rinse and it worked very well. All of the beaded water I normally have to dry off was gone and there was actually very little water remaining on the car. I have a fairly small waffle weave towel and that easily takes off the residual water.

Good advice. Thanks.

[driving2]
 

epj3

Senior Member
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#7
I just washed my car for the 3'd time since noon yesterday. I cant get the fu*king water marks off.. it's so frustrating!!! I've used the super asorbent chamois. I'm going to buy a microfiber towel and see if it helps. My paint always looks so dull after washing the car... i feel like I have to wax every time I wash it.

4 years from now -- as long as the car is still in good condition... I'm getting it repainted with OEM paint by someone who will do a good paint job... not maaco.
 
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#8
epj3 said:
I just washed my car for the 3'd time since noon yesterday. I cant get the fu*king water marks off.. it's so frustrating!!!

[?|]

Are you having trouble getting the car dry or are these water spots etched into the paint? You will need a product to remove water spots (search the board for recommendations) and that is done after washing and before waxing.
Waxing over water spots with just leave shiny water spots and you will then have to strip the wax to remove them.

If you are having the paint dry too fast before you can dry it properly and it's leaving spots, try washing in the evening or in complete shade and make sure the car is not hot, then wash it and dry it. Also, do you have hard water? That can also be a problem. Using microfiber won't make spots go away if the car is hot when you wash it. (Use a waffle-weave microfiber towel, by the way) Microfiber towels are very absorbant and soft so they dry quickly and easily with less of a chance to scratch. Don't try to rub out a spot with your towel.

Check the rest of the detailing board and someone can probably suggest the best way to make your paint brighter.

[driving]
 

epj3

Senior Member
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#9
DRWWE said:
epj3 said:
I just washed my car for the 3'd time since noon yesterday. I cant get the fu*king water marks off.. it's so frustrating!!!

[?|]

Are you having trouble getting the car dry or are these water spots etched into the paint? You will need a product to remove water spots (search the board for recommendations) and that is done after washing and before waxing.
Waxing over water spots with just leave shiny water spots and you will then have to strip the wax to remove them.

If you are having the paint dry too fast before you can dry it properly and it's leaving spots, try washing in the evening or in complete shade and make sure the car is not hot, then wash it and dry it. Also, do you have hard water? That can also be a problem. Using microfiber won't make spots go away if the car is hot when you wash it. (Use a waffle-weave microfiber towel, by the way) Microfiber towels are very absorbant and soft so they dry quickly and easily with less of a chance to scratch. Don't try to rub out a spot with your towel.

Check the rest of the detailing board and someone can probably suggest the best way to make your paint brighter.

[driving]
Where I live -- it's the hardest water in terms of the amount of calcium and lime in the water in the COUNTRY. That is the only reason I'm getting water spots. I would never wax over water spots. I've been detailing my car for quite a long time, and even the mr clean spotless dry thing works -- but the filter only lasts 6 or 7 washes and the soap is VERY harsh. I washed my car yesterday at 5:30pm... 72 degrees and no humidity. Then washed it this morning and then again this evening around 6.
 
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#10
Sounds like a problem. Probably nothing to do with actually drying the car though. I'm sure some of the detailing guys on here know how to deal with the hard water problem. I'd sugget starting a thread in the detailing section asking about dealing with hard water spots. Good luck.

[driving]
 
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NJ
#11
I installed a water softening system a couple years back and hooked it up to the main line so the whole house is treated, only problem is i go through 15-20 bags of salt per month. Think of it as a giant mr. clean auto dry system. I barely have to dry my cars after they're washed.
 

EDL

New Member
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IL
#12
Any other experience out there with the Autodry product? Seems to fill alot of suggestions at onece - (rinse/soap/rinse without the need for toweling and possible swirling; final "sheeting" rinse to leave less water on the car for final dry) - but (1) does it work? and (2) do the chemicals in the final rinse (I imagine this being akin to what you can put in the dishwasher) harm the car in any way (is it harsh)? What is it - just a water softener? Is it critical to use the Autodry soap product, or can you put in any soap into the chamber?
 

tchayton

New Member
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Tonopah, Nevada 89049
#13
Well some say it's a safe and effective way to eliminate about 80% of wet-washing. It's like a typical use of over 50 cleanings per cloth. But for me it's like a cost of changing car parts time after tme.
 
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Los Angeles, CA
#14
i highly recommend AGAINST using mr. clean autodry at all costs. (unless u want to **** up your paint.)

in areas with harder water, mr. clean autodry actually leaves behind trace amoutns chemical residue that over time will eventually leave water spots on your car that are etched into the clear coat. (you will need a major detailing job to get rid of it.)

as a test i filled a clear plastic cup w/ autodry "filtered" supposedly mineral free water and placed it in a dust free area. after 1 month it STILL hadn't evaporated, whereas my tap water cup (control) evaporated fully after about 2 weeks.

scary shit i tell u.
 
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Los Angeles, CA
#15
p.s. the leaf blower & micro fiber towel methods sound very good to me.

i used to just use microfiber towels to gently dry the car. but, i bought a leaf blower recently for about $30 to blow wax dust off the car. i was toying with the idea of using it to also dry the car, but wasn't exactly sure if it would work well.

thanks to tom for answering this question :)
 
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Location
Los Angeles, CA
#17
in protest, i actually mailed all my remaining mr. clean stuff back to Procter & Gamble...

the only thing i kept is the water hose attachment sprayer, because that actually works rather nicely for spraying water on the car. but the mr. clean autodry soap and "filters" deserve to go in the dump where they belong.
 
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Location
Los Angeles, CA
#19
i would stay the hell away from mr. clean AUTODRY as far as u can- period. it will most likely cause long term damage in the form of water marks all over your clear coat. and, it will also leave chemical residue deeply etched into all your windows (glass) as well.

that said, i tried the leaf blower thing finally. and, it sort of works but sort of doesn't. it does seem to disperse big puddles of water. but, it doesn't really dry those areas completely. i noticed that some areas the water is spread so thin that it's hard to see when u go back over with the micro fiber towels. and, it actually made it easier to miss some spots.

so, i think i'm going to just go back to doing the micro fiber towel drying method. the leaf blower took extra time, but didn't save me time from going over the entire car with the towels after all.
 


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