What do you use to dry your car?

SoFlo1

SoFlo1

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I have been getting my supplies at my local auto detail supplier and I purchased a shamwow type of product. It feels real weird and I find it weird to use.

Does anybody just use regular microfiber clothes? Large ones? Small ones? And how many do you go through during the entire drying process?

Also where do you get your clothes?
 
I have read in this forum that Pack Shack is the favorite of high-end , upscale car detailers. It is super-soft and won't do damage to your paint and great to dry it too (of course there is a variety of those MF towels, so I refer to a brand in general).

The cost is a bit high ($10-$15 each towel), but those who use it say it's money well spent.

I also read that Costco's microfibers are some of the worst you will ever get (in terms of damage they do to a clear coat).

You can settle for a middle road, get a pack of 3 good quality MF towels from AG for around $9-$12 ($3-$4 a PC).
I know for sure I will not be using Costco's MF for my project.

P.S. You may also find relatively good MF towels in local stores. They are usually larger, very soft and furry and you can just feel how smooth they are. Those towels are also good in drying a just washed car: one towel quickly soaks all the water from large panels and if you run second towel you get your clear-coat perfectly dry and ready for polishing/waxing or whatever else you need to do.

Good luck.
 
I start off by "flood drying" the car which removes the vast majority of water. Then I dry off the small amount of beads by using a large waffle weave towel that I use to pat down the rest of the vehicle. This takes 1 towel for my car and 1 large and 1 small for my wife's SUV. If it takes more you are either flood drying incorrectly or you need to wax or seal IMO.
 
SoFlo1 said:
I have been getting my supplies at my local auto detail supplier and I purchased a shamwow type of product. It feels real weird and I find it weird to use.

Does anybody just use regular microfiber clothes? Large ones? Small ones? And how many do you go through during the entire drying process?

Also where do you get your clothes?
Click to expand...
For what task(s) did you purpose the shamwow type of product...
that you found to be weird to use?

In the past:
I've cut them into 4 equal parts, to have 8 sides for use on various projects, that I'm not at liberty to disclose at this time.

However:
Suffice it to say that the "Wipe New"-product wouldn't stand a chance in a head-to-head contest.

Note:
AGO sells an assortment of microfiber towels... None that even comes close: that any could possibly be considered shabby.

Bob
 
I like to use the thickest, fluffiest microfiber towels I have, folded into 4's, and spray a quick-detailer spray on each panel and wipe down. The QD spray aids in drying by eliminating water spots and giving a bit of a shine.

I tend to stay away from Chamois towels. Not sure what everyones opinions of them are here, but to me they are too thin and hard and too likely to marr or scratch the paint. They ARE great for keeping yourself cool in the summer though! I wet them down and wrap them around my neck when riding my motorcycle in 100+ weather. Re-soak at gas stations. They work great for that since they hold so much water!
 
Master blaster the less you touch the paint the better and if any thing is left over a very nice MF towel.
 
I have two older mothers foam core drying towels that are actively fit the wheels now. One does all four. I use two megs drying waffle weaves for car body.
 
Air Force Blaster...then touch up with Waffle Weave and a Detail Spray.

Also where do you get your clothes?

I got a BOGO on the Guzzlers a year or so ago...I use those or the Adam's Great White.
 
I used to only use Waffle Weave microfiber towels, after flooding the paint using the aforementioned method.

However... a few weeks ago I finally went out and purchased a leaf blower from Lowes (or was it Home Depot) for about $40. It is electric (which is what I preferred. With two stroke engines you have to mix the oil and gas and it becomes more work than it is worth. With this it is just plug and play!)

Now I still flood the paint, then I blow it and then follow up with the spots that were heavy or have water remaining with a drying aid and a waffle weave microfiber towel.

With my new method I really can't see how I could go wrong, because with my old method I didn't instill any major swirls or scratches (after about a 6 months since the last polishing session.) This method just lessens the amount of time that I am spending touching the paint, which is all the better in my book!
 
Electric leaf blower and a couple WW towels. Don't get a gas leaf blower, otherwise you're just coating the car in oily exhaust.
 
Chicago Tommy said:
Electric leaf blower and a couple WW towels. Don't get a gas leaf blower, otherwise you're just coating the car in oily exhaust.
Click to expand...

Not true with a backpack blower. The exhaust is behind your back at the rear of the unit. The blower tube is at the other end. The exhaust does not flow through the blower tube assembly. I've been using a backpack blower for well over 10yrs now to dry vehicles and it works great! It gets all of the water out of the nooks and crannies in one shot so there's not dripping when your trying to cut, polish, or apply LSP. A blower is also so much faster to dry with than towels!
 
Oh ok so it really doesn't matter what type of blower you get?

Blowing doesn't cause water spots?

And these WW towels, can you get them in the stores? I bought a pack of 10 MF's from Harbor Freight for $5 but I opened them up and they are small ones lol.

And if I decide to use a blower, do I still have to use detailer spray and wipe after I blow it off? Where is a good place to get the detailer spray?
 
SoFlo1 said:
Oh ok so it really doesn't matter what type of blower you get?

Blowing doesn't cause water spots?

And these WW towels, can you get them in the stores? I bought a pack of 10 MF's from Harbor Freight for $5 but I opened them up and they are small ones lol.

And if I decide to use a blower, do I still have to use detailer spray and wipe after I blow it off? Where is a good place to get the detailer spray?
Click to expand...

You can get WW towels (sometimes sold as drying towels) at many auto parts stores and in my case even at the local grocery store chain.

You don't ever have to use detailer spray, but if you like the slickness of it you can get it at the local auto parts store as well.

or... You could click the little store icon above this and order the products here.
 
Take water nozzle off rinse , Black & Decker cordless , Adams drying towel.
 
hamlyn said:
When you say flood dry, do you mean to sheet?
Click to expand...

Yes. You can dry the car by getting the water to sheet off of it.


I looked for a video that I was sent when I started that was more complete.
 
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I typically flood the surface and then follow up with an Absorber to finish off any remaining water.

However, after dealing with water spots from not having a shaded wash area for several years I'm going to start using my leaf blower, or go rinesless.
 
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