Cold weather drying aid/quick detailer

BlackCarBlues

BlackCarBlues

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Hey guys, just want to pick your brains to see if anyone can report decent results with any quick detailer (or anything that be used as a drying aid) in colder weather. High temps in Michigan look to be 23-36*F for the next week and will only get colder as we go deeper into the season of discontent. Thanks!!
 
At those temps I'd just wait it out. I know some of the chemists for different brands usually claim 40F as a cutoff for their products working successfully. What is your goal?
 
BlackCarBlues said:
Hey guys, just want to pick your brains to see if anyone can report decent results with any quick detailer (or anything that be used as a drying aid) in colder weather. High temps in Michigan look to be 23-36*F for the next week and will only get colder as we go deeper into the season of discontent. Thanks!!
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Idk if any exist. Regardless of product used the panel on the vehicle would have to be above freezing in order for any product being applied to not freeze.

Ive encountered this after a hand wash in cold temps(below 40's air temp), where not only does the residual water left over on the panel after a rinse, and or the drying aide applied during drying process...it does start to freeze on the panel. Its game over at that point.

Do you have a garage or ya parked outside to do this?

Your best bet is to skip the drying aide and just try to blow dry for the cold temps

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Trust the power of your LSP
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I haven’t tried TWHS wet wax but i think that might work.

I have used Ammo hydrate when cold with success


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NJNinja said:
At those temps I'd just wait it out. I know some of the chemists for different brands usually claim 40F as a cutoff for their products working successfully. What is your goal?
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My goal is just to wash the car without marring the surface. I am seeing some light marring of my soft black paint, but not sure if it's from going around the mostly dry car after a 2BM wash/blow dry with a CarPro Dhydrate and no drying aid, or if it's from the few rinseless ONR washes I've done with a big red sponge.

opie said:
Do you have a garage or ya parked outside to do this?
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I have a garage, but it's detached and not heated. There is a quarter car wash a couple miles away that has warm DI water though that I like to use.
 
BlackCarBlues said:
My goal is just to wash the car without marring the surface. I am seeing some light marring of my soft black paint, but not sure if it's from going around the mostly dry car after a 2BM wash/blow dry with a CarPro Dhydrate and no drying aid, or if it's from the few rinseless ONR washes I've done with a big red sponge.


I have a garage, but it's detached and not heated. There is a quarter car wash a couple miles away that has warm DI water though that I like to use.
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That big red sponge looks like it would do damage...but ive never used it so idk.

I would suggest first getting yourself a propane turbo heater for your garage. Then go use your local coin op to blast the heavy off, then bring vehicle home, pull it into the garage, and warm up the garage with turbo heater. Then toss that red sponge off to the side and grab a shat ton of microfiber towels instead. Snag your ONR or a waterless wash and go to town.

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Something similar, can be had pretty much any hardware store/tractor supply for just over 100 bucks
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Touch-free wash is also an option️

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opie said:
Isnt that the same as coin op

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It is similar except you don't have to get out of your car and freeze your butt off! Plus it will dry the car mostly at the end also.

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opie said:
I would suggest first getting yourself a propane turbo heater for your garage.
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This. You already have the hard/expensive part - the Garage. If you don't have room for the blast from a Turbo heater, you can get a heating unit that sits on top of a propane tank from a outdoor grill.

Heaters - PRODUCT
 
Klasse Act said:
It is similar except you don't have to get out of your car and freeze your butt off! Plus it will dry the car mostly at the end also.

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Oh yeah i got ya, we got those around. As convenient as they may be i dont think the do as good a job. I prefer the coin op ones...as the touchless ones dont spray the inner fenderwells and the inside lip where all the salt/debris likes to collect.

Plus ive personally seen those blowdryers blow ventvisors, bug deflectors and other stuff off other peoples vehicles b4.

I also dont know what type of products they use.

When i use the coin op...i only use the high pressure rinse. Never anything else. I know i sound crazy lol

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BlackCarBlues said:
... I am seeing some light marring of my soft black paint, but not sure if it's from going around the mostly dry car after a 2BM wash/blow dry with a CarPro Dhydrate and no drying aid, or if it's from the few rinseless ONR washes I've done ...
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I guess you'd have to do a surface inventory after each wash to try and sleuth out where the marring's coming from after trying each method.

Personally, I didn't care for ONR as a rinseless in general (found road grime clung to the surface much easier than before I started using it as a RW). I can't say using the Big Red Sponge contributed to any marring on my paint, but I've got pretty hard Audi Metallic.

In cold weather, I tried ONR Wash and Wax and thought it took notably more buffing than Griot's Rinseless Wash and Wax.

To compare "leave nothing" rinselesses, I've also found Griot's Brilliant Finish Rinseless to "buff off" easier (for me) in comparison to N-914. Last time I used 914 I thought the Brilliant Finish had slightly better cleaning power (both of them were mixed at the prescribed ratio on their respective bottles).

I'll confess a slight Griot's bias in general, but it's largely because I've found their stuff to require much less mental bandwidth to get good results.

Coatingsarecrack said:
I have used Ammo hydrate when cold with success
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I'm still trying to hit my stride with Hydrate. Are you using barely any when you use it? I'm probably over-applying. Also, have you noticed it affecting your water behavior? Seems to slow water shedding for me, but again I feel like maybe I'm using it wrong.
 
oneheadlite said:
I guess you'd have to do a surface inventory after each wash to try and sleuth out where the marring's coming from after trying each method.

Personally, I didn't care for ONR as a rinseless in general (found road grime clung to the surface much easier than before I started using it as a RW). I can't say using the Big Red Sponge contributed to any marring on my paint, but I've got pretty hard Audi Metallic.

In cold weather, I tried ONR Wash and Wax and thought it took notably more buffing than Griot's Rinseless Wash and Wax.

To compare "leave nothing" rinselesses, I've also found Griot's Brilliant Finish Rinseless to "buff off" easier (for me) in comparison to N-914. Last time I used 914 I thought the Brilliant Finish had slightly better cleaning power (both of them were mixed at the prescribed ratio on their respective bottles).

I'll confess a slight Griot's bias in general, but it's largely because I've found their stuff to require much less mental bandwidth to get good results.



I'm still trying to hit my stride with Hydrate. Are you using barely any when you use it? I'm probably over-applying. Also, have you noticed it affecting your water behavior? Seems to slow water shedding for me, but again I feel like maybe I'm using it wrong.
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Try Feynlab RW for getting that road grime off and if the suggested ratio doesn't work, kick it "a little" and I mean A LITTKE, stuff is oretty damn strong

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opie said:
When i use the coin op...i only use the high pressure rinse. Never anything else. I know i sound crazy lol
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You’re in good company. :wave:

And they don’t have the touchless automatic washes here anymore, presumably because others thought they didn’t work well either.
 
So I just got back from the quarter car wash. I learned a couple things.

I brought a bucket, my long-handled chenille mitt, EGO 530, Griot's Speed Shine, and a plush drying towel.

My process was:
1. Rinsed car using the warm water high pressure rinse top to bottom
2. Used the "soap" setting to spray the car bottom to top and filled up my bucket with a couple gallons of whatever their soapy concoction is
3. Washed the car with my chenille mitt, periodically dipping into the bucket (basically a 1BM)
4. Loaded more money and rinsed car with warm high pressure rinse
5. Blow dry with EGO 530 to get 70% of the water off (paint is getting clogged or my Meg's HCW is failing prematurely... the vertical surfaces didn't bead water very well, but sheeted decently)
6. Sprayed whole car lightly with Speed Shine
7. Towel dried with plush drying towel (no noticeable streaking, but also it was cold so I didn't analyze it too much)

This seemed to work well, but next time I would like to fill my bucket at home with my own soap. That way I know it's pH neutral and I don't waste time/money filling it at the car wash. I need to buy a lid for my bucket first.

Second thing I learned, Speed Shine does quite well in colder temps!
 
Good deal, glad that worked. I have a adams 5 gal bucket with gamma lid and seal. That would work perfect for taking to the coin op.

I use it for mixing up solution b4 leaving the house to soak dirty buffing pads in when do work at someone else's garage

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oneheadlite said:
I'm still trying to hit my stride with Hydrate. Are you using barely any when you use it? I'm probably over-applying. Also, have you noticed it affecting your water behavior? Seems to slow water shedding for me, but again I feel like maybe I'm using it wrong.
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First do you have the 1st or 2nd gen hydrate? 2nd gen looks like blue lotion. 1st gen a little more watery.

I use 1 to 2 sprays per panel. Don’t need a lot. I use mainly on coated cars.

I’m a different case. On my cquk3 coated car, I found nothing affected the water behavior. But even on current non coated car i still don’t find it affects the protection. There is very little protection in hydrate.

Maybe your not removing all?

Towel may make a difference….. i use pfm’s


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dgage said:
You’re in good company. :wave:

And they don’t have the touchless automatic washes here anymore, presumably because others thought they didn’t work well either.
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I will use touchless coin op before a rinseless in winter sometimes.

I’ll foam from IK, rinse, drive through touchless and then rinseless if necessary.


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