Leaf Blower not cutting it?

spellrm

spellrm

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Hey guys, so I recently went to Walmart and got this leaf blower to dry my car. My car is freshly clayed, so water should fly right off fairly easily. However, when I used it, it pushed the droplets away but left these little, tiny droplets instead. Is this normal?

Also, my car isn't waxed or sealed yet (still getting around to it..), does it have to be waxed for the leaf blower method to work?
 
What power leaf blower do you have? When i use mine i just get the areas where water gets caught in and as much off the car as i can. If need be i still use a micro drying towel but it's still much less wiping then before. Just checked your blower and mine is rated at 250mph. That might be why.Got mine from home depot for $68.00
 
claying will remove some/all of the protection which often helps with beading. It probably looks more like sheeting right now, just add wax and see if theres a difference.

I have the B/D Leaf Hawg and its plenty powerful enough !
 
JohnnyC said:
What power leaf blower do you have? When i use mine i just get the areas where water gets caught in and as much off the car as i can. If need be i still use a micro drying towel but it's still much less wiping then before. Just checked your blower and mine is rated at 250mph. That might be why.Got mine from home depot for $68.00
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It has an 7.5 amp motor and blows to 150 mph. I try to go over the car with the microfiber after, but the tiny droplets dry quickly, and leave water spots. I'm not sure what to do. :dunno:


killrwheels@autogeek said:
claying will remove some/all of the protection which often helps with beading. It probably looks more like sheeting right now, just add wax and see if theres a difference.

I have the B/D Leaf Hawg and its plenty powerful enough !
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Well I didn't have any protection on it to begin with, before claying. You are right though, the water is kinda sheeting off, and not beading. I only have wax on my trunk right now (long story) but next time I wash, I'll see if the blower works better on the trunk. I'll also try to take some pictures of these micro-droplets the blower is leaving.
 
spellrm said:
Hey guys, so I recently went to Walmart and got this leaf blower to dry my car. My car is freshly clayed, so water should fly right off fairly easily. However, when I used it, it pushed the droplets away but left these little, tiny droplets instead. Is this normal?

Also, my car isn't waxed or sealed yet (still getting around to it..), does it have to be waxed for the leaf blower method to work?
Click to expand...

a leaf blower will only work well if there's protection on the car, otherwise it will drag (the water slides off easier on a slick surface). i never considered a leaf blower to be a complete means of drying (it's normal if there are droplets, you can't get every little drop) and with the little droplets remaining on the surface, use a quality waffle weave or microfiber towel with some QD and wipe off the remainder. i mainly use the leaf blower to get water where it hides (gaps/seams, headlights/taillights, wheels/tires, gas cap/door, windshield wipers/cowling, doorjams, emblems, etc, etc,...
 
BigAl3 said:
a leaf blower will only work well if there's protection on the car, otherwise it will drag (the water slides off easier on a slick surface). i never considered a leaf blower to be a complete means of drying (it's normal if there are droplets, you can't get every little drop) and with the little droplets remaining on the surface, use a quality waffle weave or microfiber towel with some QD and wipe off the remainder. i mainly use the leaf blower to get water where it hides (gaps/seams, headlights/taillights, wheels/tires, gas cap/door, windshield wipers/cowling, doorjams, emblems, etc, etc,...
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Ok thanks. I guess I was being a little too hopeful about the leaf blower. I still need to get some good quality drying towels: can anyone recommend some to me? Preferably ones that aren't really expensive? Do I need waffle weave or super plush ones?
 
If you have a leafblower with enough CFM at speed it'll do the job. Just because it says 150 MPH doesn't mean it's pushing enough volume of air to dry the car. I have a Husqvarna pro backpack blower that will dry a car in minutes. It will also blow medium sized rocks across the street at high speed!
 
I have the same blower in Craftsman colors and it woeks like a champ. I also go back over my truck with QD and a MF after using the blower.
 
Are you drying with water (flood method)?
 
Rsurfer said:
Are you drying with water (flood method)?
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Actually, I forgot to do that the last time I washed. I'll do the flood method and then use the leaf blower and report back. Hopefully I get some better results. :xyxthumbs:
 
Rsurfer said:
Are you drying with water (flood method)?
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Actually, I forgot to do that the last time I washed. I'll do the flood method and then use the leaf blower and report back. Hopefully I get some better results. :xyxthumbs:


S2K said:
How do you dry with water? What is this flood method? Sorry I've just not heard of this before.
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The flood method is where you just use the hose with no attachment on it and let the water flood the surface of the car. All the water will accumulate and hopefully run off together instead of separating into separate drops. This leaves less water on the car than if you sprayed it with a hose attachment, which makes drying easier.
 
^ also to add.. for the sheeting/flood method, i use a firehose nozzle turned all the way to one side rather than use just the hose, which has worked well for me all these years.
 
I have a Troy-Built electric that I bought at Lowes for $50 or so and it works great for removing 90% of the water after washing.
 
I finally got the pricey Metro Master Blaster (8HP). It can get 100% of the water off. I hope to post a review very soon.
 
Bunky said:
I finally got the pricey Metro Master Blaster (8HP). It can get 100% of the water off. I hope to post a review very soon.
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8HP, Yikes!! Have you changed any weather patterns lately? :laughing:

I'll bet it works real well!! :xyxthumbs:
 
BobbyG said:
8HP, Yikes!! Have you changed any weather patterns lately? :laughing:

I'll bet it works real well!! :xyxthumbs:
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The second time I used it it tripped a circuit breaker after a few minutes. It draws 18 Amps.

The garage is wired as 20A but when I had some remodeling done the electricians were moving stuff around and hooked it into 15A breaker in the box. I fixed that yesterday (now in a 20A breaker) and seems to work fine (cross fingers).
 
I typically take a water blade to my car 1st to get any standing water off the hood, trunk, or roof, then go over it with the leaf blower getting everything out of the mirrors and cracks. Then I do a once over with my MF to ensure I get everything.
 
spellrm said:
The flood method is where you just use the hose with no attachment on it and let the water flood the surface of the car. All the water will accumulate and hopefully run off together instead of separating into separate drops. This leaves less water on the car than if you sprayed it with a hose attachment, which makes drying easier.
Click to expand...

Thanks, that makes sense I'll have to give it a try next time.
 
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