Quick question about drying my car

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newb001

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Am having trouble comfortably drying the doors of my black Q5. For the hood I simply lay a large mf towel over about 1/3 of the hood, spread my hands over it a few times, and then use a new, dry MF to get any remaining water. This helps me reduce marring.

For the doors though, while I can lay the large towel on the top part of door and pat it down a bit, it just doesn't work as well/easily as it does on the hood, especially on the lower part of the door. So I end up using the second MF to do most of the work as I go back and forth drying. The only problem here is that with my black car I really try to minimize the time spent touching it, especially when it's drying. I do use a bit of Optimum Spray Wax as a drying aid, but still, would like a better way to dry the doors.

Am probably going to get a leaf blower at some point so this issue will be moot, but until then I'm open to any and all suggestions.

Thanks!
 
opt ID is the better choice for a drying aid IME. that stuff has an incredible soft feeling to it. it also has cleaners in it. just fold up your drying towel, spray the panel lightly, and add a mist onto the towel and you should significantly reduce your chances to scratch anything ime.
 
I use a couple of Absorber towels. One of my cars is black and it leaves no marring or streaking.
 
mg6045 said:
opt ID is the better choice for a drying aid IME. that stuff has an incredible soft feeling to it. it also has cleaners in it. just fold up your drying towel, spray the panel lightly, and add a mist onto the towel and you should significantly reduce your chances to scratch anything ime.
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Thanks. That's probably the one opt product I don't have... I'll have to pick some up next time I place an order. Question, after spraying on panel lightly, misting the towel and wiping the panel, do you keep wiping with the misted towel until it dries (does it flash dry at that point) or do you eventually switch to a dry section of towel to complete the panel? I find that if I don't use a very dry towel that I can't fully dry and there are always streaks.

truckbutt said:
I use a couple of Absorber towels. One of my cars is black and it leaves no marring or streaking.
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I've been meaning to order some of those too as I've heard good things.
 
Get the Corba Waffle Weave HD (The gold one) its amazing

Sent from my DROID PRO using Tapatalk
 
I have found that the best rsults from the Absorber comes from not using it as you would a regular towel. I lay it across a panel and draw it towards me. I do that as best I can for all surfaces horizontal and vertical. After most of the water has been removed, I then use it as I would a regular towel. I don't use it with any drying aids or waxes as that would reduce it's drying ability. They machine wash easily in warm water and some Zep citrus degreaser concentrate, regular wash, double rinse. Keep them in their container so they don't dry out. If they do, just soak it in water before you try to unfold it. Go for the Large size.
 
I use a leaf blower followed by a waffle weave towel.
 
A leaf blower is not expensive and is worth it's weight in gold when drying a car. If the finish has any protection at all the high velocity air blows the water right off the panel and you never have to touch it!

Drying towels work but they take time and can leave marks if pressed to hard. To dry an entire car with drying towels I'd generally use 4 or 5 and take 30 minutes to do it right..
 
Thanks everybody. I definitely think I'm going to get the leaf blower sooner rather than later!
 
How do you guys dry the trim? Every time i dry the trim on my vw my guzzler towel turns black, maybe from the back to black on the trim.

I just switched to hyperdressing so maybe that will help?
 
shoeless89 said:
Get the Corba Waffle Weave HD (The gold one) its amazing

Sent from my DROID PRO using Tapatalk
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Agree and the Mothers Foam Core is even better IMO. Either will be MUCH better for blotting than a standard WWMF IME for blotting. The 8 HP Metro MasterBlaster is the ultimate fix!
 
Flip said:
How do you guys dry the trim? Every time i dry the trim on my vw my guzzler towel turns black, maybe from the back to black on the trim.

I just switched to hyperdressing so maybe that will help?
Click to expand...

if you seal up your trim that wont happen. Ultima UTTG or Wolfgang ETS.
 
newb001 said:
Thanks. That's probably the one opt product I don't have... I'll have to pick some up next time I place an order. Question, after spraying on panel lightly, misting the towel and wiping the panel, do you keep wiping with the misted towel until it dries (does it flash dry at that point) or do you eventually switch to a dry section of towel to complete the panel? I find that if I don't use a very dry towel that I can't fully dry and there are always streaks.



I've been meaning to order some of those too as I've heard good things.
Click to expand...


my personal technique is to use the waffle weave towel like I first mentioned, then come back with a very soft high quality MF towel to buff up any remaining residue. all while doing very lightly. the Optimum ID is SOOO slick that your towel will glide right out of your hands if your not careful. no joke..

You want to keep the waffle weave towel very slightly misted and dont worry about picking up every drop of water on the first pass. get the majority , then buff with a good towel. again, by that time the OID will be super slick.

I have the metro 8hp blaster drier and dont always use it. I would love to turn off the warm air feature as sometimes it drys the water (leaving spots) before I can blow it off the panel. Its VERY noticeable after I just stripped the car with CG Citrus Wash. After I towel dry I use the blaster to dry the wheels and to get any remaining water out of problematic cracks and areas.
 
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