Tips or tricks on drying?

[Setec Astronomy]

Put in a moisture trap or filter. Drain your tank every few days, preferably every night.

I do my work at my full time job they have multiple industrial size tanks lol I'm not going to even try and figure out which one goes where or tamper with them in anyway.

Have you talked to someone there? It may be that part of the air equipment is malfunctioning causing the large amount of water you have in the air. If that's "normal" for your place, some sort of inexpensive separator as Status suggested may help. Water can be very damaging in an air system to both the generation side and the end-use equipment, so you may get some brownie points either way.

As far as tampering, if they let you use a bay then you are already using their equipment, a cheap filter/separator would just be installed where the air line comes from the wall, and then the hose would screw into it. They have a number of options at Harbor Freight for less than $10.

 

[zmanjohn]

I bought me a leaf blower for $25.00 with free shipping.
Does all I ask of it.
First I blow everything off then use my MF drying towel then come again with the blower to make sure no water is left behind,works great for me.

Where were you able to find a leaf blower for $25? That is great price.

 

[Robert8194]

You need a 20 amp breaker for the MB. Even though I own one , I only use it for the hard to get at places...after I dry the car with a damp 600 weight MF towel spritzed with a drying agent/booster product.

Why? Because I like putting something on after washing the car. It makes no sense to dry with air after a wash then go right back and wet the car down again with a booster product. Why not apply the booster product as you dry the car? One step, not two ...and using a damp MF towel while the car is still wet to lay down a booster is safer and works like a charm.

Great idea. I'm going to steal that one.

 

[Robert8194]

Master blaster works very well. It blows hot air. Really good for engine bays, wheels and crevices. I'm happy with mine.

The leaf blower works very well on the surface of the car. But, I agree that engines, crevices and door jams are so much easier with the Master Blaster.

 

[HateSwirls]

Amazone of course
I'm a Prime Member, reason for the free shipping.
It's powerful yet very light.

Where were you able to find a leaf blower for $25? That is great price.

 

[Calendyr]

Hey guys I was wondering if anyone had any tips or tricks on the best way to dry mirrors and moldings. Where I detail my customers vehicles and even my own I do have access to air. However the lines are always full of water even after purging them so I just avoid using it. Nothing ruins my day more then water that keeps seeping out from under the mirrors or molding. Please share any tips some of you guys have that would not include the use of forced air. Thanks in advance.

Ok, from most agressive to least agressive:

Flame thrower. Dries in no time, lots of cleanup to do afterwards...

Heat gun, dries very quickly. The paint bubbling is a downer though....

Plane turbine, super efficient to remove water but make sure to tie the car down or it could land in the second floor window of the house behind it.

Hair dryer, takes too long...

Patience is a virtue...


Ok in all seriousness you have plenty of good answers in this thread. I personally use a leaft blower. It's not perfect but it works well. If I had some money to blow, I would
definatelly get a master blaster.

 

[swanicyouth]

20 would be better. However I can get by with running mine on my 15 amp circuit. I just turn the blowers on one switch at a time and don't have anything else running on that circuit. :xyxthumbs:

That's good to here. I just ordered a MB, but my circuit says 20 amps its for the washer. I hate drying without air. The car drips forever and there is water you can't get with a towel. Plus, drying all the nooks and crannies on the wheels, wheel wells, and tires is so much easier with air.

No, you don't need it. But it makes detailing fun.

 

[statusdetailing]

Speaking of a turbine engine, did you see that episode of Top Gear, where they actually tried that? The cars went absolutely flying and flipping end over end as soon as they drove into the path of the exhaust! Hilarious!

You should be fine as long as the car is anchored down, of course.

 

[Andrew@ToyMotorsports]

I ended up going to lowes and picking up a battery powered leaf blower for $50 and I got a vac attachment for free because they didn't scan it lol. Win win for me! If and when I start getting greater volume I'll def. invest in one of the MB's. Thanks everyone!

 

[hernandez.art13]

I hear you guys talking about leaf blowers all the time. I want one now too

In the future though. Do you guys have any videos that shows the leaf blower method. I'd like to see it.

I saw another video where the guy cut multiple holes on the vacuum tube and he dried the car that way.

 

[hernandez.art13]

This one:

http://youtu.be/MBkAT2APyyM

Seems like a very delicate process.

 

[Calendyr]

I hear you guys talking about leaf blowers all the time. I want one now too

In the future though. Do you guys have any videos that shows the leaf blower method. I'd like to see it.

I saw another video where the guy cut multiple holes on the vacuum tube and he dried the car that way.

Electric leaf blowers can be pretty cheap. Least expensive one I have seen is 30$ here in Canada, in the US you probably can find it for 25$. That would at places like Walmart.

I went with a battery powered one. Paid 65$ for it. I think I made a mistake because the battery doesn't last very long. I was thinking that I would be able to use it if there is no power available but in the end the battery problem will be worst than the situations where no power is available. I will probably simply wait for business to pick up and get a master blaster or something similar. Only issue I have with the master blaster is that it needs a 20 amps breaker and here in Canada the standard is 15 amps. I could have a 20 breaker installed at my place but everywhere I will go I won't be able to use it.

 

[fly07sti]

Metro Blaster Sidekick. CG has em for $68. They are light and blow a large volume of warm air. I used to use the cheap little leaf blowers, but when the 3rd one shorted out, I stepped up to the Metro. Just wish I bought it sooner.