I am in the market for at least a half dozen new drying towels. I have been using the absorber for years and it time for somethign new. Whats everyone using these days.

 

Detailer's Paradise Waffle Weave Microfibers. I LOVE them (was an Absorber user previously). The DP Waffles are MUCH softer and more absorbant than the retail waffle weaves I bought from a local auto store... and they work GREAT at drying/spreading/buffing Hydro...

 

I have a Water Sprite synthetic chamois, about 6 years old, that I swear by for the first bit of drying. After that I finish things off with a waffle weave MF.

 

Blow dry it with a leaf blower-then a very light wipe.

 

+1, except I started adding Hydro for the wipe down. The Hydro made a big difference.

 

Whatever they use at the car wash.

 

+1

 

Car Wash!?!?!?! Hope you don't like your paint!

A tip for easy drying Mark C. After your final rinse, take your nozzle off your hose and run a stready, open hose stream front top to bottom. The water will sheet off, making drying VERY easy with 1 good MF towel. I could do two cars easy with the same towel using this method.

 

I love my Absorbers.

 

right now i have two griot's thick MF drying towels but next time around
im going to get waffle weaves for sure.

 

Currently Sonus Der Wonder WW MF towels. I also just tried Meguiars Water Magnet which looked and felt the same but had much worse performance...left a lot more water behind.
I spray first with Mr. Clean Autodry filtered water then use the WW towel to get everything down to a film, which dries spotless in a minute or so.

I used the Absorber for a while, but any dirt will stick to it and drag around your paint. No doubt it will hold the most water, but it's a pain to blot everything. I really only need to wring the WW towels once or twice anyway, they do hold a lot.

I used a californa water blade years ago. Same dirt dragging issue as the absorber, plus it only works on whole panels..you still need to go over all seams and crannies with an absorber.

Old fashioned chamois before that...no need to bother with those any more.

 

Is it painted with water color?? I have been taking all my car to car washes. I have never had them damage the paint. While I appreciate that many MINI owners love to baby their cars, I would assume that was out of desire and not because the cars cannot handle what every other car on the market can.

 

What are you doing in the OCD forum?

I've gone through car washes and scrathed a rim as well as swirled the heck out of the paint...car wash no more for me, unless it's touchless, and only if really necessary.



Good call on the hose stream trick amorican. I use that one sometimes, but should remember to do it more often...

 

+ 1 (with Hydro)

if the car is not too wet I sometimes use my Monster Fluffies with Hydro. but they get pretty wet and might require 2-3 of the small ones. yesterday I mostly used the Waffle Weave with Hydro and it worked great!

 

I've been using the open hose technique after using Mystique. The water sheets right off. Then I go with Hydro and Monster Fluffies. The MFs seem to get saturated pretty quickly though. I've got three of them and usually use all three. I could push it and use two or even one, but they seem to work better dry. When I'm done, I wash them in the washing machine and let them hang dry.

 

I've used the "Big Blue" (and "Little Blue") waffle weaves and also the Meguire's with good success. I'll have to try out the Detailer's Paradise ones next.

 

+2 (+3, +4, +5, you get the idea...)

No comparison to what I've tried in the past. Buy one, try it, and you'll be hooked...

I don't know if Dealers Paradise offers a money back on them, but that would be a bet I would take any day...

-Ed

 

ooo~ check out the slick sales move by mini_dreams. so smooth cant
tell one was reading about HYDRO.

 

I am not looking for an argument, but I can promise you that if you are taking your car to high volume car washes, your paint is damaged; in addition to no machine doing what I can with good materials in a matter of 20 minutes. You want to see your nice, new 07 look good, bring it by my place for an afternoon.

Bottom line, the "car wash" business exists to make money, not really take care of a car or even get it that clean. To each his own I suppose.

 

I'm with Blimey, ML, and others on the Detailer's Paradise waffle weave drying towel. Have several others in the 'tool kit' but I always fall back on that white DP - so just got some more along with my gallons of Clarity, Hydro & Slick.

 

DP Waffle Weave + Hydro FTW!!

NOTE ON HYDRO: Spray the entire, still-wet car with Hydro BEFORE drying. Hydro is concentrated right in the bottle and is designed to be applied on top of a wet car to get the proper dilution. DOing it this way resdults not only in a much better application of the product, but you end up using less - just walk around the dripping-wet car and mist it down with 10-12 spritzes, then dry.

After, buff lightly with a clean MF cloth to get any residual water drips and polish the Hydro. Keeps the paint looking FANTASTIC. If you use Hydro on an already-dry car, you'll probably end up applying too much(undilued) and you might get a light haze.

 

hummmm... first i would not spray the entire car. only the panel you
are going to wipe. you dont want concentrated product drying on the
panel especially after water sheets off.

as with Epic, i found that you dont need to buff the car at all after the
app of Hydro. furthermore, might be better not to buff the car
as you will leave more product on the surface to cure.

unlike Spray On wax from griots (another of my favorites), Hydro requires
no buffing. just mist over dry or wet panels and wipe off. really no need
to work Hydro into the paint either. just mist and wipe. so easy.

 

I couldn't agree more......

 

Application technique advice comes right from Heather, bro...

Unless you're washing the car out of the sun then you shouldn't have a dry car before you get to all the panels with your towel - it only takes me like 3 minutes to dry the car with a waffle weave, just don't do the glass until last and the towel should not get saturated. If it does, ring it out and keep drying - adds 20 seconds.

As for buffing... (shrug). I do it to get the residue that I miss with the waffle - around the trim and on my fiddly bits like the grille slats and such, and I find that doing so really makes the Hydro'd paint "pop". Necessary? Probably not, but it looks good. Of course, I only Hydro every second or third wash anyway (gasp!) since my paint looks pretty good as-is.

I can definitely say that I've gotten BETTER results with Hydro with the "spritz the whole car" technique than how you're doing it, personally, and I use less produst, which is like money in my pocket, but to each their own I guess...

 

man, you get all worked up so easily it's kinda funny.

if your water sheets off the paint that surface is dry. sure you can
dry app Hydro, but i would still not want product air drying on my car not
in spritz form. come to think of it, i think you were the one using a RO
while watching TV (was it?) so it might be a different approach.

As far as wiping down the car, i do windows first while the towels is
cleanest, then the panels. and no, i never need to wring the towel.