One waffle-weave MF is not enough to dry my car. I wash at a DIY car wash, so a leaf blower or compressed air is not an option. Should I:

(A) Use 2 waffle-weave MFs and do laundry more often.

(B) Use a natural, dead goat chamois to remove most of the water and then use a MF to finish.

(C) Use a man-made chamois to remove most of the water and then use a MF to finish.

(D) Use a water blade to remove most of the water and then use a MF to finish.

Option A is the simplest, except for the cost of all the towels and the need to do laundry. I'm afraid options B-D could lead to scratches and swirls.

Please tell me what I should do. I thank you for your time.

 

If you keep it clean option (D) works well. Thats what I use. Blade the water, spray Hydro and wipe dry. Gotta be quick though if you are in the sun.
Then again, you can never have too many waffle weaves IMHO.

 

I use a blade also. But you have to be sure the car is 100% clean. If you are afraid of it, then get another waffle-weave.

 

I have a much better option if your MINI is already waxed. It's a technique that isn't new, but the way to achieve it isn't something I normally see done.

Take a gallon jug--old Prima gallon or even a milk jug. Fill it with water. DI water is best, but any water will do if you do this in the shade. Wash your entire car as usual and rinse it off.

Then starting from the roof, pour the water out along the roof, then from one side of the car going all the way around back to where you started. You might need two gallons to be successful, but one should do it.

What you're doing is causing the water to sheet off the paint and instead of thousands of water droplets, you will have a few droplets of water instead. Then drying it with a waffle weave isn't hard at all. It might take a little practice to flow the water over the paint so that you end up with minimal water droplets, but it's not hard.

Btw, drying works even better if you dry the paint first with the WW, then do the glass.

Richard

 

Option A with HYDRO!

 

Richard: Nice suggestion. At a DIY car wash I only get a spray from the hose, leading to lots of water beading on the surface. My practice is to dry the paint first with the MF then use an old terrycloth towel for windows, trim, door jambs and wheels, so we're on the same page there. Even so, with the water beading on the surface, my MF gets soaked once I go over the roof and part of the bonnet. I'll bring a jug of water for a post-rinse rinse next time.

Then I'll spray on some Hydro to see what all the fuss is about.

 

The sheeting trick works but I just like to drive fast and air dry cars

 

One advantage of Hydro is that it makes it much easier to dry with our streaking. It helps the water soak into the towel when the towel is initially dry and it also makes the water run off the paint. I think you will like Hydro.

 

Yep, I've tried different spraying techniques to try to get the same effect as pouring water from a hose, but pouring it from a jug is much easier and you can either fill them before you wash, or bring them with you from home.

Richard

 

Can't do that in a MINI though... unless you're driving on roads that have been through the autoclave. The MINI kicks up dust and debris onto the boot and when the boot is wet, all that stuff sticks to it. Can you tell I've tried this ??

Since you have to wash at the DIY carwash, bee, and you can't sheet the water off, I think your options A and D are both suitable. Just depends on what you want to buy, another waffle-weave towel, or a jelly blade.

As long as you do a proper wash, the jelly blade is a safe product.

 

Thats true. The boot gets filthy. Thats why you clearbra it and then drive backwards real quick

 

^

 

I would use a cordless leafblower, then use one waffle weave and Hydro.

cordless leaf blowers are pretty cheap.. like $30 for a 115mph one at Acehardware.

 

OG...the gallon jug idea is basically what I do, except I don't use a jug...I simply, when I am all done rinsing the car, remove the spray nozzle from the hose and let the hose pour the water over the car and this also greatly minimizes any beading (my paint beads like crazy from Zaino)...one waffle weave dries the car easily.....I would think this method, or the jug method, would be a great prep for then Hydro-ing (haven't tried Hydro yet but it is on my shopping list)

 

+1 for Chuck and Melissa - I'm a blader - easy, fast and portable. Clean car, clean blade, no worries.

 

...well, i have a blade too ya know... i just dont use it these days.


i think im going to go have some breakfast...
lol

 

Oh I understand that--that's the "typical" way of achieving the same result. However sometimes removing a nozzle isn't possible on a given hose, and besides with the jug, you conserve water instead of having a running hose. Also it works great for people who don't have access to running water i.e. apartments. I'm still waiting for someone to make a bypass nozzle on a fire hose nozzle that will flow water without having to remove it.

This method works fine with Hydro. Actually Hydro ends up being a little more concentrated since there is less water to remove--but that's ok because it will help further on defect masking.

I washed my MINI yesterday this way, and rinsing it with the jug meant that I didn't have to run back to the building, turn off the high pressure water (done with a screwdriver), remove the nozzle, and run back to the building turn on the water to a flow rate that works for the job. Too many steps for my situation--filling up a jug of water before I fill my buckets is easy, and results in atleast a 50% to 75% reduction in water left on my paint before drying.

I'm all for anything that makes me touch the paint the least since my Jet Black shows swirls so easily. I actually think the "flooding method" along with an Absorber for soaking the remaining water would be the safest way to dry the car since no rubbing would be required--but then again, it wouldn't be an effective method for using Hydro.

Richard

 

I use a similar method to what OG describes. Do the flooding technique as it does remove a lot of water (I use a removable hose nozzle). Then follow up with an absorber; however, people always use the absorber wrong, don't wipe with it, instead lay it down across the panels so that no motion actually occurs, only apatting action. Then move the absorber to the next spot and pat down again, very quick and for the first gen MINI at least, the length of the absorber was perfectly the length of body panels on the side. Finally follow with a soft wipe down with your WW.

This is what I would do and I think it works great. I will be getting hydro soon and with regards to using it, I would probably use after the flooding or after the absorber.