We MINI (and Mini) owners all know the notorious drip spots that show up even after you've meticulously chamoised-dry every square inch of your baby... you know, the corners just below the rear window trim around the boot, the side view mirrors, the backup sensor plug, the area around the gas cap, the front and rear grills, and of course the side markers and Cooper logos, and more. No matter how much you dry, you still inevitably end up with the drips that drip down the side of your beautiful finish especially if you go for a ride soon after the washing.

My trick and it works pretty well is to use a vacuum (capable of handling water) to suck out the water. It does a great job! If you need to, put a soft terry cloth over the end (and hang on to it!) to protect the finish and you'll be amazed at how much water gets pulled out of those nooks and crannies. Those annoying post mortem drips get reduced to a bare minimum.

 

Never tried it on my Mini but I've been using the blower feature of my shop vac on my motorcycle for years works probably as well but I don't have to touch the bike.

 

vacuum!
that's a cool idea. ive seen a lot of people blow the water away using
air compressors but that sometimes leaves unwanted mists on other parts
of the car.

i guess for those that use the blower as primary drying tool and finish off
using a towel will have no issues, but for those that dries their cars with
a towel should find the above useful.

 

I use my leaf blower. My neighbors think I'm totally nuts but it works perfect for getting the water out of those nooks & crannies, especially the bottoms of the rear lights and side marker assembly.

When they commented I said hey, have you ever taken your car through an automatic car wash (of course, never my MINI!)? And what's the last stage? "Blowers"!!

That shuts 'em up.

 

I, too, use a blower. Works great.

 

My drying system doesn't suck, it blows.

 

And for those of us w/o access to electicity where we wash/dry, might I suggest the following strategy:

1) dry as usual taking extra care to sop up those "special places" where water collects mentioned by DaveTinNY.

2) keep the microfiber towel that you finished with (not sopping wet) handy.

3) drive somewhere (often predetermined) at a reasonable speed for about 1.5 - 2 minutes.

4) stop somewhere and hit the drips w/ the damp mf drying towel.

5) repeat steps 3 and 4 once more.

You want drive to blow out the water, not dry it, so don't go too far.

 

"My drying system doesn't suck, it blows."

Now THAT made me laugh out loud here at work... thanks for that one.

 

What's that old college saying? Morse may suck, but JE swallows.

OK, name that college.

 

You can also use an air compressor if you have one.

 

I'd also suggest a step 4.5: Open and close the hatch about four times.

 

That's my usual 3rd step. Wash, then dry. Then pull El Kabong into the garage and shop-vac all the nooks and crannies and finish up by vacuuming out the inside. I've gotten it down to about 45 minutes for the entire process, 55 minutes if I do a quick coat of Z6 to finish.
Annette

 

Wash-dry-drive around the block-dry again-DONE

 

Using a vacuum or blower would worry me as they would probably kick up dust into the air, which would then stick to any spots on the car that are even slightly damp.

It's much easier just to do one spray of the car with filtered water as I do with the Mr. Clean, and not worry about any water spots.

 

i'll probably end up getting either a compressor or a leaf blower to dry
my multi-piece wheels. there's a area between the spokes and rim behind
the spokes where a good 1/4 pint or so of water is retained... it's a biotch
to sponge that out after each wash.

 

Yep, I have a 3' long wand accessory for my air compressor. Makes it easy to access all the nooks, crannies and grilles and dry the wheels completely without even bending over.

I found this to be faster than my 200mph leaf blower because the stream of air is so concentrated. Plus no risk of a contaminent getting in the blower airstream and causing damage. (had that happen to a friend)

 

i usually use a portable electric leaf blower to dry spots that accumulate water. please give attention to the door sill areas. this is where rust usually accumulate from what i have searched in this forum. also the rear hatch areas. plenty of water settle around the weatherstrips that do not dry out even after a couple of days.

just my 2 cents.

 

^^ very true. on my garage queen, i keep the door and hatch open
over night with the dehumidifier running in the garage.

 

The Mr Clean car wash system solves this too. It uses a filter to let you do a final rinse with no contaminents in the water. The result is the car doesn't water spot. Not on the body, nor on the glass or mirrors. It actually works. There may also be a wetting agent in the soap. But you just rinse and let it air dry! No chamois or drying needed for spot free!

 

maybe it's just the crappy indianapolis mineral water, but mr clean doesn' t prevent water spots for me.

 

Hey Guys..

I've tried the leaf blower thing.. but it didn't work nearly as well as the Metro blower that I picked up at Griot's.. It's more accurate and it's small, so I can easily move it around. I found one on eBay for less than what Griot's sells their for.. It's 4hp and delivers 29,000 FPM. It's very powerful and I would highly recommend using some hearing protection.. as it gets really high pitched around gaps and lug nut holes.. A good microfiber-ing and a little blow and no first-drive-drips!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Metro...spagenameZWDVW

 

Just go out and corner at 100 mph a few times afterwards... the water will become terrified and leap right off your car.

Not that I'd ever advocate speeding or anything... Nope, not me...

 

I gave that one a try.. not quite triple digits.. and got a stern stare from one of my cities finest as I spirited-ly took a corner onto my street.. I then mentally calculated the price of a ticket versus the blower.. and placed my order later that afternoon.

... that's not to say that I don't keep the "But, officer, I was just drying off my car" line in my back pocket for when the 5-0 do give me the brights.. (don't worry.. i don't really hold out hope that the aformentioned excuse would actually work)

 

Yes, but blowing on yor car isn't NEARLY as fun.

And I was looking at that $170 blower, and realized that it looks almost EXACTLY the same as the cheap-o inflator unit we bought wrom Wal-Mart to fill our kiddie pool! That unit only cost $30 and it can generates a surprising ammount of force when used with a small-aperature fitting on the nozzle (several are included for inflating small rafts and other things with smallish valves). With summer getting ready to slide into fall, such items will be on deep, deep discout soon (if they aren't already). I'd try THAT first. hell, maybe I'll buy a bunch and repackage them as "Mini Detailing Blowers" for the low, low price of $99.99 (+ 12.95 S/H). Gotta love ebay!

 

Excellent idea!... and you'd be a Power Seller before you knew it! Just rebadge them for each brand of car and advertise on forums.. Damn.. that is a good idea! If I had the extra time, I'd help you develop it!