Hi all! My R56 got its first bath yesterday (no waxing or polishing yet, just a wash), and I used an Absorber (chamois) to dry it as I had always done with my previous car. First of all, it took forever as I had to pause constantly to wring it dry. Secondly, it took so long that it left horrendous water spots all over and I basically had to wash again.

Some friends of mine suggested the California Water Blade to remove the majority of the water before toweling the car dry. I'm hesitant to use the water blade as I've heard it can cause damage to the paint.

In any case, what technique has been the most successful for you? Thanks!

P.S. I also discovered a difficulty in getting the honeycomb grille dry (too many little holes!). Anyone have any experience with that? There's only so much time I can devote to inserting a bit of MF towel into each opening, one by one.

 

Although I am pretty sure this isnt the answer you want, what has worked best for me is going to the car wash.

 

Ahh! Swirl City!

 

Check ou the stickies in this forum, there are some good reccomendations in there. I don't like chamois cloths, just as a personal preference. My Dad swears by them, but I've never been impressed. The water blade works well, as long as the car is completely clean and you use it lightly. You'll still need another form of drying.

After I finish washing I do a light rinse (on my attachment I set it to a fine mist) to help bead up water and let as much run off as possible. Then I take the california blade and gently glide most of the remaining water off, starting at the top and working my way down. Then I use a thick microfiber towel and pat dry any remaining spots. I have a small mf towel (more of a washcloth size) that I use in cracks, door sills, and other trouble spots (I use it with more of a 'wicking' method for these areas).

Hope that helps. There are a lot of knowledgeable people and good info in this forum though, so browse through some of the the other posts and you'll get lots of ideas.

 

Heck, get enough dirt on it, and you don't see the swirls.

 

on my commuters with Hydro most of the water sheets off. the remaing
water i spray some Hydro and wipe off using my Griot's thick MF towel. no
wringing needed. i use to use the paint blade but no longer needed
when hydro is used.

on my weekend car i will again let most of the water sheet off by
giving it a stream of water (my hobby cars use griot's best of show)
during final rinse (no spray) and place the MF towel over the wet paint
and rub the back side of the towel to gently press the towel down.
no wiping, just soak the water and move onto the next panel.

then i pull out my cordless electric leaf blower and blow out the water
in the crevises... then touchup again with the drying MF towel to get
to the rest.

 

::cough:: OCD ::cough::

 

kenchan: Excellent! At one point yesterday I remember yearning for a leaf blower while drying my grille and other honeycomb bits.

Hydro is on my list of DP product to buy next round (I have Nero, Clarity, and Wizard's Black Renew due in tomorrow).

 

well, not done yet... cause after drying, the car gets a treatment of
griot's SprayOn wax on fresh MF towels.


then a final dry buff at the end...

with Hydro, you dont need to do this.

 

yah, a trick passed onto us by BradB and octaneguy...

im not sure if octaneguy uses leafblowers these days...

yep, a good idea to get a gallon of Hydro.

 

I thought you were lazy Ken?

 

He is, hense the leaf blower. If he wern't lazy he'd be out there blowing his cars dry with his own hot air

 

yah, i am... on my commuters.

yah, i spent 2 hours dusting off my grill and re-dressing them last
night on my MCS. was going to wait for OG's BlackWow, but the grill looked
pretty dirty to me so couldn't wait. Nero did a superb job on the
lower grill. i used griot's Rubber and Vinyl dressing on the upper aero grills.

first QD'ed, then painter's taped the surrounding paint, used a boar's hair
brush to rid dust followed by dressing with q-tips each honey comb, then
waiting... then dressed again... then buffed, removed tape and QD'ed
front end.

i look up and 2hrs passed.

 

I'm off at a DIY car wash when I wash so I just use an Absorber to blot (not wipe) water off a section (sucks up most of the water), then follow up with a waffleweave microfiber towel. The only reason I go in sections is because in the wind the car will usually dry itself after using the Absorber and I'd rather finish things off with the towel. I do have to wring out the Absorber once or twice, but that's simple enough.

 

use a shop vac around the headlights, tail lights, all seams and the honeycomb areas after you dry the car with whatever you like. It works wonders and does not create the water runs you get as soon as you drive the car. I tried this after the first time i washed my '05.

 

yah, just make sure your blower doesn't pick up any debris and fire them
at the car. i use a electric cordless one on purpose as the power is much
lower... only 115mph tops advertised... so probably like 85mph on a good
day

 

I do as Kenchan does, except I use Griots spray wax as I dry. This adds a bit of lubricity incase I missed some dirt or the water starts to evaporate before I get to it. This also leaves it with a nice shine. I too use Griots Garage MF dry towel.

Once the car is clean I go over the whole thing with Speed Shine. Yes, I know, could be a bit much, but I do it anyway. Also dry all the door jams, trunk and hood with speed shine.

 

What I do is use a squeegie for the body. Just like for the windows of better material. This will get the majority of the water off, followed by a blow dry at about 80. The key step is when I then do a quick wax. The type where you just spray and wipe. It gets all of the water marks out and you can do it the for the next few days to keep it looking awesome!

 

I can get my MINI dry using one MF waffle weave towel (but I have a cabrio so I don't have to dry the top ) Sometimes I go back over a few spots with a monster fluffy

After talking to a few people I would never use the jelly blade. To me that is just asking for scratches.

 

yup the cordless blower works. I bought mine from sharper image and you can control power output by modulating the trigger.

just like kenchan, remove sprayer from hose and let water sheet on the panels. Spritz Hydro and dry with a waffle weave MF.

 

scurves, would it help to go another round of SprayOn wax instead of
SpeedShine? i noticed that speedshine will actually remove some sprayon
wax... or is this to blend the wax together with the older wax?

 

you mean HYDRO!

where can you get this stuff? oh here...

www.detailersparadise.com

 

or long yellow streaks from your pollen getting caught in the blade.

 

I honestly dont know. I know they have a trick with the spray on wax...but if i tell you...you may not learn much at the Tech Session this weekend.

 

awww, you playing tricks with me now?