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How do you dry your car?

1K views 39 replies 22 participants last post by  Sol Ford 
#1 ·
After years of using leather chamois, which i found to be good , but required constant wringing out and sometimes going over a panel twice , i decided to look at alternatives.

After much car detailing website visits ( a very ocd , nerdy world !) i decided to try a Meguiars Microfibre Water Magnet Drying Towel.

Not cheap at £12-15 , size is big at 55cm x 76cm.

Well just used today and it's amazing! So quick to remove water , streak free etc. Done the entire car (civic) and only wrung out once ! And it was just damp rather than wet to be honest.

So if you are looking for something better and quicker , but not necessarily cheaper , i would try this.
 
#5 ·
I wait until it stops raining and somehow it magically dries all by itself :D
 
#11 ·
Silicone water blade then a micro-fibre towel, which has now started to leave lint behind - must get a more expensive one next time.

My Skoda went 5,500 miles between washes last time a d the front wheels have taken a permanent hit because of it. Oh well, I'll be ordering it's replacement in 6 months.
 
#14 ·
Y'know how clothes dry on the line? Like that.

Or if I'm in a 'detaily' mood? I dry it by immediately applying Auto Glym Super Resin Polish. Rather than buffing it off, I take it off by applying a coat of Mer. Rather than buffing that off, I take that off by applying a coat of some Nano Gloss stuff I got free many years ago. That one I'll buff off. Then it's a coat of Simoniz Hard Wax, taken off with watered-down Super Resin Polish. Then glass, plastics, tyres with umpteen different products. Works reasonably well:

 
#18 ·
After years of using leather chamois, which i found to be good , but required constant wringing out and sometimes going over a panel twice , i decided to look at alternatives.

After much car detailing website visits ( a very ocd , nerdy world !) i decided to try a Meguiars Microfibre Water Magnet Drying Towel.

Not cheap at £12-15 , size is big at 55cm x 76cm.

Well just used today and it's amazing! So quick to remove water , streak free etc. Done the entire car (civic) and only wrung out once ! And it was just damp rather than wet to be honest.

So if you are looking for something better and quicker , but not necessarily cheaper , i would try this.
Thanks for the heads up! One coming tomorrow thanks to the magic of amazon prime for the princely sum of £10.81
 
#27 ·
All depends how bothered you are really, but on a sunny day you'll see the damage that car washes can do to your paint with swirls and spider-webbing. It bothers me, so I always wash it myself with the two bucket method, but at the same time that's my eccentricity, each to their own :)
 
#35 ·
My thoughts on these kind of places... have a look at what their mitts are floating in. It's usually filthy water thats getting dragged over your paint, after they've hit it with a strong TFR that has no doubt removed any wax protection you had put on. If they still use sponges rather than mitts there is nowhere for any dirt to go, which then gets dragged over your paint, after this they'll often dry it with a chamois (again, nowhere for any dirt to go, gets dragged over your paint). Now go park your car in the sun or under petrol station forecourt lights and admire the swirls.
I appreciate this sounds OCD, but then again I always use snowfoam, pressure washer, clean wash mitt, two buckets with grit guards, clean drying cloth etc.. I also appreciate not everyone has the time or inclination to do so or even cares, and that's fine, but will the end result be as good as the one I achieve? Nowhere close.
 
#37 ·
:lol:

Seriously. As Slug said up there ^^^ life's too short. My car will get washed by VW next week when it's in for it's 60,000 mile service. It's been washed once since it's 40,000 mile service. They also hoover it and have done at 20,000 and 40,000 miles and will probably do it again next week.
 
#39 ·
I am with Chino UK with regards to my washing method, snowfoam, 2 buckets, etc, I enjoy it and dont find it a chore. OCD Nebula wax is awesome for those that have never heard of it btw.

Those scratches and swirls will really show on a freshly machined polished car. I can understand those that are letting other people wash there car as the swirls kind of get lost in the other swirls and you are not really going to see the damage being done (lets be honest, this will be for the majority of car washers, very few go down the machine polishing route).

The difference between a clayed and polished clearcoat and a swirled scratched one is eye opening, well it was for me.

Here is a before and after from my Z4:







Its not for everyone though, If I found it a chore, I wouldnt do it either :D
 
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