Car Wash: wash, Wax-As-U-Dry, rinse, blow dry

I just had to share my new wash method. I now wash and rinse the car, spray the car with Wax-As-U-Dry, gently rinse the excess, then blow dry with my handheld leaf blower. I leave just a little beaded water to finish the job with a single towel. It works much like the automatic car washes, with the spray wax, rinse and blow dry as you exit. I even use the blower on the door jams, with the doors pulled open. The blower does great at getting the water out from the mirrors, hatch, and other places where the water would drip after the car was dry.

As an owner of dark blue cars for many years, I was always looking for a way to give a nice finish after washing the car. Back in the day, I would usually have to wax the car to make it look the way I wanted. Just washing and drying would always leave me streaky and somehow I was never quite satisfied. Then I found Wax-As-U-Dry. I just used a natural chamois to dry the car after spraying the Wax-As-U-Dry and then I would follow with a nice towel to finish it off. I loved how the Wax-As-U-Dry would get all creamy and nice on the chamois and it really left a great shine. Of course I also still did a good hand wax on occasion, but the Wax-As-U-Dry became my routine for every wash.

Now, I've added the rinse step and blow dry, to make it much faster and I only use a single towel to get the last little bits. With no towel, you can get some spots. It just takes the slightest remaining moisture and a quick once over with the towel to get a very nice job. I also love how the blower gets the water out of all the nooks and crannies.

I have an easer method. Wait for a rainy day and take a ride.

Joe_Meehan said:

I have an easer method. Wait for a rainy day and take a ride.

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That only works for silver cars, maybe a little for red and white too. It does not work for dark colors.

Yeah you've never had to take care of a red car lol rain yeilds lots of road crap all over the car specially on the hatch and door jams. Red is a dark color IMO comparable to black in trying to work the defects out.

One of the things that you do that seems the most gentle (on the painted surfaces) is to blow dry your car. (Needless to say you do not want to put your leafblower's intake portion near a pile of fine sand (etc))

This helps in the dilemma of course that the best way to keep the finish pristine is never to actually touch the painted surfaces.

So it will be interesting to hear about the procedure/s you use to wash your car. I personally use the two to three bucket system. (one soap, two rinse, 100% cotton toweling). Since I wash the car early in the mornings (no sun, no wind, cooler) to not PO the neighbors I use 100% cotton bath towels to dry. I hav extended the car wash cycles (unless environmental conditions dictate other wise). I have also gone to 6 mo or so interval treatment with Zaino on the same principle (touching the finish as little as possible)

Yeah you've never had to take care of a red car

Actually my wife has a red 1992 Toyota (My Beetle is silver) Neither of us really gets excited about shinny cars.

I can see how that would work. I like detailing cars and we share some similiar approaches. I..

1. Hose it down
2. Wash it. I use to use the two bucket method but now I don't care enough
3. Blow it with compressed air in one hand and a towel in the other
4. Two step polishing if needed. I only polish once or twice a year for new paint
5. I use a dual action rotary, if you haven't tried one they are awesome, with Klasse All in One to clean the paint chemically
6. The the final coat goes on. For wax I use Collinite because it looks good and lasts longer than anything else. For sealants I go with Klasse sealant glaze. Both of these are difficult to work with but worth it.

Your method is quicker for sure but since I do not have a dark colored car I am less inclined to wash it as much and would rather have a wax that lasts longer.

i have black car so im all too familiar with water spots,
all you have to do is wash your car when its overcast or early in the AM before sun comes out, and there's plenty of time to use waffle/microfiber towels to dry it up.

once in a while i use SMARTFAX and apply it while car is still wet, it actually pushes the water away as you apply wax and there for you end up with waxed and shiny and spot free car.

Because our water here sucks, I bought a gallon sprayer at walmart for 10$ and after I am done washing I spray it down with distiller water... No water spots. And a gallon of distiller water costs 50-75cents. And then I can take my time drying the car.

Zaino.

I started using it last fall when I bought my Black '10. Even when the car is filthy, it's still shinier than any of my coworkers' cars. I will use it until either I'm too old to care or the company goes out of business.

I wasn't trying to start a product promotion or a color fight. I was really just trying to share the idea of using a blower to rermove some of the excess water. I think it really is an innovation and could work for many regardless of the other details about their own personal method.

I only had one red vehicle. It was a new 1976 candy apple red Ford F150 4x4 pick-up truck. I immediately put on those white snowflake wheels, that became popular back in those days. Back then, it seemed I was one of the few that had the massive tries on my truck. It really was a beauty, especially at night under the lights! My next truck was a 1984 F350 4x4 with a 460 4-barrel. It was midnight blue. That truck was also beautiful and an unbelievable work vehicle. I felt like I could have pulled an entire house right off of its foundation with that F350.

I'm not really sure I'd want a leaf blower pointed at my car. I prefer microfiber and wax.

I hate leafblowers for drying. CR Spotless system and let the sun do the drying work for you.

You know there are dedicated blowers on the market specifically for no-touch car drying. There was a write up in a magazine where someone used a dog drier with great success. A dog drier is what they use in a dog grooming parlor to dry the dogs quickly after shampoo.

And here I thought everyone was going to think I was a genius!

Now I almost feel like trying to delete the entire thread. I think I'm going to stop washing my car.

You guys are pretty nice, so just think what would have happened to me if I posted this on vortex.

Using a blower to remove water has already been used for years. If you go to any of the detailer forums or other car forums, you'll find threads upon threads on this and what blower works better than other. I used to use a Metro vac n' blow as a blower before I went with a CR Spotless system. Blow drying is still a fine and established drying technique.

My disclaimer is that I've never used a blower to dry my car. So really I'm not saying it's necessarily bad, as I have no experience doing it, but rather I'd just never otherwise have a reason to purchase one. My towels are cheap and I have them

I hear ya on the vortex thing...

PureDope said:

My towels are cheap and I have them
.

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How are those towels for getting the water that keeps dripping out from the all the crevices? We have very hard water, so if you don't dry it, it ends up etching the paint.

When I had my water softener installed I had them install a separate tap for washing the cars. All washing and rinsing is now on very soft water. Chamois and towel dry and Turtle Wax Ice. A quick run up the interstate at 70 mph and back and catch the lingering drops.

Rinse method to help dry

Quick, easy rinse method I learned on the Detailing forums that makes drying much faster and much more effect...

Take the nozzle off the hose, turn the water volume down to nice slow flow, let the sheeting action of the water take 80-90% of the water off the car during the rinse.

Then just take one of the waffle weave giant blue microfiber towels and you can dry the entire car before needing to wring out the water from the towel. I sometimes use a silicone squeegee before the towel to make it that much easier.

Fast, no need to use a blower, and no water spots...

MaddogTDI said:

Quick, easy rinse method I learned on the Detailing forums that makes drying much faster and much more effect...

Take the nozzle off the hose, turn the water volume down to nice slow flow, let the sheeting action of the water take 80-90% of the water off the car during the rinse.

Then just take one of the waffle weave giant blue microfiber towels and you can dry the entire car before needing to wring out the water from the towel. I sometimes use a silicone squeegee before the towel to make it that much easier.

Fast, no need to use a blower, and no water spots...

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+1. Sheeting is one of the best methods for initially getting as much water off the paint as possible.

I'll probably get shot by you detailing purists, but here's what I do.

2x/year I give the car a good detailing inside and out (waxing and fixing paint chips on the outside; vacuuming and McGuire's (sp?) spray on the inside.

Between those two detailing sessions, I drive my car through a respected auto car wash here in the Rochester, NY area (Delta Sonic). A few months ago, they started offering a wash-all-you-want membership for $15/month (which I joined), so I drive through the car wash at least 1x/week, often 2x/week. I could go every day if I wanted to. In the winter, or during pollen season, or if a bird craps on my car, I go on an as-needed basis.

I don't have time to hand wash as often as I would need to in order to keep the car clean, so I machine wash frequently, and then hand wash/wax to keep the car properly protected.

It's a daily driver, so I'm not going to be fanatical about it (although my wife thinks I am being fanatical, since my car is almost always clean looking).

Hmmm, I think I'll stop by Delta Sonic on my way home from work tonight....

So curious I tried the leaf blower method today vs my 1 gallon sprayer of distilled water. Because I did witness the detailer at my tint shop, using compressed air to dry a vehicle they were working on.

Its a pain, and in fact leaves lots of water marks because much of the water evaporates faster. So, yes most of the water is blown off, but the remainder evaporates and creates water spots, especially for those of us with hard water(no softener) So even with the strongest leaf blower or compressed air its just going to cause spots because evaporation is still happening.

We are not allowed to wash cars in Texas this year (or maybe next, too). A good blast down the freeway at 80 or 85 (speed limits) is all it takes to get the cobwebs and dead tree branches off. We are on water rationing and our reservoirs are going dry. Be glad you are not a farmer, but then again, you don't have to worry about a dirty tractor now.

aja8888 said:

We are not allowed to wash cars in Texas this year (or maybe next, too). A good blast down the freeway at 80 or 85 (speed limits) is all it takes to get the cobwebs and dead tree branches off.

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...

You mean I'm not the only one that does that?

I can say with confidence have no part in turning Lake Houston back into the east and west forks of the San Jacinto river with some puddles hanging around.

aja8888 said:

We are not allowed to wash cars in Texas this year (or maybe next, too). A good blast down the freeway at 80 or 85 (speed limits) is all it takes to get the cobwebs and dead tree branches off. We are on water rationing and our reservoirs are going dry. Be glad you are not a farmer, but then again, you don't have to worry about a dirty tractor now.

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For water rationing, take a look at Optimum No Rinse (OPT ONR) or one of the waterless washes (Optimum Opticlean, Ultima WW+, DP Waterless Wash, etc)

aznwhip said:

For water rationing, take a look at Optimum No Rinse (OPT ONR) or one of the waterless washes (Optimum Opticlean, Ultima WW+, DP Waterless Wash, etc)

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Thanks, I do use the Optimum spray wax and like it.

aznwhip said:

For water rationing, take a look at Optimum No Rinse (OPT ONR) or one of the waterless washes (Optimum Opticlean, Ultima WW+, DP Waterless Wash, etc)

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I have been using ONR since it came out, best stuff for those people in water restricted areas. it also makes a good quick detailer.

in search for advice

Hi everyone,

I wash my car using sponge (Viking Auto Chenille) and two bucket method. Obviously, I didn't wash/dry it properly (either not enough soap, or sponge not rinsed completely, etc) since very fine streaks/micro scratches are noticeable from certain angle of light reflection. How can this be fixed? Would hand waxing be enough to fix it? Polishing maybe?
The scratches are minor (not visible past four feet away).
I'd like to know what you all suggest. I’ve tried hard to baby this car, and I still messed up...

Interesting, I went to Delta Sonic yesterday and there were so many dirty streaks after they were done I came home, grabbed a bucket, went to work and finished the job and wiped it down with my chamois. They did do a nice job on cleaning the wheels however. Just put a coat of Liquid Glass on this morning, will put a second on in a couple of hours. LG also works great on the windshield. It ain't cheap, but it's good.