What's the best thing to use to dry a car?

[R3RUN]

So im going out and buying some car washing things tomorow because my car is nasty and all my stuff is back in atlanta. Whats the best thing you have used to dry your car and where did you buy it?


Also if you want to chime in on your favorite soap/shampoo/etc. go ahead.

[green91]

i always use a chamois to dry my cars. plus if its a good one you can wash it in your washing mashine and its good to go again.

[Bishop]

go buy one of those squeeges. They are about 12inches long. Work great. Then i follow up with some sort of meguiars drying rag (dont know the name)

[atl530i]

I've used shammy rags in the past. They work ok.

[souldigger]

I use chamois only and Meguiars deep crystal car wash.

-Jason

[GTScoob]

www.autopia.org

I use one of the 'Absorber' brand chamois, been using the same one for a couple of years. Microfiber works really well. I'd advise against the California Water Blade/squeegee type just because all it would take is one particle to get under the blade and then you've got a bunch of scratches all over your car.

[R3RUN]

cool, thanks.

[Repost Squintz]

california duster

[dELfONiK]

I use microfiber towels to wash and dry my cars... They're like $5 or $6 for a pack of 12 at Wal-Mart...

[The Stiffler]

and also at walmart, youc an get a really cool seat cover !!! and oh yeah seat belt cushion!! those r rad!

[allmotoronly]

I use chamois only and Meguiars deep crystal car wash.

-Jason

yea the meguiars soap is def the best. I use one of those absorbs chamios as well. It works really good. If you wax it good, the next time you wash it the water will bead off so good you should only have to dry the hood,roof,deck lid and maybe the windows. I use meguiars gold class wax. Never use a buffer. do it by hand.

When I was younger I worked at a car lot. My job was to make sure all cars were clean, had no mechanical problems, and were lined up correctly. I always used meguiar's products, which seem to be the best all around. The best thing I have found for bugs is greased lightening mixed 5 parts water, 1 part degreaser, spray it on and make sure you get it off quick. It should not hurt it unless you let it dry on the car (unless you have a shitty aftermarket paint job). That same mixture works best on wheels/brakes/tires as well.

[brads94accord]

yea the meguiars soap is def the best. I use one of those absorbs chamios as well. It works really good. If you wax it good, the next time you wash it the water will bead off so good you should only have to dry the hood,roof,deck lid and maybe the windows. I use meguiars gold class wax. Never use a buffer. do it by hand.

When I was younger I worked at a car lot. My job was to make sure all cars were clean, had no mechanical problems, and were lined up correctly. I always used meguiar's products, which seem to be the best all around. The best thing I have found for bugs is greased lightening mixed 5 parts water, 1 part degreaser, spray it on and make sure you get it off quick. It should not hurt it unless you let it dry on the car (unless you have a shitty aftermarket paint job). That same mixture works best on wheels/brakes/tires as well.

what i use to dry my car is a 12" california water blade and to get the water from the places the blade wont go is the same absorber i have been using for the last 3 years. just throw it in the wash every few months and rinse it very well before and after i'm done washing. just make sure you frequently rinse of the water blade to make sure no particles are on it.


never use a buffer? whats wrong with a buffer, i have waxed all of my cars every month since i was 16, the best results i have found are with a buffer. i have gone through the majority of meguiars products. hell even my $20 orbital buffer i bought 4 years ago works better than by hand.

what i find works best on my car for a good polishing is:
light cut cleaner compound on a yellow(lake country) pad, followed by swirl mark remover on a white(lake country) pad, then some #7 show car glaze on a black(lake country) pad, then finally protect is with some #26 high tech yellow wax applied by a red lake country pad....all of this is applied by my porter cable DA polisher with a 3m flexible backing plate then removed by hand with microfiber towels.

http://www.superiorcarcare.net/dual-action-polishers.html?gclid=CNP9k7qE4ocCFQMkWAodg205tw

people ask me all the time who painted my car and i tell them its a factory paint job and most people dont believe me. my car has never been repainted.


why work yourself to death rubbing wax in when you can get better results with a buffer/polisher. and damn my knuckles always hurt like hell when i'm done waxing by hand.

[allmotoronly]

hand waxing is safer for the paint. even though you donty notice it, a buffer is taking off minute amounts on the top layer of paint/clearcoat. after a while it will start to look a little dull. I have been washing/waxing all my cars on a regular basis for many years as well... Doing it by hand always looks cleaner and never shows any kind of swirls. Any dark color car will swirl when you use a buffer even if you do it right. you will still see swirls in the sunlight. Like I said, When I was younger I worked at a high end car lot for about 2 years. I waxed BMW's. M-B's, jags, and all kinds of other nice cars. We did detail work on customer's cars and also detailed new or traded in cars. We had three of four buffers there but I would never touch one and I always was complemented on how good the wax job was and how it was better than other places that used buffers. working yourself to death rubbing in the wax always produces a better final result and is more consistant and smooth. If you buff over the same place just one extra pass with a buffer you will see a difference when the car is in the light, especially on dark cars... A white or silver car is not as hard to buff with a buffer, and is much more forgiving, but I dont take any chances with it...

[brads94accord]

hand waxing is safer for the paint. even though you donty notice it, a buffer is taking off minute amounts on the top layer of paint/clearcoat. after a while it will start to look a little dull. I have been washing/waxing all my cars on a regular basis for many years as well... Doing it by hand always looks cleaner and never shows any kind of swirls. Any dark color car will swirl when you use a buffer even if you do it right. you will still see swirls in the sunlight. Like I said, When I was younger I worked at a high end car lot for about 2 years. I waxed BMW's. M-B's, jags, and all kinds of other nice cars. We did detail work on customer's cars and also detailed new or traded in cars. We had three of four buffers there but I would never touch one and I always was complemented on how good the wax job was and how it was better than other places that used buffers. working yourself to death rubbing in the wax always produces a better final result and is more consistant and smooth. If you buff over the same place just one extra pass with a buffer you will see a difference when the car is in the light, especially on dark cars... A white or silver car is not as hard to buff with a buffer, and is much more forgiving, but I dont take any chances with it...

buffers/polishers only remove the top layer of paint when you use an abrasive cutting pad. i only use light cut compound on my car about once every 4-6 months and I polish once a month with glaze and caranuba to seal it. when i do use the glaze and wax i dont use an abrasive cutting pad, the pads i use have no cutting action whatsoever. they dont leave swirls if used correctly. buffers remove swirls better than hand waxing ever could. I used to wax my car by hand and i have found better results using a polisher. I had very minute swirls in my paint and i could never find any hand products that would remove them. I tried 3m swirl mark remover, meguiars swirl remover, meguiars light cut compound by hand. none of them ever worked until i bought my porter cable 7424 DA polisher and applied them with that then within 2 hours the swirls were gone.

[Bishop]

buffers/polishers only remove the top layer of paint when you use an abrasive cutting pad. i only use light cut compound on my car about once every 4-6 months and I polish once a month with glaze and caranuba to seal it. when i do use the glaze and wax i dont use an abrasive cutting pad, the pads i use have no cutting action whatsoever. they dont leave swirls if used correctly. buffers remove swirls better than hand waxing ever could. I used to wax my car by hand and i have found better results using a polisher. I had very minute swirls in my paint and i could never find any hand products that would remove them. I tried 3m swirl mark remover, meguiars swirl remover, meguiars light cut compound by hand. none of them ever worked until i bought my porter cable 7424 DA polisher and applied them with that then within 2 hours the swirls were gone.
you are correct sir. It will only remove layers of clear if you use a cutting pad. If you are applying wax with a black or blue pad (lake country) it won't take off can clear.

[brads94accord]

you are correct sir. It will only remove layers of clear if you use a cutting pad. If you are applying wax with a black or blue pad (lake country) it won't take off can clear.

also the red pads do not have any cutting...


the only lake country pads that cut go in this order from highest to lowest

yellow
orange
white


obtw to everyone interested in a porter cable 7424 we keep mentioning lake country pads because they are very good pads

[Bishop]

also the red pads do not have any cutting...


the only lake country pads that cut go in this order from highest to lowest

yellow
orange
white


obtw to everyone interested in a porter cable 7424 we keep mentioning lake country pads because they are very good pads
i havent seen a red pad before. I only have the yellow, orange, white, black and blue. black is for applying waxes and sealants. The blue pad applies paint glaze in an ultra thin, even coat. It can be used to apply wax, also. If i do a whole detail and use all 5 pads and finish off with the blue pad, the surface is smooth as glass.

If anyone is interested in buffers, this is my setup. If you have never used a circular polisher, i would not suggest buying one. If you dont know what you are doing it is very easy to burn through the paint.

This is the pad kit i got http://www.autogeek.net/curvededge.html
And this is the circular buffer i have http://www.autogeek.net/dw849.html

[brads94accord]

i havent seen a red pad before. I only have the yellow, orange, white, black and blue. black is for applying waxes and sealants. The blue pad applies paint glaze in an ultra thin, even coat. It can be used to apply wax, also. If i do a whole detail and use all 5 pads and finish off with the blue pad, the surface is smooth as glass.

If anyone is interested in buffers, this is my setup. If you have never used a circular polisher, i would not suggest buying one. If you dont know what you are doing it is very easy to burn through the paint.

This is the pad kit i got http://www.autogeek.net/curvededge.html
And this is the circular buffer i have http://www.autogeek.net/dw849.html

definately from what i have heard have someone show you how to use it. I personally have never used one before but i have used my DA long enough so i think i have a general idea of how it works.

i need to get a rotary polisher. the prelude i painted would look so much better if i polished it with a rotary. i got most of the wetsanding marks out w/ my DA but you can still see them up close. it urks me.

[Jaimecbr900]

Flynn's products are better than Meguiars in my experience.

Meguiars is very good, but Flynns is even better.

With that said, to dry it is faster to use a combo of the squeege and absorber. Problem with the squeege is that if you hit a dry spot, it can come out of your hand and scratch the car. Been there, done that. Nothing a little cleaner wax can't fix, but it could be bad. The absorber type drying towels work great, as long as they are kept clean. You can wash them easily, so that's not a big thing.

Microfiber towels work great for waxing. That's all I use to take off wax most of the time. Again, as long as they are clean.