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Emt1581
05-30-2017, 02:12 PM
I'm noticing something that I wanted to get some thoughts on when drying off my car.

I wash with Meguair's Gold Class Shampoo/Conditioner. I then use my station's shop vac which doubles as a leaf blower to blow the car dry. Works really well but it does take a while. But here's what I'm noticing... The big water beads will blow right off the car. Clear across and off the opposite side instantly. But then when I come back to be sure I got it all I see beads that look the size of carbonation bubbles in soda that blow really slowly across the surface and will sometimes disappear from sight after sticking in place (and not blowing off the car). Same thing on glass but they almost don't go away.

My thoughts are that this is NOT 100% water I'm seeing in these micro beads. Maybe wax that the leaf blower is melting, maybe soap that wasn't rinsed off, maybe something else.....or maybe it could be just minuscule amounts of water....

But again, that's why I wanted to ask here.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

-Emt1581

VISITOR
05-30-2017, 02:21 PM
that's the thing with any kind of blowing device (many expect too much from them), it will not get the car 100% dry and will leave some small droplets behind. follow it up with a microfiber towel and qd/spray wax to get the remaining droplets...

custmsprty
05-30-2017, 03:35 PM
Or better yet ditch the blower and use waffle weave towels. It takes me less than 10 minutes to dry my Rogue. I have a DP blower, it sits in the box. The time it takes to take it out, plug it in and blow the entire vehicle, well lets just say it's not 10 minutes. And on a dark colored car I'd have water spots all over it in the Florida sun before I could ever get it dry with a blower.

It's the same reason I use a foam gun vs. dragging out a pressure washer and pluggin it in and hooking up the water.

I'm all about doing things the fastest, most convenient way.

I use about 5-6 Megs waffle weave towels to dry mine, top to bottom.

PaulMys
05-30-2017, 05:55 PM
that's the thing with any kind of blowing device (many expect too much from them), it will not get the car 100% dry and will leave some small droplets behind. follow it up with a microfiber towel and qd/spray wax to get the remaining droplets...

^^This^^

Don't get hung up on getting all those little drops off with the blower. Get the majority off, blow out the seams/mirrors/emblems and have your drying towels handy to finish it off.

The reason I use a blower is the sheer size of my truck. Otherwise, I'd do like custmsprty and only use the towels.

Route246
05-30-2017, 06:11 PM
The blower is not supposed to function as a dryer. It is to get large amounts of water off of the surface so your towels don't have to absorb as much and therefore have more capacity to displace more surface water into the MF yarn mesh. The little drops you are seeing is not melted wax, I can guarantee that. The blower is able to displace water because of the surface tension inherent in water. The more slick/slicker your paint surface is the more the water molecules will "stick together" due to this surface tension.

Just remember, your objective is not to dry the surface, it is to reduce the amount of residual water left behind. Hitting the surface with a quick detailer will break down any remaining surface tension and assist your MF towel's absorption.