Drying a car in 80-95 degrees? (Fahreinheit)

[Niko Molina]

80 Fahreinheit = 26.6 Celsius
95 Fahreinheit = 35 Celsius

So as a mobile detailer I'll be running into the problem of having to dry my client's car with my leaf blower & blot with a waffle weave MF towel, yet with the scorching sun beating down on the car, I'm not sure if I can dry it fast enough so that water spots don't appear.


Any tips?

I have ONR... could I spray some on the water spots and wipe them off just fine? i.e. use it as a 'detail spray'?

[swanicyouth]

If your working in direct sun, I'd recommend a DI water set up for the final rinse if your using a 2BM wash.

[Niko Molina]

If your working in direct sun, I'd recommend a DI water set up for the final rinse if your using a 2BM wash.


How much would that run? My tank is going to be about 65 gallons.

Will be using both Foam Cannon and 2BM.

[swanicyouth]

Probably a whole lot of money to use it for that. You just need to keep the car wet and use it for the final rinse. A CR Spotless is like $400.

[mwoolfso]

I have ONR... could I spray some on the water spots and wipe them off just fine? i.e. use it as a 'detail spray'?

I have nothing against a DI water setup but with the context being "minutes" ONR will work fine; even a mist of distilled water will work as well.

[swanicyouth]

The DI water can actually save you time in the sun, because you can clean your stuff up / put it away / do other things while the sun dries most of the car.

Then, when it's mostly dry, just quickly wipe it down with your drying aid of choice. It's really a life saver on glass as well that is baking facing the sun when your trying to wash an SUV.

[tommythecat]

Using ONR you can also wash and dry in sections. Do the roof then dry it and so on and so on. I had a friend that would wash his car like this on really hot days and it didn't seem to add a bunch of time to the process.

[Sherif]

I wash and dry my SUV under similar temp. range, and sometimes higher during the drying stage, usually I use the blower first for mirrors, door handles, all the nooks & crannies and blow off any remaining water on panels (it's opti-coated so 90% of the water runs off during rinsing/sheeting) then wipe it down with plush MF towel (purple 600gsm or crazy pile) and ONR, QD or spray wax (except for glass, I use glass cleaner with glass towel).
I never tried DI water but IMO it's not necessary because I'm gonna wipe it down anyway (with QD, spray wax or spray sealant) so even if I got some water spots during the blow drying time (15-20 minutes max.), they'll go easily with the final wipe down.

[parttimer]

A canopy?

[GenesisCoupe]

I do mobile details often. It usually is general clean up/sealant application. The most trouble i ever encounter is with black colored cars. I try to dry a section at time. Doesn't have to be pefect since i will apply a sealant by machine so any small water spots will come right off as i'm applying the product.

Claying however can be more difficult and i have to dry immediately.

[VP Mark]

This is where ONR washes are a life saver. Even on a black car at 100 degrees in direct sunlight no water spots.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using AG Online

[WRAPT C5Z06]

Cr spotless

[allenk4]

Probably a whole lot of money to use it for that. You just need to keep the car wet and use it for the final rinse. A CR Spotless is like $400.


$249 for the 100 gallon set-up at some Club Member Stores.

With average water hardness, CR Spotless should actually get 300 gallons of DI water per charge. This should come out to around $.90 per 5 gallon RINSE.

I highlight rinse, because you can save a lot and reportedly get equivalent results using tap water for the wash portion of the process and DI only for the rinse process.

In most larger cities, DI water can be purchased in bulk. The Chemical Guys retail store in Los Angeles sells it. Aquarium Supply stores as well.


- Use customer water for wash and CR Spotless for Rinse

- Use customer water for wash and purchase bulk DI water for rinse

- Use one mobile tank with tap water and a separate smaller mobile tank for bulk DI