How To: Maximize Your Drying Towel

[Nick McKees37]

Vehicles are getting larger to accommodate all the stuff we like to carry around with us. What used to be considered a midsize sedan ten years ago now falls into the compact class. And just like the dollar menu at your favorite fast food joint, you get more for your money. While the vehicles are growing in size, so are the products needed to maintain them. With the right products and a little knowledge, you can make drying your vehicle easier.

We have an abundance of drying towels here at Autogeek ranging from natural to synthetic. Everyone has their own personal preference when it comes to the towel/tool they use to dry their vehicle with. The ideal method is to avoid touching the vehicle altogether while drying, and while this is certainly possible with the 8.0 hp Metro Master Blaster, not all of you have one of these awesome machines yet.

The towel I'm going to demonstrate for this article is a member of the Cobra family of microfiber towels. It's appropriately named the guzzler and it's available in a variety of different sizes ranging from 16" x 24", to 20" x 40", and a massive 28" x 44". For a compact to midsize sedan, the 20" x 40" is a great size (I keep a 16" x 24" for the wheels, tires, and door jambs). The towel is super soft and can hold over seven times its weight in water.

Below is a picture of a 20" x 40" Cobra Supreme Guzzler Waffle Weave spread out across the hood of my Accord.

Even with the towel folded in half, it's still a good size.

Folded again.

Folded one more time. Because it has been folded so many times, it's very easy to hold and you can maximize the absorption capacity. You don't have to worry about portions of the towel dragging across the pavement as you dry lower panels.

Before you use any towel on your vehicle's delicate finish, pull the tag off! It only takes two seconds and with the Cobra towels the tag is lightly glued on, not stitched so you avoid the risk of damaging the towel.

In order to get the most out of your drying towel, here is a tip that has been used for years that most of you should be familiar with if you visit this forum frequently. It's called flooding the surface.

Below is what the water typically looks like after you've washed the vehicle and rinsed it off. As you can see, the water is beading on the roof.

While it's pretty to look at, all the water beads will quickly saturate your drying towel.

With a brass shut off valve attached to the end of your hose, you can stop the flow of water and remove your nozzle. This is really convenient because you don't have to walk to the back of the house, shut the water off, unscrew the nozzle, fold the hose, and turn the water back on. This is an excellent example of working smart, not hard.

With low pressure stream of water (you can adjust the brass shut off valve accordingly) flood the surface, starting at the top of the vehicle and working your way down.

In order for this to work properly, you need to have a quality wax or sealant on the paint. If you haven't waxed your car in five years, you're not going to get the same affect.

No more water beads!

After you finish flooding the paint and have removed the majority of the water sitting on the surface, fold the drying towel to a comfortable, easy to manage size and start drying.

Some prefer the patting method of drying, while I like to do it the old fashioned way. The Cobra Waffle Weave drying towels feature a super soft edge so there is no risk of scratching or marring the paint as you drag the towel across the surface.

As the towel becomes saturated with water, fold it until you find a dry side. When folded properly, you should have a total of eight sides of the towel to dry with.

After folding it a couple times I revealed a dry side of the towel.

This is what the towel looked like after drying an entire Toyota Corolla. About 85% of the towel is saturated with water and there are still dry spots on it. I did not have to wring it out once.

Here I am wringing out the towel after drying the entire vehicle. Very little water came out of the towel as a direct result of the impressive absorption capacity of the Cobra Waffle Weave Guzzler along with the flooding the surface technique. If your vehicle has a coat of a high quality wax or sealant, you should have no problem drying the entire vehicle without having to wring out the towel once. The best way to dry the towel is to hang dry it.

Hopefully this article shed some light and provided a couple helpful tips and tricks on how to properly dry your vehicle without using four different towels. With a high quality towel such as the Cobra Waffle Weave Guzzler and a little bit of knowledge, you can maximize your investment by getting the most out of your drying towel.

Cobra Microfiber Products

Single Brass Connector Shut Off Valve

[bigbadbp7]

Look at that learned something new about drying a car. This will definetally be on my next order. Great write up too!

[dougaross]

I find that using a quick disconnect with a short length of hose instead of directly from the shut off valve will give a better (less bubbling) flooding effect. This is not my idea but I don't remember who to credit.

[budinsc]

great tips nick! thanks.

budinsc

[Nick McKees37]

Look at that learned something new about drying a car. This will definetally be on my next order. Great write up too!

great tips nick! thanks.

budinsc

Thanks fellas.

I find that using a quick disconnect with a short length of hose instead of directly from the shut off valve will give a better (less bubbling) flooding effect. This is not my idea but I don't remember who to credit.

That sounds sound like an excellent way to further control the pressure because the extra length of hose past the shut off valve will act to slow the way down even more. Cool.

[Garry Dean]

Goodness... I hope you're getting paid for all of these details, bro.

Thanks for sharing!

[Nick McKees37]

Goodness... I hope you're getting paid for all of these details, bro.

Thanks for sharing!

The knowledge gained is worth investing the time into a small project like this one.