Best Chamois for drying a lot of cars?

T

tommyortom

New member
I work at a dealership and need a chamois that will work best for drying off a lot of cars (3-4 an hour). I usually use microfiber towels at home, but we have "the absorber" chamois at work....are those probably the best choice?
 
My favorite “chamois-like drying tool� is Meg’s Soft Touch Microfiber Chamois (or better yet, their larger version in the marine line, the Microfiber Super Suede Drying Cloth). I prefer these over PVA sheets like the Absorber.



I agree with deathlok, that a blade would be faster. I would also think that the risk of scratching from grit getting caught under the blade is higher in the dealer environment. You’re always in a rush and being absolutely sure that all grit is washed off before blading is more difficult. That’s your call.



It would probably be a good idea to have two small mf towels handy, one to wipe the blade after a pass and one to wipe residual traces of water off the paint.





PC.
 
I wonder if you had enough waffle weaves that you could rotate them, maybe stick the wet ones by a heater to increase the drying rate.
 
I think there's one called Water Wizard. I've got 4 different brands. Water Wizard, if that's the right name, is best.
 
I use a synthetic man made chamois at work...works fine. They suck when they're brand new, but work real nice once they get worked in. They last for about 3 months before they wear thin.



The waterblade can cause a heck of a mess in a hurry and cause a lot of down time cause usually when you're using one you're flying, and that leaves a nice scratch across the whole hood, and it's usually DEEP!
 
I have seen mobile detailers use a leaf blower with waffle weave MF towel. He seems to get a car dry very quickly and get excellent result.
 
Leaf blower or/and Air Compressor (make sure there are good dyers in the air system) are my votes also. Most dealers have air compressors. Blow the excess water off of the car which will remove about 90% of the water and then dry with MF towel if necessary. much less risk of scratching and the only thing you may have to dry is the ground :).
 
I\'d use a hose without spray nozzle to flood off as much water as possible, then lay a chamois, MF, or waffle weave towel (your choice) flat on the hortizontal surface to absord as much as possible without at drying motion, then use a soft MF towel to get what\'s left.



Wring-out the towel that\'s doing most of the absorbing/drying and you\'reready for the next vehicle.
 
I used a water blade and a good chamois when I worked at a dealership. Just be sure you keep the blade clean as it will easily scratch the paint if you dont.
 
I watched the guys at a local dealer "detail" the cars on the lot... one guy had a pressure washer (which seemed to be spraying only water) and about 3 guys followed with what looked like synthetic chamois of some sort... tan, rectangular... I happened to be looking at one of the cars, a medium blue $38K job, with loads of free spiderwebbing marks.



I vote for an investment in waffle-weaves.
 
Many years ago, in the pre-waterblade era, I saw a guy in my neighborhood using a winter wiper blade to squegee water off his car.





Speaking of squegee\'s have you ever seen anyone using one on their windows at a gas station and then use the squegee to get the excess dirty squegee-bucket water off their car?
 
NYV6Coupe said:
Speaking of squegee\'s have you ever seen anyone using one on their windows at a gas station and then use the squegee to get the excess dirty squegee-bucket water off their car?
Click to expand...





Yes........your point?

I even do this on road trips
 
My point is ... people are using that dirty krappy squegee, which has probably been on the ground 100's of times, on their paint.



If a well cared for waterblade isn't good enough & causes scratching & marring, that gas station squegee has to be just a step above using a brick to remove water.
 
NYV6Coupe said:
My point is ... people are using that dirty krappy squegee, which has probably been on the ground 100's of times, on their paint.



If a well cared for waterblade isn't good enough & causes scratching & marring, that gas station squegee has to be just a step above using a brick to remove water.
Click to expand...





MY bad I thought you had a issue with it on glass... carry on
 
Jim D. said:
I watched the guys at a local dealer "detail" the cars on the lot... one guy had a pressure washer (which seemed to be spraying only water) and about 3 guys followed with what looked like synthetic chamois of some sort... tan, rectangular... I happened to be looking at one of the cars, a medium blue $38K job, with loads of free spiderwebbing marks.



I vote for an investment in waffle-weaves.
Click to expand...



yeah they hire these dudes out to clean all the cars on the lot cause it is cheaper than paying the $8/hour "detailer" they employ to wash 100s of cars. it is a lowest bidder type of operation. probably get less than a dollar per car.
 
NYV6Coupe said:
Many years ago, in the pre-waterblade era, I saw a guy in my neighborhood using a winter wiper blade to squegee water off his car.





Speaking of squegee\'s have you ever seen anyone using one on their windows at a gas station and then use the squegee to get the excess dirty squegee-bucket water off their car?
Click to expand...



I saw some ******* lady do it to her G500! I wanted to slap her.
 
tommyortom said:
I work at a dealership and need a chamois that will work best for drying off a lot of cars (3-4 an hour). I usually use microfiber towels at home, but we have "the absorber" chamois at work....are those probably the best choice?
Click to expand...



If I was in your position, I'd just keep using your absorber for the dealership work and make a decent effort to keep it clean (e.g., don't let your co-workers throw it on the ground, wash and dry it at least daily, etc)
 
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