Drying with a leaf blower?

C

couper

New member
How many of you actually use a leaf blower to dry your cars? I'm looking to
save some time, reduce chances of introducing swirls and micromarring and of
course giving the neighbors a good laugh! Right now it takes longer to dry my ride than it does to wash it. Just thought thought I'd ask.
 
My dad use to have an electric leaf blower that we only used to dry the cars. Worked great and got the water out of those hard to reach places. I never saw any adverse affects with it. I now have a gas leaf blower and will not use it on the car. I am afraid of it spitting some gas-oil mix on the car. Just be carefule not to hit the car with the leaf blower when you are using it. Also, don't let the leaf blower get dirty inside, otherwise you will be shooting that dirt at your ca at a very high rate of speed.
 
The neighbors really take second looks when I have the motorcycle up on a lift drying it with the leaf blower...
 
I would be very careful using one and not be too close..most of them blow at speeds of 150mph+ which can literally blow the paint right off the finish...if you want a safer method, get an air compressor with a blowing tool ...it's cleaner, safer and can also pump up your tires:)
 
I do it all of the time. Just make sure the area around your car is wet/damp to avoid kicking up any dust/dirt and start from the roof and work your way down. I flood the panels, blow off most of the excess and use OCW or Spray and Gloss mist to wipe down the excess.
 
GreyS60 is wise: don't use a gas powered one, electric only, never getting very close to the finish.
 
greyS60 said:
Just be careful not to hit the car with the leaf blower when you are using it.
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Couldn't you make some sort of soft trim "ring" that you would glue around the output of the leaf blower? That would help protect the car if you did bump it.
 
I use the exhaust port on my shop vac :)

Beware of using a gas powered leaf blower to dry, because some of them can blow an oily residue.
 
Poorboy said:
I would be very careful using one and not be too close..most of them blow at speeds of 150mph+ which can literally blow the paint right off the finish...if you want a safer method, get an air compressor with a blowing tool ...it's cleaner, safer and can also pump up your tires:)
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Then how does Jeff Gordon keep the paint on his Dupont Chevy Monte Carlo going 200 MPH? :crazy

It must be Dupont Teflon wax. :lmfao
 
If anyone is looking for alternatives to a leaf blower I mentioned in a post a few weeks ago about a motorcycle dryer from the local harley store. The tool is just larger than a hair dryer (pretty small), extremely quiet, electric powered, only about 2-3lbs., and comes with a soft neoprene and rubber tip so if you do happen to hit the paint it wont cause any scratches. Blows air at 112.5mph and the best thing is the price, somewhere between $40-45.
 
MS22 said:
If anyone is looking for alternatives to a leaf blower I mentioned in a post a few weeks ago about a motorcycle dryer from the local harley store. The tool is just larger than a hair dryer (pretty small), extremely quiet, electric powered, only about 2-3lbs., and comes with a soft neoprene and rubber tip so if you do happen to hit the paint it wont cause any scratches. Blows air at 112.5mph and the best thing is the price, somewhere between $40-45.
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I might be interested. You got links or a name for that product?
 
I also just use the exhaust out of my SHop Vac. Make sure the areas around the car are wet to avoid the sand and whatever from blowing up.
 
Hello

I use a toro leaf blower to dry my car off. It works great at getting the water out of the cracks and getting alot of the paint. It definatly gives the neighbors a laugh, but when you detail you must ignore the neighbors comments.

I also have a shop vac with the 250 mph blower on it. I have not used that yet. Does anyone know if that runs a chance of blowing the stuff that you suck up on to your paint?

Greg
 
GregCavi said:
Hello

I use a toro leaf blower to dry my car off. It works great at getting the water out of the cracks and getting alot of the paint. It definatly gives the neighbors a laugh, but when you detail you must ignore the neighbors comments.

I also have a shop vac with the 250 mph blower on it. I have not used that yet. Does anyone know if that runs a chance of blowing the stuff that you suck up on to your paint?

Greg
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I would strongly recommend NOT using your shop vac blower port to dry off your car. Even if it is one of those models with the built-in detachable blowers. They work great on sidewalks, but not on clearcoat finishes.

The problem with using any shop vac as a blower is it's hose. Since we typically use it to vac wet and dry surfaces, the dirt and dust clings to the wet innards of the accordion folds of the hose where it finally drys out...waiting to be blown out on your paint finish at 80-100mph as the hose is flexed breaking loose the dried dirt.

Want proof, just take a peek into your hose with a flash light. You'll see it isn't clean shiny black plastic.

Only way I'd consider using it is if I removed the hose and blasted it with a pressure washer...but even then I don't think it would get the dirt out of all those accordion folds in the hose.

I'd stick with a dedicated cheap electric or even a gas blower. Always ensuring it's intake is kept spotless.

-craig
 
DShiznitz said:
I would strongly recommend NOT using your shop vac blower port to dry off your car. Even if it is one of those models with the built-in detachable blowers. They work great on sidewalks, but not on clearcoat finishes.

The problem with using any shop vac as a blower is it's hose. Since we typically use it to vac wet and dry surfaces, the dirt and dust clings to the wet innards of the accordion folds of the hose where it finally drys out...waiting to be blown out on your paint finish at 80-100mph as the hose is flexed breaking loose the dried dirt.

Want proof, just take a peek into your hose with a flash light. You'll see it isn't clean shiny black plastic.

Only way I'd consider using it is if I removed the hose and blasted it with a pressure washer...but even then I don't think it would get the dirt out of all those accordion folds in the hose.

I'd stick with a dedicated cheap electric or even a gas blower. Always ensuring it's intake is kept spotless.

-craig
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ya i have not useed that on the paint. The problem with doing that is you get all the dirt and stuff traped in the hose. I use my vac for shampoo extraction so i wouldnt think of blowing that crap onto my paint. SOme poeple have suggested to get another clean house for drying purposes. I guess it woudl work but the toro hasnt failed me so im sticking to that.

Greg
 
GregCavi said:
SOme poeple have suggested to get another clean house for drying purposes.
Greg
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Thats flawed advice as well.
Even with a new hose dedicated to blowing/drying, the problem is still that the air coming into the vac goes into the intake hole (where vac hose usually is) and then must pass thru the dirty impeller and filter and then into the exhaust hose and then onto your paint. It's bound to pick up dust on its way thru the dirty filter and ports.

Only solution would be to have a dedicated hose and a new filter used only for blowing...as long as you wash the resevoir of the shop vac thoroughly first...none of which makes any sense to me.

The dedicated blower is definately the way to go.

-craig
 
GregCavi said:
SOme poeple have suggested to get another clean house for drying purposes. I guess it woudl work but the toro hasnt failed me so im sticking to that.

Greg
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But, for those that don't have a leaf blower, the dedicated hose might be a good idea. Probably less than a $10 investment.
I do have a leaf blower or I would probably consider it. In fact I might consider buying a dedicated drying hose to use on my Vac-N-Blo. :)

Charles
 
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