need recommendation: spray on drying aid - slick detail spray or spray wax?

E

extrabolts

New member
I have ONR, Megs Quik Detailers, Final Touch, and Adams QD. I realize that I only use these products as a drying aid - one or two sprays per panel as I wipe down. I'm going to keep ONR for door jams, etc, but just for the purpose of a spray or two as I wipe down the car, what would be slicker? Should I just go with something like optimum spray wax? I don't want anything that will haze or require a buffing pass, not even just a couple of swipes with a dry towel - I want to keep is as a simple mist or two per wet panel and dry as normal. It also must be something that I can spray blindly on the whole car - trim, plastic, glass, etc. Is optimum spray wax truly a haze-free, spray on a wet surface and immediately wipe product?



I've read some archived threads about a bunch of quick detailers like FK425, etc, but a lot of the threads focus on cleaning ability or other things I'm not concerned about and don't discuss those in the context of comparing to a spray wax.
 
extrabolts- While I do try to keep 'em off the glass and tires (dunno if it's necessary, just me being me), I use FK425 and FK146 for that. I also use Griot's SpeedShine on vehicles with wax for their LSP.



The FK425 is the slickness champ IME.



Note that Ron Ketcham has talked me into trying AI/ValuGard's Fast Finish for this...we'll see what I think of it. Zero complaints about the three I'm currently using though, all do what we're talking about here and all are utterly Accumulator-proof.
 
I like Griot's Speedshine for a drying aid. It's one of my favorite "waxy" qd's. For inspection during polishing or cleaning up polish residue I like Meg's #34, but for a quick shine/drying aid, speedshine does it for me.
 
Thanks. I should have been clearer. I'm not necessarily looking for a drying aid, just something that adds slickness that I can use in the drying process without changing my current routine, which is why I'm kicking around the idea of a spray wax. Can we still call FK directly and get gallons drop-shipped for really cheap?
 
Before I had a good blower to get off most of the water, I have used Valugard Fast Finish as a drying agent. Performed pretty good for me. It will leave behind a slick finish. Can only order from Valugard but IIRC it was decently priced.
 
extrabolts said:
Thanks. I should have been clearer. I'm not necessarily looking for a drying aid, just something that adds slickness that I can use in the drying process without changing my current routine, which is why I'm kicking around the idea of a spray wax. Can we still call FK directly and get gallons drop-shipped for really cheap?
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I do like all three of the QDs I mentioned for that exact purpose, sorta a wimpy version of the spray-wax idea with little chance of streaking/etc. (which I've heard can be an issue with genuine spray-waxes).



Can't say about ordering FK these days as my last purchase will last me for ages :nixweiss



Bill D said:
Before I had a good blower to get off most of the water, I have used Valugard Fast Finish as a drying agent. Performed pretty good for me. It will leave behind a slick finish. Can only order from Valugard but IIRC it was decently priced.
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"Pretty good", huh? :think: Do I sense a case of damning with faint praise there?



Even with my AirWand and compressor, I simply *won't* dry without my QDs unless I have a very compelling reason. No "pretty good" about it in my case ;)
 
Accumulator said:
"Pretty good", huh? :think: Do I sense a case of damning with faint praise there?



Even with my AirWand and compressor, I simply *won't* dry without my QDs unless I have a very compelling reason. No "pretty good" about it in my case ;)
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Demanding man! :yo:



Nothing damning about my evaluation. It's pretty good. Shoulda inserted a :bigups. I didn't find it jaw droppingly, knocked-out-of-the-park terrific or anything like that. It's not a nirvana product, but I have a real hard time qualifying any of my products as truly that.



It's worth it to have in the stash, that's what I hope to clearly communicate.
 
Bill D- OK, roger that. Now I'm really looking forward to testing the stuff!



See, those three QDs I mentioned *are* out-of-the-park winners for me. Jaw-dropping too, literally, at least upon occasion. Kinda surprising how much I like 'em.



Kinda surprised Ketch doesn't share my enthusiasm for the FK146 too, but :nixweiss
 
I currently do not use either FK425 or DG951 as drying aid, but rather as a last wipe down on my dried off car. My understanding from reading around is that both can do what you are looking for extrabolts.



I would be tempted to try FK425 next time as it will both save time and make drying with a ww less marring prone. My only concern is that I recall reading somewhere a risk of the ww sort of losing its absorbing ability (permenantly after a while) because of the QD or QW.



Any thoughts on this?
 
Ch96067 said:
My only concern is that I recall reading somewhere a risk of the ww sort of losing its absorbing ability (permenantly after a while) because of the QD or QW.



Any thoughts on this?
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While my WWMFs always seem to eventually become less effective, I don't believe the QD contributes to that. But then I wash 'em in very hot water and pretreat them with Dawn.
 
Accumulator said:
Bill D- OK, roger that. Now I'm really looking forward to testing the stuff!



See, those three QDs I mentioned *are* out-of-the-park winners for me. Jaw-dropping too, literally, at least upon occasion. Kinda surprising how much I like 'em.



Kinda surprised Ketch doesn't share my enthusiasm for the FK146 too, but :nixweiss
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I take your evaluations as gold. Heck, already brought two pieces of equipment this year on your recommendation, so I'm sure sooner or later I'll give FK146 a whirl too :bigups



The Fast Finish ought to be nice and slick and you can buff it once you dry with your drying MF.
 
Ch96067 said:
My only concern is that I recall reading somewhere a risk of the ww sort of losing its absorbing ability (permenantly after a while) because of the QD or QW.



Any thoughts on this?
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When I QD, then dry with a WW MF, always pat dry. Haven't had absorbancy issues with them. Only some *old* ones got this way. The absorbancy might go due to age more so than QD use IME.
 
Alright, well no recommenations for spray wax so I guess I'll just stick with the detail spray route. I'll pick up FK425 (finally), and since Speedshine is available in an Advanced only a couple of miles from me, well you know I've got to try that one too. That would give me six, which sounds a lot like time for a detail spray comparison thread.



Not too concerned about ruining absorbancy - I've become a fan of the Vroom drying towels from Target which are cheap enough that if I have to replace one or two per year it is no big deal.
 
Final Finish is a sort of spray LSP product. I'd use it over any OTC spray wax type of wax. I have both of those QDS you just mentioned and I think you'll like them. SS for my Audi and FK425 on my Accord. SS is especially appropriate for cars that have wax as their LSP.
 
EB If you class DG951 as QW rather than QD perhaps you can consider it a QW recommendation :). Also 1Z spray wax can be used as drying aid per the instructions. I have used it on glass with no issue.
 
extrabolts said:
Alright, well no recommenations for spray wax so I guess I'll just stick with the detail spray route. I'll pick up FK425 (finally), and since Speedshine is available in an Advanced only a couple of miles from me, well you know I've got to try that one too. That would give me six, which sounds a lot like time for a detail spray comparison thread.



Not too concerned about ruining absorbancy - I've become a fan of the Vroom drying towels from Target which are cheap enough that if I have to replace one or two per year it is no big deal.
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Mothers FX spray wax is pretty darn good when used as a drying aid. It does not streak and I can tell something is "left" on the surface as it will flash off very quickly when I wipe. In addition, it is inexpensive and available OTC.
 
I don't think I've ever found the Mothers FX spray locally :(



Extrabolts, do you need something that comes in gallons? I often order stuff by the gallon. The products mentioned so far will probably suit you fine, but I'm not sure if all them come in a gallon size.
 
Drying aid - using a drying aid type detailer like Dodo Juice USA Time to Dry diluted 1:1 with distilled water, which provides lubricity to the paint's surface, in tandem with a damp waffle weave towel (wet, wring and then wipe) when drying your car - this will help break the surface tension of the beads causing the water to run off, allowing the towel to soak up more, and minimise water spots while lowering the friction of the towel over the surface.
 
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