To chamois or not to chamois?

R

rogie

New member
I just read an article, from one of the largest manufacturers
of auto cleaning products in america saying DO NOT use chamois.
Is this correct? They say it(chamois) creats too much suction
and can do damage to paint. I've just started to use a chamois and
it seems to work for me. What do you guys have to say. I'm out.
rogie
 
I never really liked chamois. I think it takes a little bit of a technique. It seems hard to maintain a swirl free finish with one. I know that there are some detailers who really like chamois. I beleive True Detailer uses chamois when he details.

I am more of a fan of waffle weaves and will probably always be. So to answer to chamois or not to chamois? I give it the stamp of personal preference.

Greg
 
I use the California Blade and a waffle weave. I skip the blade if time is not an issue, but it works nice on windows.
 
Too much suction ?? Sounds like alot of hot air to me. I've used my chamois maybe one this year because my Waffle weaves were drying..

Look into getting a WW towel , you'll be amazed at its one pass drying .
I got mine at pakshak.com. great company
 
Theres nothing wrong with using a chamios.been using one for years, and never have any problems.

I'd like to know what manufacturer said all these things. maybe they make a drying tool other then a chamios??
 
I started using my shop vac on the exhaust side to dry my vehicles.
It does a better job, gets the water out of the creases where water hides, out of the mirrors, and emblems.
I still use a water blade or drying towel sometimes when I'm to lazy to drag the shop vac out.
Try it you'll like it!
 
The chamois had it's time but I prefer my sonus and pakshak WW's
There is also the 200mph forced air technique - featured at winners circle where a special nozzle attached to a compressor blows all the water away which means touch free drying

Chamois are made from poly vinyl alcohol and in my experience the alcohol in them weakens most sealants (except klasse and zaino) and can scratch and reduce the slickness of the paint if used incorrectly
A regularly cleaned chamois is a far safer one and works better
If your paint is very slick and well maintained, a chamois won't leave wiping lines

You should wash it after each use.
A natural chamois sticks to the paint which I hate.
 
the title of this post leads to question, "which is the best way to safely dry u're car"?

well the answer depends on the user and its intentions. if u're a enthusiast who probably works on not more than 4-5 outside cars than a waffle weave will be fine.

if u;'re a professional whos doing 10-12 vehicles a day than a chamois is gonna be the more obvious choice since it doesnt need drying.

which one is the safest out of the two tools! my vote for WW. a waffle weave can use its nap to hold and protect the paint from any dirt particle or airborn contaminant which has settle on the paint inbetween u rinsing the vehicle and grabbing the chamois.

but in reality, cars, especially cars that are gonna be taken care of, will getting marring. if not from that, than from qding, if not from that, than from the washing. marring and swirls are unavoidable. the best u can do is minimize it by simply using good technique.
 
I vote for the WW!!

Have used the chamois with pretty good results but the waffle weave is so much easier IMHO!!

Yet, Joyride 1113 made a valid point about the number of vehicles in a day that one may use the chamois compared to the waffle weave. Luckily I only have to do one a day. So my waffle weaves are always dry the next day
 
JeffW said:
Gave my chamois' to my neighbor and he uses them on his fleet trucks.

MF & WW only for me.
Click to expand...

I did the same thing and my neighbor uses it on his company work truck. I have switched over to MF WW towels and I couldn't be happier about it
 
the end result really is that with a quality mf ww and a quality chamois, a WW will be easy to use (no wringing) and the end result being safer.

a chamois needs to be made sure its cleaned, it needs wringing, and suctions onto the paint.

but like i said with the above post, it depends on how many vehicles u're drying.

im sure pros liek truedetailer, wouldnt mind using a WW on their own vehicles, but as for clients, its not beneficial.
 
joyriide1113 said:
the end result really is that with a quality mf ww and a quality chamois, a WW will be easy to use (no wringing) and the end result being safer.

a chamois needs to be made sure its cleaned, it needs wringing, and suctions onto the paint.

but like i said with the above post, it depends on how many vehicles u're drying.

im sure pros liek truedetailer, wouldnt mind using a WW on their own vehicles, but as for clients, its not beneficial.
Click to expand...


Aloha joy , as for my business , I love WW , and yes they need drying in between jobs . So I have 5 WW's ..2 water blades ..

Its alot faster for me and time is money .
 
I've used a chamois for more years than I care to remember..my first new car was purchased in 1968...I think it's all techinque, I've had no problems with streaking or swirls etc...sounds like the article was written as hype to promote their own line of products...I have never used the ww towels or the water blade....I have heard that the synthetic chamois "asorber" (?) does work well...I've also used the exhaust port on my shop vac.
Something to be aware of.....If anyone decides to use a gas powered leaf blower...some brands do spit out small amounts of oil when first started. Let them run for a little while or blow some leaves arouind before aiming it at the car........Dt.
 
I have been using the blade and synthetic chammy since I started I dont have the time to blot dry customers cars.

I like to keep a new one handy in case of blacks etc,never had any problems with either I would hate to not have the blade saves so much time over the years I have got pretty fast with that tool.
Theres far too much hype around in my opinion you stand a better chance of scratching with a towell.
but I would say that if your good with the blade you can almost blot the exess with the synthetic which is nice on new high end cars when your doing that top job.
If your detailing for money time is of the essence .
Jay
 
SVR said:
The chamois had it's time but I prefer my sonus and pakshak WW's
There is also the 200mph forced air technique - featured at winners circle where a special nozzle attached to a compressor blows all the water away which means touch free drying

Chamois are made from poly vinyl alcohol and in my experience the alcohol in them weakens most sealants (except klasse and zaino) and can scratch and reduce the slickness of the paint if used incorrectly
A regularly cleaned chamois is a far safer one and works better
If your paint is very slick and well maintained, a chamois won't leave wiping lines

You should wash it after each use.
A natural chamois sticks to the paint which I hate.
Click to expand...

Chamois are made from the inner-split of a sheep pelt.
 
Having used quite a variety of drying products over the years, I thought I might chime in.

My preferred method today: MF Towels, WW preferred, but terry is fine.

Used for years with no problems: The Absorber synthetic chamois and cotton terry towels.

Used for years waaay back when MF and the Absorber weren't available: A leather chamois and cotton terry towels

For several years I used the cotton terry towels by themselves. Seemed to take about three to four per drying session.

The worst problem I had with the chamois was cost and care. They were quite expensive at the time and needed to be taken very good care if or they fell apart.

As I post regularly, Having your vehicle clean before you dry it is one of the most important things you can do to prevent marring. If whatever you use to dry the vehicle gets dirty, you didn't have the vehicle clean.
Use clean wash solution, clean wash mitt, clean drying product and you will have done about all you can do to prevent marring.

Charles
 
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