What do you DRY your vehicles with?

I`ve got Guzzlers, Pluffles and PFM`s. PFM`s are the current fav. I`ve ordered some Woolley Mammoth`s (Chemical Guy`s) to try out...... they appear to be the same towel as PFM`s only $25 ea. vs $38. I`ll know for sure next week!
 
I got a cheap compressor and have been using it to get water from under the spoiler, etc. It`s only 100 PSI so it kicks in a lot - makes me want to get a larger one, but I already feel silly with the amount of equipment I have for an enthusiast.

side note: not loving the RC Pluffles. I`m glad I didn`t over-buy these, as my Dry Me A Rivers are so much better, especially the ones I have had for a while.
 
WaxAddict said:
I got a cheap compressor and have been using it to get water from under the spoiler, etc. It`s only 100 PSI so it kicks in a lot - makes me want to get a larger one, but I already feel silly with the amount of equipment I have for an enthusiast.

side note: not loving the RC Pluffles. I`m glad I didn`t over-buy these, as my Dry Me A Rivers are so much better, especially the ones I have had for a while.
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I tried a small 16x24 pluffle, nothin` to it, too thin, was goin` for more but 1 was enuffle. ;)
 
I rinse, then flood rinse with a CR Spotless system, and finally blow the majority of the remaining water off with a Master Blaster.

Deionized water is a big deal.
 
I`ve used the California water blade for years but just recently started to use the cobra ww. I haven`t had it scratch yet but maybe I`m just lucky for now, but I`ve always flood the car before using it and let the weight of it dry the paint so that I`m not putting extra pressure down. Is this the best, no but I`m now looking for a better way to dry myself.
 
I am old-school and STILL use a quality Viking 5 sq. ft. chamois. Lots of wringing out by hand, but it does dry pretty good. Do not need to use a liquid drying aid/quick detailer.

Also use a Toro variable-speed leaf blower FIRST to cut down on amount of water I need to absorb/remove. No, I do not use the flooding-rinse method when I use the leaf blower.
But it sounds like a good method if I am not going to use (or SHOULD not be using) the leaf blower, like 6:30 AM on Sunday morning after washing my vehicle in my driveway with the next-door neighbor`s bed room close by.

Also, those of you who do use a leaf blower as a poor-man`s Metro or air compressor to blow off water from a vehicle, three common sense things you need to consider doing when using a leaf blower:
1) Wear ear plugs. Protect your hearing. Most leaf blowers are pretty loud when you hold them up next to your head while blowing off the roof of a vehicle.
2) Try not to touch the paint or ANY surface of the vehicle with the air nozzle. If you are tired (or under the influence of some alcoholic beverage (or whatever) while working on a vehicle, those touches can (and do) happen if you are not vigilant and careful about.
3) DO NOT EVER use a leaf blower to blow off water AFTER you`ve used the blower as a vacuum to suck up leaves or lawn debris, if it has that feature. When you turn it on as a blower, that debris will blow out on to you vehicle. You might not use the blower for a while and forget that you have used it as a bagger vacuum the last time. (Yes, I am speaking from experience. Guess common sense is not so common after all!) Best thing is to never use the blower as a vacuum if it has that feature.
 
If I am using towels, I prefer PakShak`s waffle weave. They have been good for the last few years. I always wash them separately and never used any drying aids, etc.
 
Bunky said:
If I am using towels, I prefer PakShak`s waffle weave. They have been good for the last few years. I always wash them separately and never used any drying aids, etc.
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I have a "new improved " ww from PakShak that is disappointing. I had some older ones from years ago that were great. It is almost water repellant. I have tried washing it several times and no change.
 
Lonnie- Are you able to get *all* the water off with the chamois? I used one for years (over a dozen) and no matter what I did it always left a tiny amount of water behind that I had to get with a towel. People said they couldn`t see what I was talking about, but I`d see it if the light was right.
 
Metro Master Blaster, then, finish off the remaining drops with a single Cobra 530 MF or a waffle weave (some areas need a few blasts before the majority of water is cleared out, like grill moldings, side mirrors, and "side marker" lenses).

Some people might prefer to eliminate the majority of water with microfibers first, then go over the water retaining areas with the the Blaster. I just keep hitting the car with air, all over, including jambs and under the hood (EXCEPT the fabric battery-box thing on the VW`s, since there might be corrosive particles in there, even with a sorta-clean battery).
 
I use the Griots PFM towel and metro side kick for the crevices, door jambs, mirrors, bumpers etc.
I have a few other drying towels as well but most of them just hang out now. The PFM is just too good.
 
John U said:
I`ve got Guzzlers, Pluffles and PFM`s. PFM`s are the current fav. I`ve ordered some Woolley Mammoth`s (Chemical Guy`s) to try out...... they appear to be the same towel as PFM`s only $25 ea. vs $38. I`ll know for sure next week!
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The Wooley`s arrived. I won`t get a chance to wash a car for a bit because of hand surgery but there is a difference. The PFM on the right side is a "loop" pile vs the "cut" pile of the Wooley. Not telling which one sucks better until I get them wet.
 
You guys who can get by with just DI-Rinsing kill me, seriously...yeah, I`m really envious! I can get by with that on the Tahoe in the dead of Winter, but my vehicles just aren`t right for that when I want them to actually turn out OK.
 
Accumulator said:
Lonnie- Are you able to get *all* the water off with the chamois? I used one for years (over a dozen) and no matter what I did it always left a tiny amount of water behind that I had to get with a towel. People said they couldn`t see what I was talking about, but I`d see it if the light was right.
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No, I do not get "all" the water off drying with a chamois, BUT I feel it`s just as good as a "quality" waffle-weave towel I got from Detailed Image. I think that`s one of the reasons many here within this forum are following up or using a QD or the like as a drying agent to remove any remaining "deposits" or "film" left behind as the soap-and-water dries from natural evaporation.
I know this because my windows are streaked after drying and require the use of either a water-spot remover, if I am really anal about having clean windows, OR Sprayway Foam Window Cleaner to remove the residue. My water-spot/residue film "problems" are a result of having no water softener or de-ionizer for my municipal water supply, which comes from Lake Michigan. It`s not super hard, like the water drawn by individual property-owner wells from the aquifer situated within the limestone Niagara Escarpment present throughout Northeast Wisconsin, but it still has some of those calcium and iron minerals. The aquifer water at my home place about 35 miles north of Green Bay WI where I lived in my youth was SOOOO hard with iron and limestone, it actually caused my father`s white hair to have a goldish-yellow tint. That particular area also had a high incident of gall bladder stones in women that required surgery, my mother being one of them. Only recently has this gall stone and hard water association been made.
 
Lonnie- Thanks for the detailed response. Even with my softened water (leaving the CRS out of this discussion), anything like spotting/streaking simply drives me *nuts* so I never let it evaporate and I`m utterly fanatical about getting every little bit off, which I just couldn`t do with the chamois. Those tiny droplets that most people don`t see are critical to me.

My WWMFs would get it all for a while and then start leaving some, which meant Replacement Time. No such problems with my plush ones so far...
 
Lonnie said:
I think that`s one of the reasons many here within this forum are following up or using a QD or the like as a drying agent to remove any remaining "deposits" or "film" left behind as the soap-and-water dries from natural evaporation.
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I dry with a "drying aid" specifically to reduce the chances of marring - not sure I`ve ever even thought it had a positive impact on the actual drying. I may consider other benefits to using some sort of "drying aid" such as added shine or extra protection.
 
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