Why is the water blade never discussed?

D

danforz

New member
Just curious... I personally wouldn't use it because of the increased risk of marring... but I never noticed the topic arise here ever?
 
If it's not, it's probably because simple waffle weave towels are so effective. I've never seen the advantage of using the Water Blade personally.
 
Water blades are great - I use one all the time to knock off 90% of the water before I go back to finish drying with a MF towel. If you scratch your vehicle with one you either didn't wash your car first or dropped the blade in the dirt and didn't rinse it off. It saves time and does a great job stopping water spots on windows before they start.
 
It's a decent product if used correctly, however the chance of it marring the finish is greater then with a waffle weave. For me, I'd rather just use the waffle weave. Gives me a bit more peace of mind, especially on a customers car
 
Danforz- Maybe try a different search term...the CWB has been discussed quite a bit.



JuneBug said:
..If you scratch your vehicle with one you either didn't wash your car first or dropped the blade in the dirt and didn't rinse it off..
Click to expand...



That's almost exactly what *I* always said... until the marring happened to me. I consider myself (with, IMHO, sufficient justification) to be quite careful/thorough/meticulous about how I wash, and I work in a very clean environment. I used the CWB many, many times before I finally caused a scratch with it, but after it happened a few times I quit using it and I haven't instilled a RIDS of that severity since. For one thing, the CWB lends itself to long movements, so if you *do* get marring it's likely to be a *long* scratch. No way to get a long scratch if you blot, for instance.



Like a lot of choices in detailing, it's a calculated risk and I suppose everybody will do the risk/benefit calculation a little differently (so if it works fine for you, cool). But it's not like only a careless person is likely to ever have a problem with it contributing to wash/dry-induced marring. Same ol' same ol' ...[stuff] happens.
 
I had 3-4 of the purple and clear ones at the shop. We used them on the cars we detailed, but I always hesitated using one on my own vehicle. I'd hate for 1 sand spec to be blown out of a crack, crevice or body seam and lay on top, waiting to get embedded into the soft rubber blade and cause major damage throughout the entire vehicle. Preventative maintenence would be to stay away. Plus, I was constantly cleaning the blades off with APC to remove the caked on dirt.
 
PINITI-FX said:
JELLY BLADE is waaay more flexible - new & improved version from the same manufacturer.
Click to expand...

It doesn't matter how flexible the blade is. It is the products intended use that causes the problem.



The use of long strokes to remove water from the surface poses the issue. It only takes a spec of dirt to cause a decent scratch which would stretch the length of the blade swipe.



Sheeting and using WW towels proves to be an excellent (and far safer) method instead of dragging a blade across the surface. In fact many Autopians blot with WW towels and do not drag them either for the same concern.
 
Well, when you dry with ONR, its impossible to just blot since you can't rinse off the intial dirt. You need to do a few full-on passes to get the dirt in suspension off, then another to ensure dryness.
 
i have never had any problem with them ,and i was the first to use them at a high volume body shop(pacifco ford body shop)philadelphia airport automall
 
I use one. I wipe the blade down with water and my hand after a couple passes.



However.. out of the dozens of times Ive used it Ive only encountered one time it caused marring, and get this.... it was my fault, not the blades. I was working on a truck that had gone through some sand and the blade caught a lip near the tail light where I failed to wash thouroughly... and I dragged some sand about 2 inches before I noticed what I had done. Of course.. I was able to correct it.



Bottom line is.. if you use this thing correctly it isnt going to hurt your paint. If you do instill marring, its probably your own fault. Lastly.. if you cant fix some minor marring caused by a water blade.. well.. should you be detailing cars? hehe
 
35TH LE said:
Bottom line is.. if you use this thing correctly it isnt going to hurt your paint. If you do instill marring, its probably your own fault. Lastly.. if you cant fix some minor marring caused by a water blade.. well.. should you be detailing cars? hehe
Click to expand...



Do they work - yes. Should it be used when your just doing a maintenence wash - not if you mind the possibility of it creating damage and causing more work. On cars getting an exterior detail, squeegy your heart out. On ones getting washed - use it at your own risk and realize that there's a chance for problems.
 
sixty7mustang22 said:
I just use the CWB for windows. I use a waffle weaver for the rest of the car.
Click to expand...

+1.......to me that makes it easier to hit your windows real fast and then continue on.
 
PINITI-FX said:
JELLY BLADE is waaay more flexible - new & improved version from the same manufacturer.
Click to expand...



You're right about that! We got a sample one a couple of months ago and they work well. I power wash the car after compounding & glazing to remove excess from body seams and splatter. The cold weather doesn't give me a lot of time for drying and the Jelly Blade will remove 90% of the water outside the shop. Then, I can bring the car inside for the remaining to dry with a microfiber.



Very nice product and I don't see any scratching at all.



Totoland Mach
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top