best way to dry a car

what_car

whats the best wat to dry a car to remove the small water droplets after washing? so theres no spots on the car when it dries...

fletch

I use one of those rubber blades to take the heavy water off and then a genuine leather chamois, works a treat

Victor_M

^ I'm the same as fletch, make sure you keep the chamois wet when you are storing it.

furtzy

fletch wrote:

I use one of those rubber blades to take the heavy water off and then a genuine leather chamois, works a treat

As above......get a good quality chamois though

rebel.ranter

leather or synthetic?
I use a leather one, I think it's fine but it seems that the proffessionals recommend the synthetic variety.
I would slow to use a rubber sqeegie, do they mark the paintwork?

peasant

...and don't work in full sunlight or when the car is hot.
(i.e. not today )

layke

fletch wrote:

I use one of those rubber blades to take the heavy water off and then a genuine leather chamois, works a treat

Bang on, then polish and your done.

JohnCleary

layke wrote:

Bang on, then polish and your done.

You forgot to clay... unless you like polishing dirt into your paint!

TomMc

Rinse off your car with an "open" garden hose, rather than at a spray setting. This will sheet most of the water. Pat dry the water droplets with a deluxe high-absorbing microfibre towel or (synthetic) chamois. A Leather chamois was fine for classic cars, not suitable for modern ones with more delicate (water based) paint. Don't use a water blade either. The smallest dirt or grit particle will mark paint if it gets dragged by a blade. You also will not see any scratches been made at the time on a wet finish. When the paint is fully dried later on, all is then revealed. Honda's paint is known to be quite soft. Easy does it, use a high foaming shampoo, and always wash and dry in the shade.

DeBeere

Anyone know any shops that stock clay and clay lube?
I tried Halfords and they looked at me like I had two heads...

Cyrus

they have the meguirs one in halfrauds, in carrickmines or they did last time i was there

try smartcarcare.ie

blastman

I bought the Meguiars clay kit in Halfrauds during the week, although it was the last one they had. Make sure you look at them like they have two heads when you're buying it!

sneakyST

You could also use a drying towel (preferably a waffle weave) as i found them better than a chamois. Then buff with a microfibre cloth before you clay/wax/polish

layke

JohnCleary wrote:

You forgot to clay... unless you like polishing dirt into your paint!

If you do it right you won't have dirt on your car.

DeBeere

DeBeere wrote:

Anyone know any shops that stock clay and clay lube?
I tried Halfords and they looked at me like I had two heads...

I can highly reccomend claying the car. I did it last week and it produces superb results. Make sure you use a good wax on it afterwards or all your good work will be for nought!

layke wrote:

If you do it right you won't have dirt on your car.

You can wash and dry all you like you will not get off the fine grit and dirt in your paintwork.

Use clay on a spotless car you will be surprised how much surface dirt is on it and thats what makes the car look grimy after you wax it.

DeBeere

DeBeere wrote:

Anyone know any shops that stock clay and clay lube?
I tried Halfords and they looked at me like I had two heads...

Its in the halfords in naas. You might miss it its on the bottom shelf near the waxes.

ZiabR

Never actually clayed a car before. I get great results when i wax it in the summer. But i do this in the shade. I don't like to wax the car in direct sunlight. For drying the car i use a good quality chamois once the heavier of the water has gone.

gobby

I generally just use a MF towel to dry the car. Most of the time it will suffice to take off the large blobs of water. The smaller blobs usually evaporate. I guess it depends on the heat of the day in question.

Last time I washed my car I washed my mothers after mine. Meant that my car dried naturally. Nasty water marks all over it now! Been itching to wash it again but haven't had the time yet

/edit:

Also, claying a car gives some amazing results. Especially on a black car like mine. Now just have the swirls to tackle!

Detailing World is a decent website that has a lot of info on this sort of thing.

JohnCleary

layke wrote:

If you do it right you won't have dirt on your car.

No, claying *is* part of doing it 'right'

DeBeere

ronoc wrote:

Its in the halfords in naas. You might miss it its on the bottom shelf near the waxes.

Cheers going to check it out now!

DeBeere

blastman wrote:

I bought the Meguiars clay kit in Halfrauds during the week, although it was the last one they had. Make sure you look at them like they have two heads when you're buying it!

I bought it today and all I can say is wow!!!

The difference between clayed and non-clayed paint-work is shocking...

DeBeere

DeBeere wrote:

I bought it today and all I can say is wow!!!

The difference between clayed and non-clayed paint-work is shocking...

Be sure to post pics when its done and waxed!:)

I spent an hour washing shampooing rincing and drying.

Over three hours claying and another hour waxing. Its worth it though in the end. I had RSI on both my wrists by the time I finished!

DeBeere

ronoc wrote:

Be sure to post pics when its done and waxed!:)

I spent an hour washing shampooing rincing and drying.

Over three hours claying and another hour waxing. Its worth it though in the end. I had RSI on both my wrists by the time I finished!

Will do! Gonna have to take a day out to do a whole session because I was just trying it out today.

How often should a car be clayed?

TomMc

Once a year is a good habit to get into. Every 6 months if you have the time. Claying won't remove everything but will leave a really smooth paint surface, which itself makes polishing and waxing so much easier going forward.

blastman

Any tips for the best way to go about claying the car, lads? I'm hoping to spend some time doing it over the long weekend, but I'm a clay virgin *giggle*

sneakyST

I try and clay mine once every 3-4 weeks. It tooks ages when i first started but when you get used to it 1-2 hours is usually a normal time frame. This reduces the time it takes to wash the car in the weeks between the claying

Blastman - just make sure you use plenty of lubricant and dont be afraid of using the bar

gobby

I washed, clayed, waxed and sealed the car last night.

After I did that I tried to clay one of my alloys, just as a tester. My God, the crud that came off on the clay was nasty. Really black. Good thing I only used a tiny bit of clay! Even after that the wheel is still dirty! Gonna have to find a good way to clean my wheels!

sneakyST

Gobby- get a good wheel brush for the insides and some wheel cleaner.