signal

Right now I use The Absorber to dry my car with after a wash. Are these things OK? Whats the best to be using so I wont scratch/mess up paint and wax?

Brian

Anthony Orosco

The number one best method to avoid scratches and paint marring is to never wash or dry the car!

But this is unrealistic so the next best method is to wash and rinse with:
*Reverse osmosis water
*Use the 2 bucket method (one bucket with soap, one just clean rinse water), use a high lubricating car shampoo
*Wash with large deep sea sponges
*Wash in one direction only (from bumper to bumper)
*Wash one panel at a time, rinse your sponge and continue on.
*After your final rinse blow the car dry with an electric leaf blower (buy and use this ONLY for car drying, do not use it to mulch leaves then dry your car)
*Use a quality microfiber towel (waffle weave) to BLOT up any remaining water

The idea or goal is to have as little as possible come in contact with the paint. RO water is not that expensive and you can basically wash and rinse the car and walk away as it will dry totally spot free.

Also having a good quality wax on your paint helps alot in the washing and drying process.

Hope that helps, any further questions please ask.
Anthony

San Antonio Mobile Car Wash

I use the Absorber, works great.

redpathtribe

As always Anthony, a complete and "detailed" (pun intended!) response.

Couple of questions, how about the use of water from a "soft water" system , i.e. a water softener using potassium instead of sodium for softening vs. R.O. water?

Also, how about using air from an air compressor is one's available vs. a leaf blower? If OK, are you aware of any attachments that would help for air drying using a compressor?

Thanks for you help!

Anthony Orosco

Yo...

Thanks for the kind words my friend

Soft water is great also, in fact I use it at a few of the locations I go to....love the way it feels and how it also reduces product use. Soft water will spot though - BUT- those spots wipe off easily with some quick detailer. They won't etch into the paint like hard water.

Likewise I also use an air compressor from time to time for water removal....especially for the removal of buffing debris, to clean mats, consoles and my buffing pads. I don't know of any specific attachments for the air compressor but I did see one time a guy that crafted a really neat fan tip for his compressor to help blow out his shop. Something like that would be ideal for blowing water off and out of the car by way of an air compressor.

Maybe you can make some up and sell them

Anthony

redpathtribe

Thanks for the info. Anthony. Don't know if I'll make anything for it, but I will do some searches re: air compressor attachments and see what I can find. I'll let everyone know if I come up with something.

cdodkin

Anthony - can't believe you still use the two bucket system!

I use a single large bucket for rinse only - and apply the high lubricating car shampoo via a sud sprayer attachment on my hose.

I get better suds, better lube.

Way better than a bucket of suds.

Also - the rinse you mention should be done first with the spray head on the hose, then followed up with the hose only, allowing the water to sheet dropletts off the car.

These leaves almost no water on the car to be dried.

Chris.

MoeMistry

Use DI water...wash as you would normally....use microfiber drying cloths....air dry using Airmax...done. Optional: Wipe down finish with a liquid carnauba spray. That what I recommend and do.

Anthony Orosco

Well...I was giving advice on an ideal method of washing so as to leave as little marring behind by touching the paint as little as possible. My personal method is using the Optimum No-Rinse which allows me to wash and rinse a car in one step using only, on average, 3 gallons of water.

And I agree with you about the rinsing. If you allow the water to just flow on the paint, top to bottom, gravity does a great deal of the drying for you. Since cars are designed to remove water through channels, from front to rear, parking on a slight incline, like a driveway, helps a great deal also in removing water.

DreamCarrera

When you wash and dry a car scratching occurs because the dirt/debris on the car and or the wash mit acts as sand paper when you rub the paint. Obviously the car is dirty, that is why you are washing it in the first place, so the key is to get as much of the dirt off the car before you begin to wash. I have developed a very effective, IMHO, way of removing more dirt BEFORE you wash. I begin the wash process by pre-spraying the DRY car with a water/car wash solution using a large spray bottle. I spray every sq. inch of the car including the wheels and then let the car sit and soak for about 10 minutes(do not let the car dry). By pre-wetting the car with car wash in this way the soap has a chance to break the bond the dirt has with the paint so that more dirt is removed with the pre-wash rinse. I have found that this method removes far more dirt before I wash than simply rinsing with plain water and less dirt before rubbing means less scratching.

I dry my car with the P21S Drying Towel. I personally like it better than microfiber or any chamois or synthetic chamois that I have used.

MoeMistry

Interesting technique....I'll give it a try

CT03911

I use my outside well water. It was tested when we moved here 4 months ago and is neutral. Unbelieavable but true and I'm lucky. I do the wheels first out of a dedicated bucket and lambs mitt. I hose the car off very, very thoroughly and then wash it from a seperate bucket and mitt. I think the bucket deal is crucial. Ever finish washing your car and when dumping out the bucket notice the last few inches you dump out is filthy? That dirt came directly from your mitt or sponge (I prefer a mitt because there are no pockets to trap sand etc) If I did not use a mitt and bucket routine the dirt on my mitt would be continually wiped across the car unless you hose of the mitt after washing every panel and that would be a pain. I really aggressively dip and squeeze out the mitt after each panel area.
The bottom line here is make sure you rinse the mitt out all the time however you do it.
A water blade gets the big drops off, a towel on the glass and microfiber on the paint gets me dry. I hit it finally with the blower for all the cracks and wheels/rotors/wells and follow up with microfiber where the blower pushes water out.

signal

I would like to get a water filter system, as i find my water can spot a bit.

I rinse my car with a firehouse nozzle to get as much off as I can. Then I use a foam gun and shoot suds onto the car. I then shoot some suds into my MF washmit. I rinse the car, and spray any dirt out of my washmit using a hose between sections of the car, and use a bucket of clean water to occasionally rinse. I use seperate mit/bucket for wheels and parts of the the car that get very dirty like under side skirts and edge of wheel wells.

San Antonio Mobile Car Wash

DI water helps me attain a spot free finish along with a few other things I do. I use a soap I make myself.

After about a year I started my business, an old AirForce Engineer customer gave me a recipe of basic soap ingredients. He would use the soap on fighter planes, they would wash the plane, rinse, walk away and no spots.

In conjuction with DI water, the results are stunning.

Also what helps is having a chamois wringer. I wring out my sponge after every wash and the Absorber. Keeps them dirt and grime free.

Here are a few examples.

This Porsche is over 2 and 1/2 years old (photos taken in July) and is washed twice aweek , Tues & Friday by my hands since new. And has never been waxed. Well over 200 washes by hand, sponge. and dried with Absorber.







And looking into the paint.



2004 Escalade(photos taken in July), also washed weekly since new and nothing else.









San Antonio Mobile Wash
www.SAmobilecarwash.com

cab&coupe

+1 for DI... bought one of these at Parade.