Car drying with a "leaf blower?" NO WAY!

[fastglass95]

Does anybody here dry there Vette after washing with an electric leaf blower?

If so,
How well does this method work?
Do you still go over it with a damp towel and a dry towel to remove water deposits?
Are any water spots or deposits left after the blowing is done (carefull)?
Does it work on the glass also?

If this really works, I'm in!

[Ken]

I do not recommend it Tom. I tried it once for the hell of it and saw white water spots almost immediately. ;)

_ken :w

[P-ColaVette]

As wierd as it may seem,...... I don't have any experience with the leaf blower thing, but,........ a new friend of mine blew my mind when he pulled out a window squeege after washing his car ! I asked him if he was going to do the windows again, and he said, Yes ! He actually squeeged, ( is that a word ? ) the whole car off, then chamyed, and the car was almost flawlessly clean ! No water spots ! To include the windows ! He said the trick is to find a soft rubber squeegee, and be careful when using it on the paint ! It certainly made quick work of drying the car off, and we are talking about a black car at that !



:w
Steve.

[Ken]

I use the silcone squeegee from California Car Cover (http://www.calcarcover.com), it works great! :D

_ken :w

[Yoda]

Originally posted by Rare81

I use my shop vac blower feature, works great ;) also gets all that standing water around the rear window on the 81 out too. Then rub her down with a nice 100% cotton towel.

BudD
:w

I also use our Soft Water bib, which helps with the spot control ;)

[fastglass95]

Ken, I already use a water blade and 100% cotton towels now. It's kind of labor intensive, and hard on the knees.

I'm thinking mostly for my other "non-vette" vehicles. You know, to speed things up a little.

BudD.- Yes, I also use my "soft water spighot" to cut down on dried water stains. But I DO NOT wear a BIB! and my dog, "spot" is always in control.

Also, I'm not sure if a shop-vac conversion to a blower would put out enough C.F.M. to dry the car quickly.

[Ken]

Originally posted by fastglass95
...not sure if a shop-vac conversion to a blower would put out enough C.F.M. to dry the car quickly.

Sure will! ;)

_ken :w

[FrankM]

I used a window squeege for years until they came out with those silicon ones made specifically for eliminating water.

It works nice and I don't have to wory anymore about the metal on the window squeege scratching the paint.

I still use old bath towels to dry it.

No, I don't apply talcum powder. :)

[OldManC5]

First, I use a California water blade to squeegee off most of the rinse water. (I am careful not to let the plastic handle touch the paint because it can leave a streak that takes a mild abrasive to remove.)

Next, I wipe the water that's left with an "Absorber" chamois.

Finally, with an electric Toro leaf blower in one hand and a 100% cotton towel in the other, I blow water out of nooks, crannies, and crevices and wipe it before it has a chance to dry into spots. I also use the leaf blower to dry the wheels and tires.

[Full Bull]

I found a perfect way to dry my new ride...it's fairly expensive and can be high maintenance, at times, but the car always comes out perfect.....

[OldManC5]

originally posted by newbie:
I found a perfect way to dry my new ride...it's fairly expensive and can be high maintenance, at times, but the car always comes out perfect.....

Well, newbie, what is it?

[Full Bull]

I let my wife do it:gap

[tvalley641]

Tom,

I've got a Comp Yellow '95 that I cherish. I tried the leaf blower this summer for the first time. I would not go any other way now. It give great, streak-free results for me. To get all the little drops though, I finish up with a chamois (sp?).

Man, you talk about a fast dry job.....wow! The neighbors think I'm a little looney, but hey, what the heck. I'm laughing at them drying their cars by hand while I have a nice cold brew.

I accidently discovered the blow-dry when I first blew-dry my riding lawn tractor. I thought.....hmmmmmmmmm!?

Ted Valley

[fastglass95]

Thanks Ted,

I've got a gift certificate for Christmas to one of the "Mega-Hardware / Home stores" and think I'm going to get on of them and try it. I'm sure to find other uses as well, like maybe even blowing leaves or something in the fall. :eyerole


Thanks, and "Cheers" :beer
Tom

[White99ragtop]

:_rock YEA~!! :booty I'm NOT crazy! The leaf blower works GREAT! Shoot, I thought it was MY invention! You do have to wipe some places dry but you are done in 1/2 the time!! (Yes the neighbors stare at you but they dont own a vette!!)

[Fox]

I always use an electric leaf blower then follow up with a 100% cotton towel. The blower gets the water out of all of the hard to reach places and I only have to use one towel to quickly get what the blower missed. It works great.

[Eric]

Seeing all of you talking about this is making me want to go out and buy another blower. I'd never use the one I have now since I use it to vac and mulch leaves and it has a ton of dirt and junk caked in the housing. Something tells me I don't want that stuff being propelled onto the Vette at high CFM :eek. Well at least I have a couple of months to think about it;).

[sanman]

ive used a leaf blower for years on all my cars,and it does a exellent job,then follow up with the absorber. the water come out of those hard to dry places,cracks,emblems,and side vents.oh
dont forget to put it up to your side view mirrors and tires and wheels

it cant be to crazy every car wash has a big blower,think about it

[vettepilot]

I enjoy the 370 dryer method,
That's 3 miles at 70 MPH, then it's on to the slow cruise mode. Sure it doesn't make it showcase perfect, but I'm a firm believer that Vettes should be driven to be thoroughly enjoyed. Sitting in my driveway while I take the time to hand dry it is robbing of my Total Covette experience.
Now if it happens to be a drab, dull, cold day, (rare in lower Al) then I back it into the garage and "baby it" by giving it a TLC wipe down.
Stan
Enjoy and Save the Wave

[Ken]

Originally posted by vettepilot
I enjoy the 370 dryer method

I guess that's sorta like 470 AC, eh? Four windows down at 70 miles-per-hour. :L

_ken :w

[vettepilot]

:dance Oh Yeah

[RubynJames]

I used my Toro electric leaf blower last summer, it worked great specially getting the water out of the hatch area. Chamois off the left over water, very quick. 210 mph.

[TODD L GRIFFITH]

I've found when I owned my 94, it was a real water collector. The worst was that pool of water that collects in front of the rear window. I ended up carefully using a wet vac to remove excess water from all around the car. Now with the C5, it's better, but water collects in the corner of the rear window stripping. A leaf blower is a good idea......if you have one lying around. I mulch my leaves with a tractor, so that method would be insane.

[78SilvAnniv]

Vettepilot, I'm glad you mentioned this, because this is how I dry mine! :)

Drying by hand leaves a lot of water in the hood crevices, t-top grooves, side mirrors and rear window trim that will just blow out when you drive it...so after I've washed 78 I take a drive around our 3 mile block as fast as I can and then towel dry whatever is left when I get back home!

Makes for a nice driving break in between car detailing chores, and I've not noticed any water spots on the carnauba waxed paint.

[Colorado]

I took the day off from work with the hopes of putting some miles on the 'Vette...all of a sudden a blizzard blew in and now there's about 3" of snow on the ground. I think I'll search the web for an electric leaf blower :) And one of those squeegee things...

[Bill C]

Vetts are GREAT,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, BUT,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, The engineers who build them ought to have to wash and dry a new model prior to signing off on a finial design! :hb My 85 and 98 both have PAIN IN THE BUTT places that require too much extra effort to dry properly.

Three days after I had my C5, the tail lights were removed and I drilled 1/8 inch holes in the very bottoms on the body cavity area to let that dang water that builds up at the bottom of the tail lights drain out. The stupid factory drains are at 5 and 7 o 'clock so the water can't drain!!:mad.

I too found out that the leaf blower OR a wet and dry vac (emptied and cleaned) with the hose in the exhaust port of the vacuum and a cone type nozzel works very well. You will find out that a wet vac is easier to control and less likely to loose control of and hit the car. Just keep the vac hose off the car. I wrap mine over my shoulder.

SPRING is just around the block!!!! :D

Bill Curlee

[80vette]

My friend has a beautiful newly painted YELLOW 81 Vette that he swears by using the blow dryer. No water spots, no left over water or suds. I have seen him do it and I am going to purchase one to do my newly painted and redone 80 Bright Red vette.

[Bill C]

80

The blow dry method will remove MOST of the water but a good cotten towel will be needed to completely get it dry with out any spots on the windows and body. I use it mostly to get the places that accumulate large amounts of water that come out when you get about 50 feet out of the driveway.

Bill C

[Coot]

OK, so this is my first post...I have used a blower on my Porsche and the Vette. Although my neighbors stare (who cares?), it always does a Great job. I have never experienced any blower debris damage while using it and have found that the better the wax job, the better job it does removing water. I have found no spotting after using the blower and I simply towel off any remaining droplets. Just my .02


Coot

[fastglass95]

Just wondering if one of the smaller / lighter 160mph models would work for this? They can be purchased for around $35.00 !
Or do you need a higher volume (CFM) or velocity like 210 mph to do any good?

I like the idea of the lightweight models, easy to handle.

Tom,

Also, Welcome to the C.A.C......"Coot"

[Full Bull]

tom....i've got one of the cheapies (170 MPH) and it does ok....takes a little longer and if you're not careful (and depending on the amount of minerals in the water) it will start spotting. Think if I had one that blew harder....it'd get rid of the water quicker...but, I'm staying with what i got.

[E-Chick]

My husband just bought a leaf blower for me...I thought what a stupid thing to do, duh! I don't do the yardwork, and I made some sarcastic remark figuring it was just another gadget he wanted and disquised as a gift for me, LOL! He said it's for clearing off the seating areas around our patio from all of the leaf debris that drives me crazy. Then I made another sarcastic remark...I didn't think I'd EVER use that thing!

Well, today, I stand corrected! I am absolutely giving it a shot at my baby this weekend! I can't wait to see the results with a lot less effort! I recently very badly sprained my wrist and haven't had full use of it for 3 months making car washing a nightmare.

I had asked my car detailer (detailed every 2 months) before I found this site, how to care for it and he told me: high pressure wash or hand wash with Meguiar's pink detergent and a chamois, rinse well, and chamois off with another chamois OR wash it late at night when there's little traffic and open it up on the highway to dry...no friction = no scratches! That's not very feasible for me, so I high pressure wash it and dry it with my water blades (which I absolutely LOVE), then hit any remaining spots with the chamois. Does it take everyone else 2 hours just to wash/dry their car? But WOO-HOO! I'm going for it!

[compyelc4]

I just blew dry my '95 C4 about an hour ago. I have found that with a waxed surface the water just flies off. One caution. Make every effort to pay attention to how close you get the end of the blower to the car. If you are careless you may mar the surface. Should do no damage however. I've touched the car a few times but noticed nothing. I guess that's because its plastic to plastic.

My Bonne did not have much of a wax finish left on her and I found that while the blower worked ok, it did not blast all traces of water from the finish. It just kind of spread it around. Gonna have to give my other "baby" a wax job.

Regarding your wrist, I hope it is not the one that will be holding the blower. Mine is so strong that it works my wrist pretty well!

Be careful.

[E-Chick]

Originally posted by compyelc4

Regarding your wrist, I hope it is not the one that will be holding the blower. Mine is so strong that it works my wrist pretty well!

Be careful.

I didn't EVEN think of THAT! Thanks for pointing it out...I haven't yet washed Chari and my hubby is wanting to joy ride to the beach or mountains today...

He's never washed her, so I don't know if I DARE let him! LOL! Maybe I'll wash and he can dry!
;)

[Ctfoodguy2000]

I read about using a leaf blower several months back & thought that it was a crazy idea. Then I thought about it & bought a $70 model that blows at 3 speeds with max winds of 215mph. My neighbors think I'm nuts, but I dry my car in no time. I simply use a large terry cloth towel to finish the little droplets off my beauty!! Someone mentioned be careful with the end of the blower. I have touched the body several times by mistake; no damage.

:cool

[E-Chick]

I finally had a chance to use the leaf blower (I have no idea of make, model, cost)...what a cool idea!

I hand washed and then used the water blade and then BAM...hit those water spots with the blower. Every now and then, I had a hard time aerodynamically removing water from the wheels. It just kept spinning around and around...

:s

But overall, I'll use it every chance I can! I then went ahead and tried out the detailing spray that was recommended. LOVE IT!

[E-Chick]

I always seem to have an afterthought to my posts...

My injured left wrist held up fine. I held the blower in my right hand and directed the lightweight nozzle with the left...no problem!

:D

[compyelc4]

I laughed out loud at your comment about going round-and-round on the wheels. I know what you mean. That little ridge on the outside of the wheels makes things difficult. I think I'll file mine down to make wheel drying less dizzying.

[MrMidLife]

I use a "Water blade" on the glass, a "Absorber" on the paint, and a leaf blower on the rest.

I use it mostly to blow out the cracks and crevices, and around the wheels.

It works really well.

MrMidLife

[81kix]

Air Compressor, on the wheels works great.

[OldManC5]

Many air compressors accumulate oil, rusty water, and other junk in their tanks. So beware of FOD (foreign object damage) to your wheels.

[81kix]

Thanks for the information, I did not realize about FOD.
I think that is the first and last time, with the compressor.
:)

[bossvette]

I use the 370 method, just have never heard it called by that name before and I was wondering if someone would mention it (a nice fast drive to dry) Fortunatly I live in farm country and can do that, but just as unfortunately It doesn' stay clean long for the same reason.

[Ken]

370? :confused I've heard of 470, as in "470 air conditioning" (4 windows down @ 70 mph) but never 370. What's the reference Craig? :confused

Duh! You've got a "tunnelback". :duh

[81kix]

Oh....Man
This could get ugly.:bash :gap
:w

[compyelc4]

Ya see Ken, Vettes don't typically have 4 windows. Just two on the sides and the rear hatch. That's the 3 seven 0.

With a vert, it is just 070.

Get it?

Ted

[Ken]

I think Craig is referring to the fact that he has a removable rear window Ted - a "tunnelback" to some. ;)

_ken :w

[bossvette]

370? I've heard of 470, as in "470 air conditioning" (4 windows down @ 70 mph) but never 370. What's the reference Craig?

Ken
What I was refering to was an earlier post which said 3 miles at 70 mph to dry the car, I do a little better then 70 mph (most times no police) but some times my car gets dirty before I get home. (city slickers will have no idea of the dust and dirt out here) ;LOL

[bossvette]

I enjoy the 370 dryer method,
origionally by vettepilot on page two

[Ken]

Silly me. :Silly

[compyelc4]

Silly me too:L