While drying my car yesterday...

[elerner61]

...I was drying the doors/mirrors, closing the doors a few times to get any water out of the doors and mirrors. It struck me that since our mirrors fold upwards, maybe I can drain any water out of them by folding them. Eureka....or more like "why didn't I think of that sooner".

Any other car rinsing/drying tips out there specific to our cars?

[Spedracer81]

I use a backpack plower to blow the water out of all the crevices, makes drying a little bit easier..

[Seattle135is]

Wash it, take it for a high speed burn, then do a final wipe off - may not work too well on darker colors (possible streaks), but certainly works well for Space gray!

[chickdr]

Originally Posted by Spedracer81

I use a backpack plower to blow the water out of all the crevices, makes drying a little bit easier..

I use a blower too. Great for getting the heavy water off before a final towel dry.

[gas-can]

elerner- I'm intrigued cause the mirrors always hold water which later drip and dry, but won't the folder mirror act like a cup? or does the water have a way to pass through to the other side (ground)?

and Seattle - you don't get any swirlies when you come back later to dry? I'm worried the dust that will glue itself on during the drive will then scratch the finish when you wipe down later... maybe swirls aren't as apparent in silver!

-gc

[NickyC]

Originally Posted by Seattle335

Wash it, take it for a high speed burn, then do a final wipe off - may not work too well on darker colors (possible streaks), but certainly works well for Space gray!

After washing my car, I always take it for a 1-2 mile trip around the block. This blows all the water out of the cracks, and only takes a minute or two to wipe the car down one last time. Good tip. ;P

[Nate4641]

I wash the car with the mirrors down then while drying I rotate the mirrors to drip the water out.

I also do a final rise by taking any attachments off of the hose and just let the water flow out of the hose at normal pressue. For the hood I have the hode at the front of the car and have it push water up over the hood so a thick layer of water is there and found that I have less water to dry up because the bigger mass of water pulls almost all of the water off of the car. A little hard to explain, but basically a more gentle and thicker flow of rise water leaves less water drops/spots than spraying the car.

[jdoublehcubed]

Originally Posted by elerner61

...I was drying the doors/mirrors, closing the doors a few times to get any water out of the doors and mirrors. It struck me that since our mirrors fold upwards, maybe I can drain any water out of them by folding them. Eureka....or more like "why didn't I think of that sooner".

Any other car rinsing/drying tips out there specific to our cars?

genius

[elerner61]

Originally Posted by gas-can

elerner- I'm intrigued cause the mirrors always hold water which later drip and dry, but won't the folder mirror act like a cup? or does the water have a way to pass through to the other side (ground)?
-gc

Yes, when folded up the trapped water drains out from around where the mirror is hinged.

[Francisco4]

What do you guys use to wipe/dry your cars?

FDR

[NickyC]

Originally Posted by Francisco4

What do you guys use to wipe/dry your cars?

FDR

Absorber.

[StickMon]

Yep. "The Absorber".
Maybe it's not the best thing for the finish, or preserving the wax, but I have hard water, Interlagos Blue, and the humidity here rarely gets above the teens.
You want to see a guy move fast. You should see me drying it before it dries itself and gets spotted.

[2006E85]

My Z is black and it will spot very easily, I mostly wash the car at night or early morning. I dry it with two Microfiber Towels. (One in each hand) wringing them at every section.

[Huz-Z]

Originally Posted by Nate4641

I wash the car with the mirrors down then while drying I rotate the mirrors to drip the water out.

I also do a final rise by taking any attachments off of the hose and just let the water flow out of the hose at normal pressue. For the hood I have the hode at the front of the car and have it push water up over the hood so a thick layer of water is there and found that I have less water to dry up because the bigger mass of water pulls almost all of the water off of the car. A little hard to explain, but basically a more gentle and thicker flow of rise water leaves less water drops/spots than spraying the car.

Would it work better to fold them up right away?

[Spedracer81]

I bought like 40 micro fiber towels, after blowing off the car...I probably use 20+ drying off the rest..then use quick detail while drying sometimes..when dirty toss them in a bucket and wash them to use again next week...

[elerner61]

I've got two of the waffle texture drying towels that I use. One is from Meguiars that is very thin that I use for the first drying pass, the second is a really thick one from Autogeek.net (http://www.autogeek.net/cobra-guzzler-hd-towel.html).

[dreamingat30fps]

I finally got my retractable compressor hose installed on the ceiling in my garage so I now use that for everything. Drying the car, detailing the interior, tires, sweeping the garage etc. It's a great easy upgrade to the garage.

[Westersund]

Originally Posted by Seattle335

Wash it, take it for a high speed burn, then do a final wipe off - may not work too well on darker colors (possible streaks), but certainly works well for Space gray!

And the debris that get stuck on the car will get rubbed into the paint and might cause micro scratches. No thanks...

[gas-can]

elerner I just tried your tip today and it worked brilliantly.

The residual water that used to creep out of the mirrors slowly after drying the car always bugged the hell out of me. Quick flip and all of it drained out like a charm.

If you were down here, I'd buy you a beer!!

Thanks again,
-gc

[ssummers]

When I wash the car I use the backpack blower to dry it.

Recently I've started using Chadwick's triple play, I wash the car far less often now. It's great stuff, highly suggest it if you haven't tried it.

[M-Power M3]

Genius tip OP! Don't know why I never thought of that haha.

I have an air hose connected to my tank in the trunk and usually use that to blow out water from the crevices.

[wasupdu]

I have soft water running to the hose that the cars are washed, so that's the first step that helps. Second, only if you wax your car regularly: This will cut your dry time in 1/2. Take the attachment off of the hose and let the water run over each panel and depending on the wax you've used (I've been on a Blackfire Black Ice kick) you'll need very little drying (30-45 sec tops).