nfboy

You blow dry your car with a leaf blower. Now that is a first for me. Interesting idea. On the very rare occasion I use a touchless commercial wash, I never really find their blow drying does much at all. Guess the car is not being blown long enough to get off (the water that is!!)

Ern

Ya Stoners has a great line of products. I use them in my detailing. Ive used a leaf blower as well. Not on a customers car but mine I do. For the real tuff water spots, I machine buff the glass.

GCarp

No problems with the blower picking up crap and blasting it at your car ? Otherwise good idea.

sjssk

I actually hold the blower upside down when i am drying so the intake cant pick up stuff from the ground. It's not a very powerful one, but it does the trick. I still may have to use a towel to completely dry the car, but the blower breaks the big droplets into much smaller ones that don't leave waterspots as bad.....

TkHHR

I have the coolest thing called a waterblade. It is about 18" wide and has a super soft silicone squeegee blade that collects the water and slides it off the car without streaks or scratches. I start with the windows to prevent spots and then wipe the water off from the top down. I follow up with a microfiber towel to catch any stray drops. This system works for me. Also Armorall makes the best gel car wash soap that you apply directly to the car and don't need a bucket at all. Quick and easy like it should be.

Goose

Don't take this as the absolute truth...it is my understanding that those touchless car washes use harsher chemicals as they are needed to "clean" more efficiently as there are no brushes to clean away the dirt. While they will not harm your paint, they do leave their marks on glass. I'm trying to find out where I read this info but it was over a year ago that I looked it up. I may have read it over on Matrixowners.com as I was getting those spots on my glass...and regular Windex or Stoners etc will not take them off....do a test..with the glass dry you can't see the marks...spray glass cleaner on there and start rubbing...you'll see the streaks and marks on the glass from the car wash. I think I first noticed this back in 2000 when I had my Maxima and started using touchless washes.

I have found that Rain-X makes a specific glass cleaner that goes on like a paste...this seems to do a good job in really cleaning up the window but a bit of a pita to use (not hard, just a bit of time)


And yes I still use the touchless wash and deal with the marks on the glass. although they really don't clean a car like you will by doing by hand it is convienent...I never get the was either...just a wash



Goose

RHHRTOYPANEL

Gm Offered At One Time Bon Ami Glass Polish It Work Wonders On Glass. You Can Still Get It At Department Stores. Once You Have Used It It Would Be Best To Use Rainx. I Used It On All My Show Cars,trucks. If I Got Caught In A Rain Storm I Never Tured Had To Turn On The Wipes.

JESSE

I use mine also. I start for the top and work my way down. I have a nice layer of wax on mine so most of the water beads right off. Then all that is left is a touch up. I have also used wax on the glass with the same results and no spots!

Snoopy

I believe you are correct regarding the "touchless" car washes. I have only used those twice....at 2 different locations. Although, as you suggested, they seem to wash and clean the paint well, no apparent damage or polish/wax removing is done. However, both times I had "spots" of some sort on the black rubber trim around the windows. Very, very noticeable because of the variance in color, dark black to gray. Could not be rubbed off. Back to Black had to be used right after each wash to return the natural black appearance.

Oh, and I generally hand wash and dry. But the use of the automatic washes mentioned above was after some highway travel and to remove bugs etc. before they "baked" on in the AZ sun. WILL NOT BE DONE AGAIN.

PerezHHR

Well to help everyone out, doing bodywork on the side for so many years, me and tina came to find out the best way to get rid of water spots and texture from sandblasting , is Extra fine steel wool with soapy water, works everytime!!!! Found this out when some overspray got on the window when I was painting, took it right off. (NOTE: DO NOT DO THIS ON YOUR SIDE MIRRORS!!! It will damage them) You can find this in most auto parts stores, or even wal-mart!!