Drying is a pain...

[mandp]

Hello.

Now, I adore detailing my car...all except the drying part!

My car is so big and I live in a very hard water area so water spotting is a constant concern. I have to rush around trying to dry it before the spots appear.

I had the car professionally Ceramic Coated from new but, as you know, that is no guarantee of no water spots.

I have tried using various spray-on when wet `drying aids` but that tends to make matters worse.

 

I have in the past considered `Race glaze` water filters but have shied away due to their apparent complexity...how long do they last and when to change the contents etc.

So, can I ask if any of you knowledgeable people have had or do have personal experience of these things and could give me some much needed info.

 

Many thanks.

 

[bigman1976]

Afraid I cannot help as I have no working knowledge of filters but am interested in tang information people have too!

[nutters_uclan]

I'm probably just repeating stuff you already know, but when I've washed the car in hard water areas, or when the weather is hot, I just do a small area at a time and dry with a really good drying towel.

 

I bought a wooly mammoth towel about 10 years ago and it's still going strong.

 

In Suffolk, where my folks live, I run the jet washer from their water butt to avoid the nasty local water.

[steved83]

Do you flood rinse the car after rinsing off?

I find this the best way, with a good coating, the amount of panel you have to dry reduces considerably.

[dohboy78]

I used to spray a Quick Detailer onto the car whilst still wet... seemed to assist with drying. But a decent drying towel will speed the job up too.

[mandp]

2 hours ago, dohboy78 said:

I used to spray a Quick Detailer onto the car whilst still wet... seemed to assist with drying. But a decent drying towel will speed the job up too.

Can I ask...you say "used to" so what do you do now?

[dohboy78]

3 minutes ago, mandp said:

Can I ask...you say "used to" so what do you do now?

 

I just use my big drying towel. Water is softer in new house. 

[JBD1974]

I used Aqua Gleam many moons ago. It worked well, but didn't last long enough to justify the cost. Nowadays I just move as quick as I can with a (Costco) microfibre towel. 

[ckyliu]

Best cure is don't wash in direct sunlight (difficult sometimes I know), I often do wash evening time when the sun is low in the sky so there's some shade.

 

Then a good drying towel (the aforementioned Woolly Mammoth has a good reputation, you could also consider Liquid Elements Silverback XL and Purple Monster Edgeless XL).

 

Finally you can try a spray of quick detailer or drying aid (discussed in some detail recently at https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/493668-drying-aid-and-quick-detailer/ ) whilst drying, this helps but don't expect miracles.

 

I have no experience of water filters but would be interested to hear from anyone who has, I use similar things in my work to reduce limescale. I have noticed my Dodo SourPour shampoo reduces water spotting though, compared to my Dodo BTBM shampoo which doesn't have any wax in it.

Edited 23 August, 2021 by ckyliu

[Baxlin]

I’m in a hard water area, and as advised above, if in direct sunlight I wash and dry a panel at a time.  I use Megs’ Last Touch (bulk version of their Qwik Detailer) as a drying aid, and a few plush drying towels turned regularly.  Mine isn’t ‘coated’, so I occasionally use AG Fast Wax instead of Last Touch, just to top up its wax protection.

 

But I agree, water marks are a pain, and avoiding washing a hot car in direct sunlight is probably the best way of avoiding the problem.

[mandp]

Thanks everyone.

I never wash in sunlight (it was getting dark the last time I washed) and I use plenty of good quality drying towels (including a Woolly Mammoth) and a drying aid sometimes too.

Maybe I should consider changing to a smaller car!

 

Regards

Mike.

[robt100]

The only way I've found if you dont want to run around frantically drying is to use de-ionised water for the rinse. Cost prohibitive for most, but thankfully I have to make it for window cleaning, so I usually have a few hundred litres laying about I can use

[mandp]

4 minutes ago, robt100 said:

The only way I've found if you dont want to run around frantically drying is to use de-ionised water for the rinse. Cost prohibitive for most, but thankfully I have to make it for window cleaning, so I usually have a few hundred litres laying about I can use

Hello, `robt100`.

When you say "make it", what do you mean?

Thanks.

[robt100]

It can be produced, but it costs a lot to set up. Your best bet would be to find a local window cleaner using a pole who may be able to sell you some.
You take tap water, run it through a filter to get rid of any sediment, then through a carbon filter to remove the Chlorine. Then it is put through a reverse osmosis membrane (similar to the kinda thing they use on space stations to turn urine back into drinking water). then 40% of the water that goes in comes out 'clean' at around 10-30 particles per million depending on your input purity. Then that is put through a de-ionizing resin to bring it down to 0PPM a.k.a De-ionized water. As you can probably tell by the explanation, its not cheap to get started. And for personal use on a car, much better just to get from a local windy

https://lincswindowcleaning.co.uk/100-purified-water-in-lincoln

 

these guys might be worth a shout as they are in your county and sell the water separate at a decent price.

Edited 28 August, 2021 by robt100

[mandp]

Thank you so much for that, `robt100`.

I'll certainly give it some thought.

Have a good day.

[mandp]

Hello again, `robt100`,

This is what I've come up with...

 

I can get 25 litres of De-ionised water for about £20.00

I wash and pressure rinse the car in the usual way.

I then douse the whole car with the de-ionised water using a watering can or a garden pressure pump.

I then take my time in drying the car, maybe using a spritz of drying aid (CG After Wash).

 

Do you think that would work?

If so, as a guide, how much of the 25 litres do you think I'd use to successfully remove the impurities from the tap water?

 

Thanks in advance for your time.

[robt100]

Technically if you have cleaned it well enough, a rinse with a watering can of pure should mean you can just walk away and it'll dry clear. Though if you have very clean microfibres it would help to collect any pooling water. As the pure is just hydrogren and oxygen and no particles, so nothing to make water marks, but that all depends on what is left on the car...

If you're using a two bucket method, you could just use  pure water in that too which would lower the chance of marks. I'd definitely recommend trying to get the water from a 'pure water' window cleaner though, cost wise 25 litres would be 80p-£1 and they can prove the purity beforehand
If just for a rinse, 25L should probably do at least 2 washes of the car. If you soap, then rinse off with pure, or maybe a quick rinse with tap then straight to pur depending on how soapy its been.

[mandp]

2 hours ago, robt100 said:

Technically if you have cleaned it well enough, a rinse with a watering can of pure should mean you can just walk away and it'll dry clear. Though if you have very clean microfibres it would help to collect any pooling water. As the pure is just hydrogren and oxygen and no particles, so nothing to make water marks, but that all depends on what is left on the car...

If you're using a two bucket method, you could just use  pure water in that too which would lower the chance of marks. I'd definitely recommend trying to get the water from a 'pure water' window cleaner though, cost wise 25 litres would be 80p-£1 and they can prove the purity beforehand
If just for a rinse, 25L should probably do at least 2 washes of the car. If you soap, then rinse off with pure, or maybe a quick rinse with tap then straight to pur depending on how soapy its been.

Thanks again, `robt100` for your detailed reply.

That gives me much to think about.

 

Regards

Mike.