how do you dry?

[PA DETAILER]

i like the "absorber" but my perferred method is 100% cotton towels. buy them new. wash them a few times,and they are good to go.

[John Styrnol]

Waffle Weaves

[TDMAN]

Really digging the Calif. water blade followed with a MF. Very fast.

[JaredPointer]

The Big Baby Blue MF drying towel from PAC.

[MS22]

I try to stay away from the water blades due to particles becoming caught in the blade that can cause scratches, my buddy caused a 3ft scratch down the hood of his brand new TL this summer, he almost cried before I buffed it out. A couple of waffle weaves and about 10 minutes does the trick without concern of scratching. In fact I just purchased some new WW's from WinnersCircle for $5.75 and they perform as good as ones that I have paid $18.00 for.

[TDMAN]

Anything not taken care of properly will leave a 3' scratch down the middle of any car! :badabum I have heard the same thing about Chamoises and that's just not my experience. None of my chamoises or the CA blade has ever touched the earth. EVER. In fact, it is stored in its original container. Mf's not taken care of will also pick up dirt, debris, leaves, etc. and can scratch too. They are not the do all end all product and I personally think they are overrated (to a certain degree) and not the answer completely to every towel need in a detail application.

[rabbi]

I use a waffle weave but a friend of mine swears by the CWB.

[The Chee]

I use wwmf from PAC & PB, I've retired my Autoglym hydrablade (similar to caliblade) to windows duty only after finding a longggggg scratch :nono

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[tubafeak]

Compressed air, then an absorber type thing. I plan on picking up some waffle weaves soon.

[fireberd350]

The absorber is just as dangerous, as far as scratching goes, as the CWB

The absorber itself will not cause any marring (nor will the CWB), but your surface is not 100% clean and particle free then the absorber will drag it along and marr the paint, this is obvious b/c there's no "knap" for the particles to get trapped in like when using a MF or WW.

When I QEW (most of the time): I use strictly WW's, usually only need 2, tops
When I traditional wash: I sheet first, then WW, and again usually don't need more than 2 rags to get it 100% dry.

If any spots show up after WW'ing I hit it with a quick QD and MF!

NOTE: I have both a CWB and absorber in my arsenal and still use them for specific jobs on occassion. The absorber and CWB are great for glass. And the absober also works well on wheels and door jams

[Bob]

I am a fan of the waffle weave drying towels.

[NYV6Coupe]

When the washing is complete:

remove the hose nozzle & use the flow of water to "flood" the majority of water off the surface. If you can park your car on an inclined surface, this is even better for the flood-induced water flow.

I use a water blade in the glass if it's a hot day & the water's drying too quick

use a waffle weave towel to blot-off what's left on the surface, wiping not recommended but YMMV.

open & close the doors, gas lid door, hood, and trunk a few times to shake some water drops out of the trim, door jambs, & channels

use a dedicated leaf blower on the wheels & tires. Textured sidewalls & tires with rim protectors hold a significant amount of water

do a walk-around with a couple MF towels to make sure you got everything, even the water drops that you're imagining

dry the wheels, tires, door jambs, & the underside of the doors (where the drain holes are) with one of your "good but not the best MF" towels, these areas can get grimy so why chance wasting a premium quality MF.

admire your work ..... or commence with further detailing

[Dave R32]

I use a microfibre chamios after getting as much water off the car as possible with the hose.

[6cyl's_of_fury]

For a convetional wash I sheet the water as best I can then use a CWB in combination with either one of my many large drying MF's and/or one of my many WW's. I dont really find a massive difference between the two to be honest.

For QEW, I use a combo of my MF's and WW's.

I prefer to blot, but thats a personal decision more than anything.

[kimwallace]

I use the big blue towel from PAC however, their Grey WW is smaller and becoming my preferred method.
Caution:
Most of us do it ... we blow off the car with air from a leaf blower or shop-vac. Keep in mind that when doing so it is possible to also blow dirt from the cracks and seams of the car panels. So, what was a clean and clear surface after washing and rinsing can now have dirt on it.