Leafblower

[NastyStang113]

Next time we have a question we'll just PM you. Are you okay with that? LOL

 

[Bingo]

I try...

Anyway back to yall using a leaf blower b/c a soft microfiber towel will just massacre your paint.

It serves more than that purpose. I still use a microfiber to dry the little spots afterwards because a leaf blower can't get everything. But what it's best for is getting all the hidden spots - door jambs, rear quarter windows, body panel gaps, where the front grille meets the bumper, etc. A lot of water gets stuck there and it'll drip out forever if you don't blow it out.

 

[cody06GT]

I prefer my STIHL.

I use STIHL too

 

[DKS]

Yes, exhaust fumes are out there while you're driving, but are the cars literally blowing their exhaust pipes inches away from every surface of the car? NO, that's the difference. And aren't most of the gas blowers 2 cycle engines? IDK, just asking, cause if they are, it's a big difference.

As far as just washing and going and not taking the extra steps to take care to not mess up your finish each time you wash the car. Sure, have at it. With a black car it's just one bad wash away from having swirls and scratches all over it.

I enjoy having a completely flawless finish on a black vehicle because they show ever imperfection. I like to go somewhere and have people constantly amazed at how my paint looks, even on my Jeep. I took it in to have a front end alignment at the Ford dealership (yes, Ford, lol) and the service manager got 4 of the guys to come out and look at "what a black vehicle should look like" as he put it. It's my hobby and it's something I'm good at.

Now, my older Jeep and my GF's Xterra (both not black) I dry them with a MF towel 90% of the time.

Bottom line, this is a car detailing section on an automotive web site. If people on here were not talking about the best methods and techniques then it wouldn't be much of a site would it?

If in the tech section the only thing that was talked about was CAI's and Flowmasters and it was bashed if someone tried to get "technical" and write stuff about timing, and delete plates, and boost, etc. Would that be a good tech section?

If you think the detailing section has too many people in it that are too "technical" about detailing, why come to it? Just go to Wal-Mart, stock up on Turtle Wax and California Car Dusters and Water Blades and Chamois cloths (which do scratch like hell, FWIW) and wash that bitch in direct sunlight and rub her dry and enjoy that black car that looks at 10% of it's potential.

Personally, I'd rather have this

Than This

 

[SilentScope]

you guys hear?! it might RAIN today. Oh no.

Paint care is extremely important, but to the extent of buying a leaf blower just to get water out of the gaps is plain overkill.

 

[Fallenauthority]

you guys hear?! it might RAIN today. Oh no.

Paint care is extremely important, but to the extent of buying a leaf blower just to get water out of the gaps is plain overkill.

In your opinion yes, in other's opinion no.

 

[dascoyne]

you guys hear?! it might RAIN today. Oh no.

Paint care is extremely important, but to the extent of buying a leaf blower just to get water out of the gaps is plain overkill.

If you owned a black car you'd understand.

 

[fdjizm]

DKS who airbrushed those sweet bricks on your hood bro!

 

[DKS]

DKS who airbrushed those sweet bricks on your hood bro!

My cousin. He's a mental midget, but he's a beast with paint. I just had to buy him some glow in the dark play dough for payment.

I had clouds and trees put on it first, but I got tired of that and had him redo it.

 

[HellsBells]

Than This

When I saw this picture, I literally thought you posted a picture of my car.

(hint: looking for a good detailer in the MA area!)

 

[rford426]

DKS my blower blows fumes away from the car the closest it is at any time drying my car is 5-6ft. Its a backpack blower has a huge fucking tip that is a good 3ft long itself there never "inches away". Im sure its no worse then gettin smoked out by a diesel truck

 

[Fallenauthority]

When I saw this picture, I literally thought you posted a picture of my car.

(hint: looking for a good detailer in the MA area!)

Good pay, will travel

 

[DKS]

DKS my blower blows fumes away from the car the closest it is at any time drying my car is 5-6ft. Its a backpack blower has a huge fucking tip that is a good 3ft long itself there never "inches away". Im sure its no worse then gettin smoked out by a diesel truck

Yeah, I wouldn't worry one bit about one like that. I agree 100% that that type is fine. I just wouldn't want to be blowing fumes straight on the car like some of them do. It might be over cautious, but I just wouldn't choose to do it, myself.

Sure, fumes are everywhere, but it's one hell of a higher concentration when you're pointing the exhaust directly at your car, over and over again. Maybe it wouldn't matter, but I just don't like the idea of it. Look at how the inside of an exhaust tip looks. Much higher concentration of exhaust being blown straight onto your paint than you get from just driving down the road behind a car. Any heavy elements (oil, carbon) are going to fall out before they hit your car if you're just behind someone. When you're pointing the fumes inches away from your car they have no where to go but on the car, IMO

 

[rford426]

Yeah this is the exact one i have it is a few feet away at all times
http://www.stihlusa.com/graphics/blowers/BR380D.jpg

 

[DKS]

you guys hear?! it might RAIN today. Oh no.

Paint care is extremely important, but to the extent of buying a leaf blower just to get water out of the gaps is plain overkill.

Buying a leaf blower is not that expensive at all. Why would it be so much "overkill" if it's something that is proven to be the best way and has been used by pros for years that actually know not only that "paint care is extremely important" but also know how to properly do it.

Water in gaps sucks if you're showing your car. They look for water spots in the door jams, trunk channel, etc. to see if the car is done right or just half assed.

On a black car, dripping and draining water sucks because it leave very noticeable places on the car. Unless you're going to walk around the car every 5 minutes and try to catch every one of them, it's just easier to blow them dry.

Also, for your grill, wheels (especially the lugs), etc. it's impossible to do it with a towel in any reasonable amount of time. With a blower it takes a few seconds.

Hell, one really cool thing that you can do with a blower is to dry your tires off so you can go ahead and dress them, too.

 

[rford426]

I love using the leaf blower for the car or anything its deff not JUST for the car altough as much as i use to wash it i did use it more on the car haha

 

[19COBRA93]

I've never seen a leaf blower that blows exhaust fumes forward. That's a pretty rediculous thing to consider harmful to a paint job. Pointed in the right direction there's no way it could be harmful.

I use a combination of things to dry my car with. A leaf blower, or compressed air is used for the grills, taillights, cowl etc.

 

[rford426]

Not many yankees use gas powered tools

 

[Torched S197]

I've got a komatsu that I dry my car with! It's a backpack model and the fumes come out behind you. I wouldn't dry my car with one of the cheap ones that you get from walmart where the fumes come out the actual blower hose.

 

[gothamite302]

Personally, I'd rather have this

Than This

With as much work as it takes to get rid of all of the swirls and fine scratches i would want to avoid them coming back at all costs especially since the swirls pictured are the ones from my car! Also a lot of people already have gas blowers, at least down south, and knowing that it makes it that much safer to dry your car after you put 12-15 hours of hard work into it last week aiming for perfection

Sent from my GT-P1000 using Tapatalk