How To Article, by DetailingGurus. How to properly dry a car with a MicroFiber Drying Towel. Removing standing water from a car that has been washed is a critical final step in the routine maintenance of a vehicles finish. Water contains dissolved solids, detergents from washing, and minerals. When water is left to dry on a vehicle, it will leave behind raised water spots that remain after the water has evaporated. This does not take long, particularly on a hot summer day. If these spots are not removed, and are left to stand on the paint for weeks or months, the action of sunlight and heat can actually cause them to etch permanent water spots into the paint. These spots are actually small depressions beneath the surface of the paint or clear coat, and can only be removed through Machine Polishing. Note, that while it is good practice to use softened or DeIonized water, it is still crucial to remove standing water since trace amounts of dirt, debris, and detergents on the paint surface can readily dissolve into the rinse water and still leave behind unsightly and potentially damaging water spots. So how do you remove standing rinse water? Take the car for a spin around the block? The wind effect of a moving car might effectively remove much of the water, but it seldom does a complete job. A leaf blower can do a similar job, particularly with getting water out of crevices in the vehicles bodywork. Care must be taken to ensure that high pressure air is not used to drag contaminants and particles across the surface that can cause swirls and scratches. Water Sheeting can be used to reduce the amount of standing rinse water, particularly on vehicle paint that has a strong coat of protection from a high quality Carnauba Wax. This method utilizes a “sheet” of water as opposed to a jet of high pressure water droplets to blast a car clean. When the hose nozzle attachment is removed, water flows at a smooth and steady rate, creating a large, continuous sheet of water on the vehicle surface that is much heavier than individual small droplets and falls off the paint quickly, leaving little or no standing water droplets behind. Ultimately, a drying towel is the best method for final drying, to remove the last trace of water from the paint surface. Any time a cloth or towel is dragged across the paint surface, there is a risk for creating swirls and scratches. As a matter of fact, the vast majority of swirls in a vehicle’s paint does not come from the washing or scrubbing action from a quality wash sponge or Microfiber mitt, but rather from the dry action of a towel across the paint. Particularly when the towel becomes laden with dirt and contaminants, it becomes abrasive and causes permanent swirls that require abrasive polishing to properly remove.
Most auto owners utilize a cotton towel or a chamois to remove water after washing their cars. Neither of these methods are ideal for minimizing surface swirls and scratches. A chamois may have tremendous water holding capacity, but lacks the plush fibers needed to trap particles and dirt and keep them away from the vehicle paint. A standard cotton towel does contain some plus fibers, but these do a poor job at trapping dirt and will result in the rapid degeneration of gloss and shine after only a few months of use. Microfiber Towels are the safest way to dry a car after washing, as they contain microscopic, lightweight fibers (twice as fine as silk and 100 times finer than a human hair) that are soft, plush and do an excellent job at trapping and containing particles of debris. A high quality Microfiber will not mar the paint when rubbed with gentle pressure. A large, plush Microfiber Drying Towel is generally larger than a standard Microfiber Towel used to buff wax or remove polish residue left behind by machine polishing. Its size and highly absorbent properties allow it to hold over 10x its weight in water. The fine, plush fibers are deep enough to draw particles away from the surface, preventing swirls and scratches and preserving your vehicles finish. A Waffle Weave Microfiber Drying Towel is specifically designed for drying only, and has tremendous water holding capacity. It can generally dry an entire standardsized car without wringing it out. It should only be used to dry a car that is very clean, as it is generally not as heavy and plush as a standard MicroFiber towel. Each vehicle finish responds differently, depending on what type of protective coating is on the paint, among other variables. The detailer should experiment with the various drying methods in this article and find which is most suitable for their vehicle.