Car Drying Option

irishstoutaz · Jul 19, 2013

We had our car detailed last week and noticed that the detailers used a blower to dry it off rather than towels... I talked to them about it and said there were a few models like what they had but recommended the larger HP version they bought if you were going to dry anything larger than a motorcycle. The nice thing in particular (especially for anyone with Black or a dark color), is that you don't have to use a towel to dry it after washing so reduce your chances of any swirl marks. He was also able to dry the car in only a few minutes vs. the amount of time it has taken me to do it with towels. It also helps with blowing out the mirrors, lugnuts, etc. so you won't have any drip marks occur after you drive where there was some hidden water.

The model he had and what we ended up also buying is the MB3CD Air force Master Blaster 8-HP Dryer. You can buy it many places based on a search I did but we bought ours on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002SPCGC/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

So just thought I would post given I know many people here are concerned with keeping the paint looking good and preventing any swirl marks.

Denarius · Jul 19, 2013

Awesome, I think I will order one!

dsm363 · Jul 19, 2013

Thanks for the info. Is the hose long enough for the top of the car?

irishstoutaz · Jul 19, 2013

The hose is 10ft long... they had no issue in reaching any part of the car (and they weren't tall). I watched them do it and that was when I asked them about it and went in and promptly ordered one.

dsm363 said:
Thanks for the info. Is the hose long enough for the top of the car?

dave · Jul 19, 2013

I use my leaf blower. My wife still thinks I'm crazy, but it does a good job!

irishstoutaz · Jul 19, 2013

That can work as well :wink: but think you have a little more control with this and it does also heat the air by 10 degrees (or something like that) to dry it quicker. It isn't necessarily cheap but neither is a buff/polish to get rid of scratches/swirls.

dave said:
I use my leaf blower. My wife still thinks I'm crazy, but it does a good job!

Jeeps17 · Jul 19, 2013

Has anyone used a leaf blower (with a rigid hose) to dry off a car?

Thinking about getting a Stihl BGE 71 electric as a multi-tasker.

Edit: Just saw Dave's reply after I posted my query...

JerryNycom · Jul 19, 2013

Is this different than using an air compressor to blow off water?

Rowlock · Jul 19, 2013

I recently got one of the 8HP dryers too. It's been great, so far. Takes a little practice to get the hang of removing the water, rather than just blowing it from place to place. But it leaves a nice dry surface with little effort and no physical contact. Win.

One of the benefits of the dedicated dryers is that they blow filtered air, so you won't be grit-blasting your paint job if any crud gets stirred up from the floor and sucked into the air intake. I don't know whether leaf blowers are filtered, but I suspect not. That would give me some pause.

Compressed air will definitely work to blow the water off, but unless you're using a specifically filtered air line you will be misting your car with the oil used to lubricate the compressor head. Might not be a big issue if you have a relatively clean compressor, or one of the oil-free models. I haven't tried it to find out. But I don't know whether I would trust a shop compressor to output particularly clean air.

spaghetti · Jul 19, 2013

Blow dryng works very well. I use my 20 year old electric (no gas :smile

leaf blower on my black Model S and other cars after a wash with Optimum No Rinse wash. Very little water used, and very little effort to dry.

irishstoutaz · Jul 19, 2013

Thanks for your comment... haven't tried anything else personally but wouldn't use our air compressor or leaf blower. This seemed much better as it had a lot more air flow than anything I have and the various hose tips help to do whatever you want. I also found out the guy that did our tint/wrap has the same model (he knows our detailer) has one and also uses it to blow out his garage.

Rowlock said:
I recently got one of the 8HP dryers too. It's been great, so far. Takes a little practice to get the hang of removing the water, rather than just blowing it from place to place. But it leaves a nice dry surface with little effort and no physical contact. Win.

One of the benefits of the dedicated dryers is that they blow filtered air, so you won't be grit-blasting your paint job if any crud gets stirred up from the floor and sucked into the air intake. I don't know whether leaf blowers are filtered, but I suspect not. That would give me some pause.

Compressed air will definitely work to blow the water off, but unless you're using a specifically filtered air line you will be misting your car with the oil used to lubricate the compressor head. Might not be a big issue if you have a relatively clean compressor, or one of the oil-free models. I haven't tried it to find out. But I don't know whether I would trust a shop compressor to output particularly clean air.

ken830 · Jul 20, 2013

Is the filter replaceable?

irishstoutaz · Jul 20, 2013

Yes... Here are the details on Amazon:

Air force Master Blaster is capable of delivering up to 58,500-Feet-per-minute of clean, dry, warm, filtered air. Each motor is controlled by a separate switch that allows you to select from three different airflow and temperature levels to blow dry your Motorcycle more efficiently.
- All steel construction
- 8.0 Peak HP, 58,500 ft./min. air flow, 2 motors, 2 stage dual fan, 2 speeds, 2 temperatures, 18 amps, 2,160-Watt, weighs 16-Pound
- Includes heavy duty neoprene blower nozzle plus 5 interchangeable attachments, 10-Feet by 1.5-Inch flexible commercial strength hose, 12-Feet heavy duty, 3 conductor cord, easy change foam filter
- 1 Year warranty
- Made in USA

ken830 said:
Is the filter replaceable?

SCW-Greg · Jul 20, 2013

irishstoutaz said:
We had our car detailed last week and noticed that the detailers used a blower to dry it off rather than towels... I talked to them about it and said there were a few models like what they had but recommended the larger HP version they bought if you were going to dry anything larger than a motorcycle. The nice thing in particular (especially for anyone with Black or a dark color), is that you don't have to use a towel to dry it after washing so reduce your chances of any swirl marks. He was also able to dry the car in only a few minutes vs. the amount of time it has taken me to do it with towels. It also helps with blowing out the mirrors, lugnuts, etc. so you won't have any drip marks occur after you drive where there was some hidden water.

The model he had and what we ended up also buying is the MB3CD Air force Master Blaster 8-HP Dryer. You can buy it many places based on a search I did but we bought ours on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002SPCGC/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

So just thought I would post given I know many people here are concerned with keeping the paint looking good and preventing any swirl marks.

This is the exact machine my detail guys use. It's really the only way to blow dry it fully. You have to be careful around the side marker lights and roof flips, as the air force can rip things off.

The other thing to consider (black cars) is a water filter system that prevents water spotting from the get go. People swear by this system. You can literally let air dry, without the water spotting on your car.

DI-120 Cr Spotless Water System : Amazon.com : Automotive

bonnie · Jul 20, 2013

dave said:
I use my leaf blower. My wife still thinks I'm crazy, but it does a good job!

I have an electric rechargeable leaf blower - so while not nearly as powerful as what is being discussed here, it does get the hidden drips out. I usually get the bulk of the water with towels, use the blower to chase out the stuff that's hiding, and then give it one more once over with towels. Seems to work really well. And I don't have to deal with annoying 'tethered to the outlet' issues.

irishstoutaz · Jul 20, 2013

Thanks... may look into getting that as well.

SCW-Greg said:
This is the exact machine my detail guys use. It's really the only way to blow dry it fully. You have to be careful around the side marker lights and roof flips, as the air force can rip things off.

The other thing to consider (black cars) is a water filter system that prevents water spotting from the get go. People swear by this system. You can literally let air dry, without the water spotting on your car.

DI-120 Cr Spotless Water System : Amazon.com : Automotive

EarlyAdopter · Jul 20, 2013

I bought this two-stage water filtration system a few years ago and it works like a champ to eliminate water spotting:

Deluxe Clean Water Filter Kit, 2 step water filter system, water filter for car washing, inline hose filter

And at $139 it's half the price of other ones I've seen.

jordanthompson · Jul 21, 2013

I use Griot 'a spray on-wax after rinsing the car. It sheets the water, eliminates spots, and leaves a wax layer between waxes. My car always looks gorgeous :-D

RV8R · Dec 18, 2019

I have been using a leaf blower with a followup microfiber wipe. In South Florida the water is hard and I still get water stains. For those who use the Master Blaster, does the warm air blower eliminate the water marks or do you still need soft water to avoid spotting? (I only wash after sunset).

krsgio · Dec 19, 2019

I dont think the master blaster is going to make a difference in spotting unless it's just more efficient at removing the water off your car faster than the leaf blower does preventing water from sitting as long. Been looking to get a master blaster as I only have a sidekick right now but they don't ever seem to go on sale.

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