Are drying blades a good idea?

[Londonscottish]

As per the title are drying blades a good idea or not?

I'm finally reverting to hand cleaning my car. Having cleaned the air con yesterday and cleaned the seats I applied leather conditioner today and then started on the body. I had it washed (I was busy....) then gave it a quick polish. Wheels are next for a proper clean, polish and wax. In the coming week I'll give the whole car a good wax.

Before I do that I'll clean it again (obvs). I've always used chamois leathers to dry it but saw an Autoglym drying blade in Halfords the other day.

Are the a good idea or are they just likely to cause scratches?

 

[KillerHERTZ]

Nope, any grit etc will be scratched across the paintwork. Avoid

 

[merc85]

As above

 

[Alex225]

In short no although on glass they'd be fine.

Fundamentally, the blade itself wouldn't be much of an issue. The problem you have is that you can never be 100% sure that there's no dirt/grit on the paintwork and dragging a rubber blade across it gives no where for it to go. So the chances of inflicting scratches is higher.

Admittedly you could say the same with a drying towel but at least the pile of a microfibre offers some method of keeping the dirt away from the paintwork as best as possible.

 

[Chrishazle]

Also as above - I bought one thinking "it's an Autoglym product, should be good" but quickly stopped using it for exactly the reason given above.

 

[clk320x]

Microfibre towel only!

 

[st13phil]

For all the reasons mentioned above, for paint no. They're fine on glass though.

Super-absorbent drying towels are easily available from any of the detailing supply places, and they will cause no issues especially if you just lay it on and let it absorb the water, rather than rubbing it over the paint.

Alternatively, get yourself a DI Vessel and do the final rinse with Zero PPM water and just leave it as I do with my cars. It leaves the car totally free of streaks and water-spots, and as you don't actually dry it there's no chance of scratching it either.

 

[baxlin]

Microfibre towel only!

^^^ Plus one for microfibre drying towels.

Plus, ditch the sponge, and use two buckets.

Have a look on the Detailing World forum if you are keen. But you need to be happy to spend a lot of money on products. (Don’t ask how I know.....)

 

[rf065]

Contrary to what others have said, if you have grit on your glass they will drag that along the window & scratch it too.
They should be banned completely.

 

[renault12ts]

Contrary to what others have said, if you have grit on your glass they will drag that along the window & scratch it too.
They should be banned completely.

Are they worse than wiper blades?

 

[brucemillar]

Towels can & do trp dirt and grit so will scratch. Where do you stop? Well a decent power output electric or petrol blower is a good idea and is great for getting the excess water from the door shuts, trim panels etc.

 

[renault12ts]

Towels can & do trp dirt and grit so will scratch. Where do you stop? Well a decent power output electric or petrol blower is a good idea and is great for getting the excess water from the door shuts, trim panels etc.

Good for snow too...

 

[clk320x]

Towels can & do trp dirt and grit so will scratch. Where do you stop? Well a decent power output electric or petrol blower is a good idea and is great for getting the excess water from the door shuts, trim panels etc.

You must make sure to get one with a filter too

 

[rf065]

Are they worse than wiper blades?

You don't use wiper blades on your side windows, but you will do permanent damage on your side windows with one piece of grit and a drying blade.
I had to look at a few scores on my CLK side windows for years after my sister gave me a drying blade at Christmas.

 

[ash59fifty-uk]

Nooooo, invest in a Klin Korea evo or duo. Brilliant drying towels and relatively cheap. Got mine from Exceldetailingsupplies

 

[bob6600]

I used it all the time on my W210 as they are very good and quick at drying the car. Of course the W210 had less than perfect bodywork so it didn't matter. I still ensured there was no grit on it in between wipes and never scratched the car or glass. I can see why they are a no no as it would be easy to cause scratches. But as said earlier, if there is grit on the car, a towel could do the same.

I also kept it handy to get the snow off (when we get any) as it clears the car and glass very quickly. Yes I know it is probably worse with snow on a dirty car

 

[Will]

Love it how men find ways of snowballing a hobby!

Man washes car, considers using something he’s seen at Halfords for a tenner. Ends up with £200 worth of air blower and other specialist detailing supplies

Air blower used once, put away in shed and then uses local £5 hand car wash once the weather turns nasty again

 

[Deleted member 126251]

Why would there be grit on a car that has been, rinsed, foamed, rinsed, washed, rinsed.........however I don't use squeegees....

 

[chrisk2010]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO don't use one they aren't very good or a time saver. Two decent drying towels will dry much quicker than a blade one to wipe one to dry.

Love it how men find ways of snowballing a hobby!

Man washes car, considers using something he’s seen at Halfords for a tenner. Ends up with £200 worth of air blower and other specialist detailing supplies

Air blower used once, put away in shed and then uses local £5 hand car wash once the weather turns nasty again

Man writes GDH on the side and regifts to the missus.

 

[gramey]

Well I fly in the face o all the above wise sages, I use one and I can't say I've notice any problem with scratching, I rinse my car with clear water via a pressure washer, snow foam it and leave for 10 minutes, rinse again with the pressure washer, washer with Maguires shampoo and their microfibre mitt, rinse again with the pressure washer. I then clear the excess with a silicon blade and then dry of with an Autoglym synthetic chamois. Then if the weather is nice it gets a polish with a Maguires DA polisher, not because I'm lazy but due to a long term shoulder problem.