I got my car ceramic coated the day after I brought the car home. I have to go to a DIY car wash and 99% of the water is off the car after the 2 mile drive home. Then I just go over the whole car with detailer. If you get your car ceramic coated, a blower should knock off the water very easily.

 

The Cayman is my first ceramic-coated car and my experience is similar to DCFC. I blast the car with an electric blower and all I need is a very minor finishing pass with a towel, it’s great. It’s particularly handy for the wheels with the various pockets and detail areas. It’s good enough that I am contemplating having my other cars coated to improve my drying experience across the board.

 

I use a blower but it is corded. I started to research small battery blowers for the car but one day I needed more powerful one for the house. I bought one and just tried it out on the car. I have been using it for a year and it really helps. The one key thing though is that I use Deionized water to rinse the car so it doesn't water spot. If you blow dry with hard water you can end up with water spots so if you have an existing blower maybe try it first before getting an expensive battery one? Once it's mostly dry, I just dab the remainder dry with my drying towel and done.

I don't think anyone will use a corded blower but for reference this is what I use:

Amazon.com

It's out of stock but it looks like Home Depot has a red version of it for the same price:

Sun Joe 215 MPH 240 CFM 10 Amp Electric Handheld Leaf Blower, Red SBJ601E-RED - The Home Depot

Sweeping porches, patios, walkways, decks and garages has never been easier with this Sun Joe Electric Handheld Leaf Blower in Red.

www.homedepot.com

 

I use a system called RaceGlaze; it filters and purifies the rinse water so you can just rinse the car off and leave it to dry naturally without watermarks. That said, I also have a corded blower (designed for automotive, so it has an air filter) for blasting water out of panel gaps and wheels etc to ensure no traces of trapped suds can leak out later.

 

I’ve been thinking of moving to a filtered water rinse with the air dryer. I’ve done it in the past and it definitely helps with avoiding water spots.

I like using CarPro Hydro every 3 months to give the car a final shine and water bead, like a thin ceramic coat. On a cloudy day, after washing, just spray on and blow dry off..easy, fast and effective.

 

Personally, I think the less physical contact you make with the paint the better. I currently use an Ego leaf blower with a stubby nozzle. I used to have a corded leaf blower but working around the cord was annoying.

 

I got a DeWalt battery powered blower a couple of months ago and must say it made my life a lot easier when drying the car. Towels come in just in the very end to deal with details. Only problem is that it goes through a battery pack pretty quickly. I already had two standard ones, one for the tire pump and another for my drill, and I use them both each time I wash the car; they'll last about 8-10min each. There's a bigger battery pack that should last much longer but I never felt the need of buying it.

 

I used a Ryobi with the Stubby Nozzle Company attachment installed to make using more convenient to hold and use near the paintwork instead of the long blower tube. Works great for getting 90% of the water off so I can finish up with a single Griot’s PFM Drying towel. It’s a winning combination to reduce post wash scratches.

 

Cordless leaf blower user here. Works great. As others have noted, it quickly gets 90+% of the water off, followed by a much faster towel dry to get the remainder where continued use of the blower becomes less effective. A blower is especially helpful for drying the wheels and related components, as well as where water collects in seams and pockets like in and around mirrors and front grills for example.

 

Corded leaf blower here. Works great.

 

I use a Shelandy -

Amazon.com

I used to use my leaf blower - and frankly it gets heavy and its noisy.

the car dryer is like a cannister vacuum - has 14' long hose - two levels of air volume and has the option of no heat / low / high heat as well. Far better

- I don't have to wipe the car dry and I can blow water out of grilles, crevices and the wheels and brake rotors

 

You actually wash your cars? I have to park under an oak tree. With the tree weeping during the summer and starlings taking target practice I'd have to wash it every few hours. When I do I can just drive for a while to dry it.

 

when I had first moved to Oregon, the rental house had huge maple trees - I discovered on any warmer day, not to ever park in the driveway and go into the garage. Sap city

 

I have a battery powered leaf blower that gets more use as a car drier!
I "discovered" leaf blowers when I had bikes. Drying them is tedious....

 

Years ago I started the process of migrating all my power tools to the Milwaukee M18 platform. So yes, I use their M18 cordless blower. Works good, but I would say much better for cars that are cermamic coated or have the hydrophobic PPF(as I do on the front half). HUGE different blowing off the front of my car as compared to the non-hydrophic back half.

 

Wow! Thank you for all of your replies. And here I am thinking I was the first person with this idea🤣🤣🤣. I will start shopping around for a lightweight battery powered unit if it all fails at least I have a blower for the driveway…

 

The 40 volt Kobalt stuff from Lowe’s isn’t bad, and the 56 volt EGO stuff is excellent!

 

I use an EGO 670

as well with a stubby soft rubber ring that makes it easier to maneuver and the soft rubber protects the car from an accidental hit from the blower.

 

Yes, been doing it for years.

 

I have the Greenworks - picked it up at Costco and it came with two 80 batteries. Originally just for the leaves in the fall time and thought to use on the cars to speed up the drying process. I don't have the stubby nozzle for it, but will look to get one now that I just leaned about it here!

 

Anyone use one of these? Air Force Blaster I've been toying with getting one b/c it has a filter and heats the air. it does seem small, but so are my cars.

 

I use the full size AIR FORCE® MASTER BLASTER. Expensive and somewhat overkill, but works amazingly well.

 

I have been considering buying this for my car: BIGBOI BUDDI BLOWER

BLOWR BUDDI

Touchless Car Drying For Car Care Enthusiasts. Introducing the BUDDI from Bigboi. Catering for the enthusiast who wants an affordable yet high-quality & high-performance drying solution.Australian designed, super-portable& compact, the all-new, BUDDI features apowerful 1.2 PEAK HP motor that...

ibigboi-usa.com

I havent decided if its worth it though...

 

I watched the battery video one. I never worried about time and sometimes I can spend 10 minutes blowing my car and some of those last less than 10 minutes. Also they weigh more than the corded units and cost more. guess if you don't have a plug it makes sense but really on power, weight and value the corded one seems like a winner to me now.

 

Ryobi one+ compact. It comes with a short nozzle. Pistol grip makes it much easier to use and the balance is far better. Tried conventional leaf blower but this is far better. You need to ceramic coat to get the full benefit of using a blower.

 

Leaf blower to dry off - fast but risky.

 

Not at all risky if you use the correct blower with a soft tip.

 

Why risky?

 

I use a small gas powered leaf blower and a small electric corded unit. Works great. But some towel work is usually needed.

Mike

 

I use a Milwaukee Blower to Get most of the water off. Then use a drying aid spray. Just stay a little further back from the paint to not ding your car.