If air drying is not recommended, what happens when is raining

[Cogos]

I've always read the advice that you should not let your car air dry, because of water spots, which in the long run, may affect the paint?

What happens if you live in a state or city, where raining happens quite often, you will get water spots as well, basically, throwing that whole logic out of the window. For example:


- It could rain at 2am while you are sleeping, and now you wake up at 7am and your car has water spots. You can't prevent this.
- It could rain while you are going to work and don't have time to dry the car, you will also have water spots.
- It could rain while you are going to a party or gathering, where you don't have time to dry the car, you will also get water spots.
- It could rain while you are inside the house, would you wait for the rain to be over, and go outside to dry your car? I doubt it.
- It could literally rain once a week, while you are sleeping, and it would be exactly the same as if you washed you car and let it air dry once a week, in fact, it would be worst, because the rain is probably harder than tap water.

Bottom line, if you cannot dry your car or don't have the time, don't worry so much, nothing bad will happen, the "negatives" of air drying are grossly exaggerated, especially, since raining, while you are sleeping, does the exact same thing to your car, without giving you time or notice to dry it with a micro fiber towel. This, assuming, you don't have a garage, which most people don't.

"Air drying" your car once a week, won't do anything negative or worse than raining already does.

[The Guz]

Re: If air drying is not recommended, what happens when is raining

Rain is different that water out of a hose. Water out of a hose contains a lot of minerals which can etch the paint and needing and abrasive polish to remove them if left too long. Some water spots can etch so bad that they can be permanent. Just think of those who get water spots from a sprinkler.

What spots the paint is not necessarily the rain water but the dirt that is on the surface. Acid rain is another to consider.

[BillyJack]

Re: If air drying is not recommended, what happens when is raining

You've brought up an interesting topic, probably more appropriate for Southern States, but still applies for those of us in the North, as the sun does shine here sometimes. I have 4 vehicles in the family fleet, including my '87 El Camino, with Dark Burgundy OEM lacquer, a Black Buick Lacrosse, Crystal Red Chevy Cruze and an Orange Honda fit. All but the Camino stay outside 24/7. I work 50+ hours a week, maintain my own house and lawn and still endeavor to to have a clean, shiny fleet with the limited time available. We have decent water in the Pittsburgh area and since heavy industry is all but gone here, the once notorious acid rain problem is no longer an issue.
I have over 30 waxes/sealants on my shelves, as well as a dozen QD's, Waterless Washes and drying aids, but I find myself choosing products based on their resistance to rain spotting more so than their appearance qualities, at least on the DD's. Some of the most beautiful waxes I've tried leave a nasty ring around the rain spots that takes a polishing step to remove, so they're dedicated for use on the garage queen El Camino only. I can't positively tell you what would work best in your situation, but I'd advise you to try the synthetic sealants, such as Ultimate Wax or NXT, rather than true waxes such as Gold Class or M26, if you're staying in the Meguiar's line. Currently, two of the DD's are wearing Paint Protect 365 and are holding up well, but it is winter, so I don't yet know how they'll fare in bright sun. Come springtime, the Cruze and Fit will get a trial with the new Ultimate Fast Finish to see how well that works. Another idea is to use Ultimate Quik Wax / D156 as a drying aid. I've been using that on my Black Lacrosse, usually every 2 weeks and am quite pleased with its spot-resistance.
Sorry I can't give you any absolute solutions, but hopefully you have some food for thought.

Bill

[The Guz]

Re: If air drying is not recommended, what happens when is raining

Bill brings up another good point. This is why Meguiar's tends to have their sealants be more of a sheeting type versus beading. Although ultimate wax does both well. NXT sheets from personal use. Paint Protect for me started to sheet better than it beaded.

[Cogos]

Re: If air drying is not recommended, what happens when is raining

Im already using meguiar ultimate liquid wax, you can get it for $15 at walmart. The thing is i dont know how long it lasts. im washing the car by hand now with meguiar gold class, but i didn't do a good job drying it. I need more towels or something that absorbs more water. I would probably get a leaf blower that can be connected to the cigarette socket.

I plan on getting the xpress wax, which is the same as the quick wax, and using every week after my wash, or maybe every 2 weeks, i dont know either how long it lasts, not sure if you can just leave it on or does it have to wiped off.

[BillyJack]

Re: If air drying is not recommended, what happens when is raining

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like you're not using D156/UQW to help the drying process. If I'm correct, here's what I recommend: 1) Use your drying towel first to remove and spread out any large accumulations of water. You'll only need one towel, as you can wring it out repeatedly, since you're not trying to get things completely dry. 2) Spray a couple light spritzes of the UQW on the still-damp panel. Use a dry MF towel folded into quarters to spread the wax and wipe it dry. Change MF towels as needed.
You've not only made drying easier, but added a booster to your existing wax and increased resistance to spotting.

Bill

[The Guz]

Re: If air drying is not recommended, what happens when is raining

When the beading starts to not look as tight and become more flat that is a good sign it is time for a reapplication. The sheeting of it will slow down quite a bit as well. It's longevity varies between 3-6 months. Ultimate Quik Wax/D156 is pretty durable in itself and lasts quite awhile. You could use it as a drying aid while drying the paint. Plenty of information on how to use it as a drying aid using the search feature.

One can never have enough towels. Sheet rinsing helps as well before drying. A blower is another good thing that works well. Just be sure you don't kill your battery if you are using the cigarette socket.

[Cogos]

Re: If air drying is not recommended, what happens when is raining

When the beading starts to not look as tight and become more flat that is a good sign it is time for a reapplication. The sheeting of it will slow down quite a bit as well. It's longevity varies between 3-6 months. Ultimate Quik Wax/D156 is pretty durable in itself and lasts quite awhile. You could use it as a drying aid while drying the paint. Plenty of information on how to use it as a drying aid using the search feature.

One can never have enough towels. Sheet rinsing helps as well before drying. A blower is another good thing that works well. Just be sure you don't kill your battery if you are using the cigarette socket.

So, can I use ultimate quick wax while the car is still wet or do I need to get it fully dry. My car stays outside all the time and maybe it rains once every 2 weeks. I plan on buying the professional version and use it once a week after my wash.

Based on what Ive read here and if I apply xpress wax every week, I would probably apply the ultimate liquid wax every 3 months. The consumer report seems to show that wax doesn't last as long as we thought, even though wax and water beading may still be there, is not protecting as well as in the first 4 weeks.

I dont know how long the ultimate liquid wax bottle is gonna last me though.

I have a 2014 mazda 6 and the paint on this car is known to be kinda thin and my previous car, which was a 2004 chevy cavalier, i completely neglected it lol I would wash it every 4 months and I think I only waxed it once in 10 years lmao i didnt care for the car and was a complete noob, now after reading and watching this guy called darren from auto fetish detail, Ive learned a lot.

No wonder the whole car had massive clear coat peeling, so now I have become OCD about cleaning my newer car. I dont mind using xpress wax every week and the ultimate liquid wax every 6 weeks or even every month as long as I can protect it as much as possible

I plan on keeping this car for many years, for at least 5 years, if not 10 years, so I want yo take care of it as much as I can

[The Guz]

Re: If air drying is not recommended, what happens when is raining

Well the first thing is ultimate wax is actually a sealant and not a wax. Sealants are also know as synthetic waxes. They use man made ingredients. Unlike a traditional carnauba wax. A sealant will be more durable and last longer than a carnauba wax. The general range for a sealant is roughly 4-6 months. Technology is changing that as well just based on the ultiamte fast finish that is now out. That varies depending on the surrounding environment. Carnauba waxes generally fall into the 1-3 month range.

Meguiar's does recommend to reapply 3-4 times a year with most of their waxes.

Spray waxes are maintenance type products. Meaning the help boost the base layer of protection. Some more durable and hydrophobic that the others. D156/UQW being that in the Meguiar's line up. They will add gloss and slickness.

That's a brief overview.

But to answer your question, D156/UQW can be used on wet paint after a wash. Sheet rinse the surface and mist it onto the remaining water an proceed to dry the car. I would recommend at least two towels. One for the first pass and the second to buff off any excess product left behind to avoid streaking. Rain water can be dirty so I would be hesitant to apply it to that kind of surface as D156/UQW is not meant to remove dust. Ultimate Quik detailer can be used to remove light dust.

Claying is also important. It helps the base layer of protection to last longer. You are probably going to ask how often to clay. Well that is really a hard question to answer. At a minimum 1 time a year.

[Cogos]

Re: If air drying is not recommended, what happens when is raining

Yes, Ive read that is a sealant, but ive read a thread where a guy did an experiment with it and he recommended to reapply after 5 weeks and if you are using the quick wax every week, at the 7 to 8 week.

I used the meguiar clay kit and waxed the car on january 3rd, yeah probably just every 6 months for clay

Another concern I have is that I dont know how much meguiar gold wash to use. On the directions, it says 4 capfuls, so basically I poured 4 capfuls, problem is that the product is so slimy, that you end up pouring more, so ill probably just do 3 next time