[TopSpeeder]

Guys,

Any recommendation on drying towel?, Heard waffle weave ones are good, Did anyone tried it.

I have tried absorb and found not suitable for car clean at all. Only suitable for house/floor clean.

I'm planning to buy Viking drying towel now, any advise?

[Thad E Ginathom]

The age-old tradition would be chamois leather. The real thing would be expensive; synthetics are available. I don't know how your "absorb" compares.

I use a silicon squeegee to sweep the water off the car. Whilst this works on exactly the same principle as the squeegees used to clear floors and restaurant table, the silicon is much softer and more pliable than rubber. It follows the curves of the bodywork easily, removing the greater part of the water. Final drying with microfibre towel. No idea if this sort of squeegee is available here.

Just to put the opposing point of view: when these silicon squeegees first came on the market, my London neighbour, who lavished infinitely more care on his car than I ever would, would not use one as he suspected that, combined with any dust, it might lead to fine scratching. That was not my experience and, after a good washing, there should not be any dust anyway!

[benzinblut]

Originally Posted by el lobo 6061

My Karcher K2.180:

Congratulations. Thats one machine I always wanted to have. Its sad to see all detailing work being blown away by the carwash guy. With something like this I can get rid of him.

I am considering getting this from Germany if I have some space left:
http://www.kaercher.de/de/Produkte/H...r/16731040.htm.

The specifications are similar to yours but this is smaller. It costs about €70. So its slightly less than 5000Rs. Would you suggest this?

[el lobo 6061]

Originally Posted by TopSpeeder

Any recommendation on drying towel?, Heard waffle weave ones are good, Did anyone tried it.

I'm planning to buy Viking drying towel now, any advise?

I'm too using Viking drying towel 6.25sqft. Easily absorbs water with few swipes. With one towel one could easily dry a sedan, in my case VW Vento. But don't keep very high expectation, in the end its just a MF. But with this I don't need to use multiple MF(16"X16"), one Viking 6.25sqft that's it.

Originally Posted by benzinblut

Congratulations. Thats one machine I always wanted to have. Its sad to see all detailing work being blown away by the carwash guy. With something like this I can get rid of him.

I am considering getting this from Germany if I have some space left:
Alfred Kärcher Vertriebs-GmbH | K 2.120.

The specifications are similar to yours but this is smaller. It costs about €70. So its slightly less than 5000Rs. Would you suggest this?

Thanks.

benzinblut the specs all the same to what I have. Karcher is the best one could get. Buy it eyes closed, you would just love it.

See if you could even get
1. Foam nozzle, 0.6 litre. Put some liquid soap + water and then spray it onto the car. Car would be all covered in snow like foam. Don't know why they don't have 0.3 L in Germany, which I bought from Melbourne.
2. Water filter. Considering the quality of water we have in India, its a must. Karcher does have fine mesh filter but still we wouldn't want the motor and those attachments to have fine fragments stuck in it.

[benzinblut]

Originally Posted by el lobo 6061

.......
See if you could even get
1. Foam nozzle, 0.6 litre. Put some liquid soap + water and then spray it onto the car. Car would be all covered in snow like foam. Don't know why they don't have 0.3 L in Germany, which I bought from Melbourne.
2. Water filter. Considering the quality of water we have in India, its a must. Karcher does have fine mesh filter but still we wouldn't want the motor and those attachments to have fine fragments stuck in it.

Thanks for your reply. The foam nozzle and Water filter cost €35. Thats half the price of the main unit. However, they are very useful and I shall go for it. Was the price relation similar also in your purchase?

I see that you also bought a hose connector set. What is the purpose of it? Would you suggest this to me as well?

[TopSpeeder]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

The age-old tradition would be chamois leather. The real thing would be expensive; synthetics are available. I don't know how your "absorb" compares.

I use a silicon squeegee to sweep the water off the car. Whilst this works on exactly the same principle as the squeegees used to clear floors and restaurant table, the silicon is much softer and more pliable than rubber. It follows the curves of the bodywork easily, removing the greater part of the water. Final drying with microfibre towel. No idea if this sort of squeegee is available here.
......

Absorber is mere waste. I too have silicon squeegee from OXO, but like your neighbor mentioned I'm also feels that it would scratch the paint.

Originally Posted by el lobo 6061

I'm too using Viking drying towel 6.25sqft. Easily absorbs water with few swipes. With one towel one could easily dry a sedan, in my case VW Vento. But don't keep very high expectation, in the end its just a MF. But with this I don't need to use multiple MF(16"X16"), one Viking 6.25sqft that's it.

Hey, Congrats on getting Karcher. Waiting for your new detailing pics.

Ya non of them up seems to be great (Experience from SONAX MF towel), May be Maguair's water magnet do the magic?.

After trying all these I'm back to cotton towel now .

[nileshch]

Originally Posted by TopSpeeder

Guys,

Any recommendation on drying towel?, Heard waffle weave ones are good, Did anyone tried it.

I have tried absorb and found not suitable for car clean at all. Only suitable for house/floor clean.

I'm planning to buy Viking drying towel now, any advise?

Yes, waffle weave ones are definitely good. I am using Meguiars Water Magnet with excellent results. Got this from Ultimate Detailerz in Bangalore.

[el lobo 6061]

Originally Posted by benzinblut

Thanks for your reply. The foam nozzle and Water filter cost €35. Thats half the price of the main unit. However, they are very useful and I shall go for it. Was the price relation similar also in your purchase?

Karcher attachments are quite costly considering the quality, you wont be disappointed. The prices were somewhere between 16-20 A$ for each of them. So IIRC for 40 A$ I had got both of them. Prices are more or less same.

Originally Posted by benzinblut

I see that you also bought a hose connector set. What is the purpose of it? Would you suggest this to me as well?

Yeah, of course. It save the hassle of attaching the water pipe to the water inlet using those metal rings(which have a screw to tighten them). Using high pressure cleaner, has a very high back pressure so a hose connector set saves the time of connecting the water pipe every time.

In the below image you can see that hose connector set has three parts. The first one(on the left) connects to the water inlet of Karcher. Second part is the one in which the water pipe is inserted(center) and third part is used to secure the pipe(on the right) from coming out due to high back pressure.

The (second+third) part can be easily detached from first part which it very easy to remove the water pipe from the Karcher. No hassle of those metal rings and no need to drag the water pipe all along, as you can detach it any time. So in the end its all about convenience.


Another View of the hose connector set parts.


As in the below you can see the hose connector set can be attached to the water filter which in turns connects to the water inlet of Karcher.


Hope I have explained it clearly even though its very rough representation.

Originally Posted by TopSpeeder

Hey, Congrats on getting Karcher. Waiting for your new detailing pics.

Ya non of them up seems to be great (Experience from SONAX MF towel), May be Maguair's water magnet do the magic?.

After trying all these I'm back to cotton towel now .

Thanks. The next detailing will need to wait till 28 May'12 as I have got my PG exams coming up. If I did get time in between which I'm sure than surely would try doing it.

Meguiars product are very respectable and does what it has been advertised for. In Banglore you have very good shops which keep stock of such products whereas in Mumbai its very difficult to source such products. If you do get the Maguair's water magnet do let us know about the experience, till then Viking is the best I have found as yet.

[benzinblut]

Originally Posted by el lobo 6061

Hope I have explained it clearly even though its very rough representation.

Thanks. Its clear.

A question comes to my mind. Will cleaning with this foam and high pressure washer not damage all the wax on the car?

[S_U_N]

Originally Posted by TopSpeeder

Guys,

Any recommendation on drying towel?, Heard waffle weave ones are good, Did anyone tried it.

I have tried absorb and found not suitable for car clean at all. Only suitable for house/floor clean.

I'm planning to buy Viking drying towel now, any advise?

I would recommend the Cobra green drying towel - I think it is 16 inches x 24 inches. It cost me about 800 Rs. from BringingtheBest.
Usually one dab on glass/ body takes away most of the water (on a waxed car).
I generally do not need to squeeze the towel more than once while drying my car.
Some minor droplets (if they do remain) get evaporated very soon (by the time I move to the next panel).

The other Cobra towels are also pretty good in absorbing water.
One negative point is that these expensive towels are not to be used on a dirty car - since cleaning these towels spotless clean requires some effort.

Once you apply soap while cleaning these towels, it takes several rounds of rinsing to get rid of the soap. The towels absorb a lot of soapy water (unlike cotton clothes).

[el lobo 6061]

Originally Posted by benzinblut

A question comes to my mind. Will cleaning with this foam and high pressure washer not damage all the wax on the car?

High pressure can damage and even cannot. Karcher K2.120/2.180(mine) comes with two attachments 1-way spray and dirt blaster.
Dirt blaster without doubt will rip the wax off the car whereas the 1-way spray if used from a distance will not cause any damage. I haven't used it on a waxed car but I'm sure 1-way spray wont cause any damages if used from distance.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by el lobo 6061

It save the hassle of attaching the water pipe to the water inlet using those metal rings(which have a screw to tighten them). Using high pressure cleaner, has a very high back pressure so a hose connector set saves the time of connecting the water pipe every time.

In the below image you can see that hose connector set has three parts. The first one(on the left) connects to the water inlet of Karcher. Second part is the one in which the water pipe is inserted(center) and third part is used to secure the pipe(on the right) from coming out due to high back pressure.

The (second+third) part can be easily detached from first part which it very easy to remove the water pipe from the Karcher. No hassle of those metal rings and no need to drag the water pipe all along, as you can detach it any time. So in the end its all about convenience.

I use this type of connector even for our garden hose. Our Bosch pressure washer was also supplied with a length of hose with such a connector at each end. It is a nice click-on/click-off design. The trouble is, that, apart from the Bosch supplier, I have found nowhere to buy these fittings --- and they do not last forever.

The archetype was made by a company called Ho[sz]elock. They have a whole system. Can't remember if it is s or z. High quality and expensive: even in UK people will buy cheaper imitation, but not so long lasting.

Having a new car just now, I'm actually showing an interest in cleaning it (it won't last! Well... I do mean to look after this one better than the last, to prevent rust). 3M carcare sold us Meguillar's Quick Detailer. they told us to use it for emergency blotches like bird droppings, but the company descibes it as a between-waxes solution. It really does restore the 3m-paint-sealing shine!

I haven't used it on a waxed car but I'm sure 1-way spray wont cause any damages if used from distance.

Pressure washer hints: Use a lower-pressure fan-shape spray, not a jet, which you might find can bore into your concrete, let alone your paintwork! Keep the spray at a narrow angle to the surface, and "sweep" the dirt away with it. Do not spray straight at the body. Can't claim actual experience, but I think this will be safe for a good waxed surface.

[el lobo 6061]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I use this type of connector even for our garden hose. Our Bosch pressure washer was also supplied with a length of hose with such a connector at each end. It is a nice click-on/click-off design. The trouble is, that, apart from the Bosch supplier, I have found nowhere to buy these fittings --- and they do not last forever.

In Australia almost everyone uses this type of connector as such because the taps over there have threading on the outside by which you can attach it. Its saves the time of attaching and detaching every time. I doubt I would be able to find it here in India. The one which I bought, the quality is good, hope it last long.

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Having a new car just now, I'm actually showing an interest in cleaning it (it won't last! Well... I do mean to look after this one better than the last, to prevent rust). 3M carcare sold us Meguillar's Quick Detailer. they told us to use it for emergency blotches like bird droppings, but the company descibes it as a between-waxes solution. It really does restore the 3m-paint-sealing shine!

Quick detailer is used after when you have waxed your car. Whenever you want to do a touch up or say the wax is feeling a bit dull it just makes a coating on wax to keep it looking shiny and smooth. But once if you start feeling rough and wax is washed off, you again need to wax first since quick detailer wont help with it.
Quick detailer is just a protective coating over the wax.

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Keep the spray at a narrow angle to the surface, and "sweep" the dirt away with it. Do not spray straight at the body. Can't claim actual experience, but I think this will be safe for a good waxed surface.

Thanks for the advice, will try it when I get time to use my Karcher.

[TopSpeeder]

Originally Posted by nileshch

Yes, waffle weave ones are definitely good. I am using Meguiars Water Magnet with excellent results. Got this from Ultimate Detailerz in Bangalore.

Thanks Nileshch, Viking also has waffle weave now. Also I may be scheduling an detailing session with UD sometime in March/April. I spoke to them.

Originally Posted by el lobo 6061

..............
Meguiars product are very respectable and does what it has been advertised for. In Banglore you have very good shops which keep stock of such products whereas in Mumbai its very difficult to source such products. If you do get the Maguair's water magnet do let us know about the experience, till then Viking is the best I have found as yet.

Sure, I will let you know. Also I have visited carpolish in Blr, they have all MOTHERS brand products. Soon, I will post pics of the cleaning materials I use.

Originally Posted by S_U_N

I would recommend the Cobra green drying towel - I think it is 16 inches x 24 inches. It cost me about 800 Rs. from BringingtheBest.
.....

I have noticed few detailing sites refer Cobra towel as good one.
Did you noticed it's small in size to cover a sedan? In this case Viking may have more advantage.

[ajay_satpute]

Originally Posted by el lobo 6061

Meguiars product are very respectable and does what it has been advertised for. In Banglore you have very good shops which keep stock of such products whereas in Mumbai its very difficult to source such products. If you do get the Maguair's water magnet do let us know about the experience, till then Viking is the best I have found as yet.

I checked the Maguiar's Water Magnet towel today morning at 3M Car care in Pune and it costs a bomb (700+). Is it really worth that much? No idea about Cobra MF towel's cost.