Allowing your car to air dry after every routine wash takes forever. Say you’re in a hurry: will you hit the road with a wet car? Doing so will only attract more dust to the car’s surface and leave greedy stains and water spots.
That’s why many car owners use leaf blowers to dry their cars. But what effect will a leaf blower have on your car’s paintwork? In all fairness, it’s a legitimate concern.
Today, we’ll give you the correct answer to how to use a leaf blower to dry car without damaging its shiny paint coat.
Why Should You Use a Leaf Blower to Dry Your Car?
Before we discuss the right way to dry your car using a leaf blower, let’s understand why you should even consider using a powerful leaf blower in the first place. This technique is only for those concerned about the spotless paint coat of their car.
It’s no secret that you run a risk of damaging the paint every time you touch your car. Even a slight scratch or swirl is enough to taint its flawless body.
While you cannot avoid making physical contact with the car during washes, you can certainly minimize contact during drying.
Usually, car owners use soft microfiber towels to speed up the drying process, but even the tiny delicate fibers of these towels are enough to swirl the paint or leave very faint traces on the coat. That’s why we recommend using a leaf blower to drive your car post-wash.
Looking for some other ways to use a leaf blower?
Advantages Of Using a Leaf Blower
Aside from keeping up the flawless look of your car’s paint for years, here are two big advantages of using leaf blowers to dry your car:
Fast and Effective
Air drying will take forever, and if you are in a hurry, it is certainly not the best way to dry your car. Plus, drying your car with a microfiber towel is not nearly as effective as drying it with a leaf blower. No matter how hard you wipe it on the car’s body, it will still leave traces of moisture on the surface. A leaf blower is the only proven way to dry your car quickly and with 100% efficiency.
Reach Hidden Spots
The biggest challenge of cleaning and drying your car is reaching those hidden, rather inaccessible spots. Since leaf blowers come with adjustable air pressure, you can increase it to reach areas under your mirrors, door handles, or car trunk.
The Right Way to Use a Leaf Blower to Dry Your Car
Having covered all the basics you would need to get started with a leaf blower for post-wash car drying, let’s now check out how a leaf blower works and a few additional tips to help you dry a car without any damage to the paint.
Step 1
Turn on the leaf blower and place it at a lower angle to push down the water from your car.
Step 2
Start at the top of your car and slowly move down, drying the components thoroughly as you pass through them.
Step 3
Once you are done with the top of the car, get to the bonnet and use the same lowered angle to push down the water droplets in a synchronized motion.
Step 4
Now that you’re at the bottom section of your car, do not keep the leaf blower angled low. Instead, blow the air sideways to prevent any dust from the ground from rising.
Tips to Dry Your Car Using a Leaf Blower
Here are five additional tips to help you keep the shine of your paint coat intact and protect it from all kinds of damages:
1. Blow the First Stream of Air Away From the Car
Position your leaf blower away from the car when you turn it on. This will ensure that any dust that might have accumulated on the blower filters will not directly hit your car.
2. Don’t Let the Cord Touch the Car
It’s best to use a cordless blower that won’t limit your accessibility and would be flexible enough to reach every corner of your car. But if you are using a leaf blower with an extension cord, make sure the wire does not toy with your car’s delicate paint.
3. Use Leaf Blowers with Air Filters
Leaf blowers with air filters will reduce the chances of accumulated dust hitting your car and scratching the delicate paint. And if you do get a leaf blower with air filters, make sure you clean those filters regularly.
4. Wet the Ground Before Drying Your Car
If you have washed your car in the same spot you’re going to dry it, chances are the ground would still be wet. But if it’s not, gently splash some water on the ground to settle down the dust particles. This will ensure that when you use the blower on your car, the high air pressure will not cause any dust particles to rise and stick to your car’s body.
5. Don’t Use Gas Powered Blowers Indoors
This is more of a personal safety tip. If you’re using a gas-powered leaf blower, only use it when you are outdoors. These blowers are infamous for their harmful emissions, which can be quite dangerous in a poorly ventilated garage. If you have to dry your car indoors, use electric blowers.
Conclusion
We hope you now have the answer to how to use a leaf blower to dry your car. It’s the best way to dry your car and secure maximum protection and flawless paint.
The only downside to this method is that it only works on waxed cars that already repel water. If your car’s paint coat tends to attract water, leaf blowers might not be very effective in eliminating the droplets.
If you do have a leaf blower with air filters and a car with a waxed paint coat, you have everything you need to maintain a spotless and dazzling car for years.
