Compressed air?

[Vincenzo]

I was messing around with a can of compressed air, and was using it to blow some water off of a piece of plastic with all these little ridges and stuff. It seemed to blow off the water pretty well, so I started wondering if you could use it to help dry your car? I can't afford one of the air blaster things, but a 5 dollar 10oz can of compressed air should last 2 or 3 washes. It seems like it could be very useful to get water out of small cracks and stuff, just like the big blowers Adams sells. Is there any reason not to do this? Besides the possibility of a little of the liquid coming out and freezing the water for a second, I can't think of any reason. Please tell me if my idea is stupid or not.

[Kingsford]

Use your mouth to blow on the cracks. I'm telling you save your money. You asked our opinion and everyone here is pretty much against the idea.

[Bill-V8V]

Usually the higher priced gas ones will throw the exhaust out the side or bottom. Maybe you should start hitting yard sales, it's almost that time of year, you might be able to get an electric for $10, most do a decent job

[MAYBEN]

I hope it doesnt use the blow area, or else I gotta figure something else out.. maybe I'll use my new wet/dry vac.. maybe get a separate hose just for this...

[whiterp199]

I believe my craftsman comes out the side.. I'll have to look into this as I used it last year to aid in drying the car..

 

One quick way to tell would be to get a clean white junk towel and put it over the air out let and let the blower rip for a minute or two. This will show you what is coming out. If the exhaust goes in the blow area though I would not use it no matter how clean the towel is.

[MAYBEN]

I used a can of air one day when my air compressor was mia. It was inadequate to say the least. If an air compressor is not available get a 30 dollar electric leaf blower at sears and you will be good. Do not use a a gas powered blower on your car. Most likely leave an oily film on your car as the exhaust usually goes into the blow tube.

 

I believe my craftsman comes out the side.. I'll have to look into this as I used it last year to aid in drying the car..

[BrandonB56]

you can get a great leaf blower for 30-40 at your local walmart.

just make sure its not gas powered

 

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4910793&findingMethod=rr

[whiterp199]

I used a can of air one day when my air compressor was mia. It was inadequate to say the least. If an air compressor is not available get a 30 dollar electric leaf blower at sears and you will be good. Do not use a a gas powered blower on your car. Most likely leave an oily film on your car as the exhaust usually goes into the blow tube.

[Vincenzo]

Ok well, I washed my car today (which was a fail). First I gotta say I am still very impressed with Adam's products.Anyways....

 

So I used the compressed air. It worked pretty good, did the job well enough. I did use all that was left in the can, which was about half of it. I can totally see why people spend so much money on a blower, and I will have to get one soon. It also got cold faster then I expected, but warmed up fast enough to not be an issue.

 

My parents have an old toro leaf blower that is covered in crap and does not turn on (I can fix it). Next wash I will have to take it apart and detail it so I can give that a try.

 

Unfortunately, the wash was a fail for 2 reasons. 1 was that I have to wash it in the backyard (parent's rules), and the ground was still a bit wet, so in coming out of the back yard I splashed mud on my car again! 2 is that I saw how many swirls and chips my car had after winter! I have only really washed it 3 times this winter (sprayed it off at a do-it-yourself a few times though), so it was literally covered in a thick layer of dirt. You guys should have seen how nasty the wash pad was after just the roof and windows! Thank god for grit guards. Hopefully I will have the cash for the PC and polish soon!

[livingwater]

I use an air compressor to push the water out from my mirror and lights

 

Adams great white drying towel does everything else

[1anonly]

I have a Black & Decker Leaf Hog. It's a leaf blower and leaf chopper. I paid $50 for it.

 

You sometimes can find cheap Toro leaf blowers for around $30-$40.

 

Both options are way cheaper than air compressor or air cans.

[mc2hill]

I might try the leafblower but I will have to completely take it apart and clean it first because I don't want weird little particles flying at my car at 100mph.

 

Some else mentioned they have a dedicated vacuum for drying. You may want to try Craigslist for your area for a shop vac or leaf blower for this purpose.

 

Let us know how the compressed air works!

[MAYBEN]

you can get an electric leaf blower that will do the trick for less than $100, and I am aiming high because you can get a craftsman wet/dry that comes with a leaf blower for $89...

[Vincenzo]

Use your mouth to blow on the cracks. I'm telling you save your money. You asked our opinion and everyone here is pretty much against the idea.

Well bro, the only reason anyone is against the idea is because they want me to buy large 150 dollar blowers, which I can't do right now.

 

I might try the leafblower but I will have to completely take it apart and clean it first because I don't want weird little particles flying at my car at 100mph.

 

Only 1 use out of the can? I was hoping more then that. Crap.

 

Next time I wash my car I will try the compressed air with a can I already have for computer stuff. It's already about half gone, so if I can't do it with that, I'll just drop the idea and start saving I guess.

 

Thanks!

[Kingsford]

Just my opinion here but I doubt you would get 3 washes out of a can. Most likely one wash and it won't do a good job so it really sounds like a waste of money that you already don't have enough of.

 

[Bill-V8V]

Just my opinion here but I doubt you would get 3 washes out of a can. Most likely one wash and it won't do a good job so it really sounds like a waste of money that you already don't have enough of.

[Vincenzo]

Here is how I figure it. If it costs 6.50 per bottle, and I get 3 uses out of it, that is about 2.16 cents per wash. I wash my car about once a week, so to make it worthwhile to save and buy a blower, I would have to wash my car about 70 times, which would take like 16 months. Right now, I am saving for stripes on my car and a PC with all the polishes + APC, SVRT, Americana, and MSW. When I have accomplished those goals, probably by mid summer with my lame job, I can then start saving for a big blower like that 150 dollar one suggested before. I save up for that for 2 months, and I have it well before it actually becomes cost effective to buy it. Saving for 3 expensive things at once will make each one take more time, so for now, I can't even begin to think about buying a blower.

 

I am just sick of drying my car off and then 5 minutes later, the thing is dripping again. I need a temporary solution to this, and was wondering if there was some reason I shouldn't. Since no one has really given me a reason not to use compressed air, I guess it will be fine. Thanks!

[3PedalMINI]

ill get a picture but i use a shop vac that is DEDICATED to drying. i have the "muffler" (which is just a piece of foam) on the intake side of the vacuum to keep the larger crap from entering and then have a HEPA filter on the inside to filter the air. i got the vacuum from HD on black friday dirt cheap and spend a few dollars on the muffler and filter but otherwise works like a charm for under 100 bucks! u just have to be prepared for funny looks by your neighbors:lolsmack:

 

im going to purchase this though and dedicate it to my cars. the vacuum works really really good but lacks the "oomph" that this would for blowing the water out of the tightest areas.http://www.harborfreight.com/air-tools/oil-compressors/2-hp-8-gallon-125-psi-portable-air-compressor-67501.html

 

Those cans will get expensive and im not quite sure how good it is for the plastic/paint when it shoots out a blast of frost

[MAYBEN]

I use my Craftsman Leaf Blower..

[Team Adam's]

I wonder what the effects of the freezing would be as well... I've used canned air on things sometimes and gotten a blast of frost. Seems counter productive to getting water out if you freeze it... if anything you're adding more moisture.

 

Might not be a bad idea for dusting cracks and crevices in the interior, but seems like a really inefficient way to get water our of the crevices while drying

[Kingsford]

I realize that buying a blower like that is going to be the way to go at some point. The problem is I make between 0 and 30 dollars a week after taxes, union, insurance, and savings, and that does not account for gas. Dropping more then 50 bucks at a time is almost impossible for me. I hope to ditch this lame job soon and make some real cash, but until then, I guess compressed air will have to do.

 

Well instead of blowing the money on compressed air cans save it up and just suffer with having to dry the old fashion way. Eventually you will have enough to buy that Air Compressor, more than likely if you start saving now you could buy it by summer.

 

IMO.... buying compressed air cans is just throwing money away.

 

 

PS I use a craftsman 15 gallon air compressor with a rubber hose (not plastic) for my stuff.

[the1inblue]

Or just do what I did and buy a Toro leaf blower for like 30 bucks. Puts out 230 MPH air and I only use one towel to do about 20% of my car.

 

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[Vincenzo]

I realize that buying a blower like that is going to be the way to go at some point. The problem is I make between 0 and 30 dollars a week after taxes, union, insurance, and savings, and that does not account for gas. Dropping more then 50 bucks at a time is almost impossible for me. I hope to ditch this lame job soon and make some real cash, but until then, I guess compressed air will have to do.

[1anonly]

[Kingsford]

I think your best bet here is going to be buying a small air compressor.

 

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00916638000P?prdNo=4&blockNo=4&blockType=G4

 

You can buy this for about as much as you'd spend in cans of compressed air in a year. I mean you can pay $150 for that compressor once or keep using canned air, ruining the environment, and wasting money.

 

Plus the air compressor has many more uses than just drying your car.

 

Not to mention you never know what that "cold fluid" otherwise known as hydrocarbons will do to your paint. It gets cold for a reason and its not because its compressed air.....

 

"Despite the name "canned air," the cans actually contain gases that are much easier to compress into liquids, such as difluoroethane, trifluoroethane, or tetrafluoroethane (the main components of air, which are oxygen or nitrogen, are in fact very rarely used). Hydrocarbons, like butane, were often used in the past, but their flammability forced manufacturers to use fluorocarbons." -Wikipedia

[Bigredmariner]

Yeah like Jason said, when they get cold it can be a while before they build pressure again. Unless you are outside in the sun, then the liquid flashes off pretty quick and you have pressure again from those cans.