Was thinking about investing in a foam cannon for washing my cars. Looked around the web and found they run around $90 and up (really). Harbor Freight has a really decent hose nozzle with a soap dispenser attached for $11.99 so I figured I would give it a try. It's pretty decent quality and does a good job soaking, soaping and rinsing off your vehicle for a quick wash. No more buckets!

Once washed and rinsed A trick I found is using a leaf blower to dry the vehicle. Does an awesome job on wheels, headlight surrounds, cracks/crevices, etc... It's really fast and you don't have to worry about putting swirl marks in the paint from drying towels or chamois.

I machine wax my vehicles pretty regularly so this method works really well and fast. Would say start to finish no more than 20 minutes and you're done and it looks great. Give it a try

Cheers!

Andrew

 

I'm old school...hand wash only and always.
But, leaf blower I've been using for years. Works super great on motorcycles to get water out of all those nooks n crannies.
Grumpaw

 

I use to use compressed air first on my motorcycle then on all my vehicles because it just seemed to do a better job than towel drying. The leaf blower is just a lot easier and you get a lot more volume of air. The way I see it if it works it works.

 

Using anything to move the air to dry the truck may be getting water out of certain hard to reach areas, but on the other side of that coin, you're also forcing water deeper in to places it may not normally get to on it's own. You're driving it deeper in to components.


GB :)

 

Leaf blower held 2-3 feet away won't hurt anything at all. Won't drive water into any place that will hurt anything.
What do you think happens when your driving at 60 mph thru a rain storm? It drives water into every place you can think of and some you can't.
Don't try to overthink this.
Grumpaw

 

Honestly, I have never seen a problem doing this method. I think before water gets driven deeper it gets blown out beforehand.

 

None of you can guarantee this with 100% certainty. That's a fact.

You're applying the "wind" from multiple different angles that the truck wouldn't normally see. Not to mention that a leaf blower will easily produce well over a 65mph "wind" even at a couple feet away.

Do what you please. It's your truck. But you won't see me doing it. I've cut out and welded in too many panels due to rust, and replaced/serviced too many electrical connectors in my life as a mechanic to be doing such a thing...




GB :)

 

To each his own way of doing things, and won't argue with your choice. But in over 30 years of using a blower to dry everything from clunkers to my show cars and motorcycles, I've never, ever, had a problem. Used it on Corvettes, Mustangs, Harleys, Hondas, Ford Chevy trucks, Subarus,
dozens of other vehicles I've had,over the years, and 3 motor homes.
Never once have I had to replace an electrical connector, or fix a rusty panel on a vehicle because of it's use.
I accept your views. but will still use my blower.
Grumpaw

 

Good to know about the Harbor Freight foam gun. I've been eye balling it but wasnt sure how itd hold up. We have hard water here so normal car wash soap doesent stay foamy like it should. I 2nd the blower for drying. Makes it so much faster.

 

Surprisingly, the Spray nozzle from HF is made pretty well. Keep in mind this is not a foam cannon it's a soap dispenser nozzle (does a water soap mix). That's OK by me I just spray the vehicle down with the nozzle then make a quick pass around with the wash mitt and rinse well. For the time spent doing it it does a good job.