bbjones

Has anyone used a California Water Blade? My dad has one for his boat, and for the fiberglas, it's amazing! Just wondered if anyone had tried it on their car.



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2002 Acura TL Type-S Dark Emerald Pearl
1986 Pontiac Fiero SE V6
1994 Ford Explorer 4x4

Guest

I've been told that they are great, but be VERY careful and make sure it is clean before using it, because any dirt or anything on it will scratch your finish.

NBP TL

Yeah i use it on my TL and then i finish it off with the Absorber.
They are both great products.


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Tom

2001 Nighthawk Black Pearl TL

Comptech springs,Xephyr,Performance CAI, Inspire tailights,Piaa super white 001 solitare fogs, Inspire fog switch,Burlwood shift knob,Piaa Xtreme white blinkers,Razo carbon fiber pedals,BEL 870 radar detector, Acura-TL.com sticker

Tag66

I concur with NBP, the blade works great in conjuction with the Absorber. Make sure you give your entire car a nice 'rinse' once you are done washing it in order to make sure it's nice and wet. I use the blade to get the majority of the water off (mainly roof, hood, and trunk). I then follow up with the Absorber. I have the whole car dry and spotless in about 10 minutes.

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2002 Satin Silver TL-S w/Navi

RedLined

I agree w/ LordBodak (go Hokies!). I've heard the CA Water Blade works well but if just a speck of dirt gets on the Blade, you'll scratch your finish. Same w/ the Absorber. It may not dry as well or quickly, but a high quality cotton terry cloth towel is probably the best thing to use. All the loops on the towel give you a much larger surface area than the Absorber so if dirt does get on the towel, it's less likely that you'll be wiping it around on you car. Also, the towel offers a little more cushion than the Blade or Absorder so you won't be appling as much force to the dirt making the small scratches less likely.

EricL

I've been using the Cali water blade with the P21 absorber and/or "the Absorber" and I've never scratched my paint.

Some news -- you can scratch the car with a towel. If hangs on to bits of crud, just like anything else.

If you use a Cali Water Blade, it should be cleaned in a separate bucket of clean water. I like to clean mine in warm water and mild detergent between car washes, and wipe the blade and rinse it in the clean bucket. IF there is no crud, there is never a scratch.

The absorbers (either one) (although I use the P21 more) is used to sop-up the water the "blade" doesn't get. If is very easy to see any debris on the P21. I pick out any junk from the blade or the P21. Funny, I almost never have too.

OTOH -- when I wash the car (not dry time), I use two buckets, and two mitts. One mitt is for the top of the car, the other is for the lower part of the car. I start at the top and once I reach about 5 inches about the rocker panels, I switch to the "low" mitt. I constantly check the mitts for any debris, and pick it out (I don't care that all of these guys say that their sheepskin mitts will pull the debris in). You have more of a chance of scratching the paint in the wash (with all of the suds) than you do when you can see clean water and the surface of your wiping tools. (I never have tar and junk on the car to try and wipe off in the dry process -- I've managed to get it off before I ever try to dry!!!)

So, two buckets for the top and bottom of the car. One for the good car wash (I use Zaino car wash), the other for rinsing. 2 separate mitts for the top and bottom of the car. AND I even use the OXY brushes and boar hair for the wheels last. (I'm experimenting with the OXY car brush for the car -- the brush seems to be the most resistant to picking up junk -- and the mitts pick up junk).

Sorry, I am being controversial here, but the worst possible chance for damage is during the wash, not the rinse (hard to see through suds).

Notes: I have Supima Cotton Towels (tons of them); Microfiber towels -- tons of them; special wipes; and all of the above mentioned absorber and P21. I want the water off quick with minimal lint -- the P21 and Blade do that quite well. The bath size super soft cotton towels are great for a Z6, and the microfiber is great for a wipe or two and the windows and interior.

(OK, that was too long -- ouch!)

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">[This message has been edited by EricL on June 16, 2001 @ ]</font>

imax

What is the "California Water Blade"? Never heard of it; got a link?



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'02 Acura TL-S
Satin Silver/Ebony, w/out NAV

quazi

I have the blade, do you have a link for the absorber? Who makes it?

RedLined

When I say scratches, I'm talking about the kind you can only see in certain sunlight -- those are the ones I hate the most. I always used a chamois or chamois type product and my car always got more of the tiny scratches from them they have since I switched to a towel. I've talked many professional detailers and done a fair amount of research -- most don't recommend a chamois (imitation or natural) or the blade. Some have, but most that I have talked to don't. But to each his own. Try them all and use whatever you think gives the best results. If you're happy w/ what you've got, then use it.

Avirex34

i have one, but haven't used it in awhile cuz i've been polishing my ride everyday. it is sooooo smooth

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96 Lexus LS400
2002 Satin Silver TL-S W/Nav

• Ebony interior wood kit
• Ebony wood/leather steering wheel
• 20% tint
• Boston Acoustic speakers+tweeters
• Kenwood 12" tube
• OEM Body Kit

.......more to come

bricot

I use the Microfiber towels like the Miracle towel. They have 90,000 micro-hooked fibers per square inch and are supposed to lift any foreign material into the cloth, away from your paint. They work great for cleaning and drying (hold a bunch of water).

I use the P21S drying towel on my Explorer but I like using the micro-fibers on TL-S doesn't create near as much surface drag as the P21S drying towel.

bluefrank

The California water blade can be purchased at Costco for those who are interested...

Cost is around 13 bucks...

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2002 Acura TL-S Aegean Blue with Factory Spoiler and Ebony Wood Kit.

bbjones

I picked one up at Target over the weekend -- it was about the same price. Also got a CA Car Duster, an Absorber (~$10 at PepBoys) Meguiar's #26 and #40 (at PepBoys) and various other cleaning bits.

The Blade takes a little getting used to on the crevices and such, and also on the windows. But the TL-S looks *nice* now. Even the old Fiero's lookin' pretty spiffy.



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2002 Acura TL Type-S Dark Emerald Pearl
1986 Pontiac Fiero SE V6
1994 Ford Explorer 4x4

TommyBoiSxty9

I'm not sure who makes it but I've bought em at wal mart, I think auto zone, etc has em too---they are in plastic tube like things rolled up--usually bright neon colors---they're great you can throw them in the wash with the whites with the soapy hot bleachy water they lose ZERO color---I was a little scared at first, BRIGHT ORANGE in bleach? yep. no probs