artmcd88

What does everyone think...ive used an absorber for a few years now...same one...its a great product

Never used a Water blade and wanted to know if it worked better.

hardrock32tls

I bought the water blade last summer..... used it one time and took it back, was not what I was looking for, did not feel that it worked at all well, especially on contours.... now if you had a perfectly flat car, it may have worked better. It went back to the store that day....But others may disagree, but then thats why companies have marketing departments.

Bought the Absorber a couple weeks ago, LOVE IT..... can be a bit of a pain when it is sticking, but other than that it does soak up water like mad!!

Just my

Xpditor

I picked up the faux chamois "absorber" at a car show about eight years ago and am still using the same one. It's great. But don't wash it with cotton towels. It will get little dingle-berries all over it.

After the absorber, I immediately use a waffle-weave microfibre blue towel to get the rest of the moisture and to polish the surface.

I have a mental block about the water blade and anything with the word "California" in it's name. I don't like dragging something that stiff across my paint finish. Black is hard enough to keep scratch free.

DarkWraith33

I actually have both... I do like my water blade. I use it get off off a good majority of the water after washing and then use some nice towels to remove the rest of the water...

I actually didn't like the absorber all that much and prefer the blade and normal towels...

My other friend... Just like you 2 above.

It's a feel thing... Used correctly, you'll get to the same end, it's just what you prefer.

Hawhyen51

Don't have either products. On the final rinse, I'll just let the water sheet over the surface which eliminates alot of the beading. After that, I just use a MF waffle weave drying towel to pick up the residual water/moisture.

hardrock32tls

The water sheeting thing is good, but when you live where we are in the midst of a 4 year drought, using the water to dry your car is pretty much a waste of a precious resource. Not a tree hugger, but just don't like seeing our reservoirs 50% or less with rising water bills.

Brewmaster

I use the blade and find it works well for what it is ... artbcd88 is right, it doesn't work well on recesses, but it gets 85-90% of the water off and then I follow up with a blue waffle weave ..

massr1

the water blade is supposed to produce 10 or 15 times less friction than terry cloths because its made of silicone

shimbo519

How do you clean your absorber? Just throw it in the wash with detergent?

Xpditor

I wash mine by hand in Dawn. I avoid powdered stuff on things that touch the car. They can leave particles on the material which could cause light scratches.

Even my California Duster scratches. With black, it is a constant battle against those spider-web scratches that are not visible on other colors.

But, I have a Porter-Cable random-orbital polisher/sander, lots of different pads, and I polish the surface a couple times a year with Scratch X or Mag's Cleaner-Polish to get rid of them in the clear coat. It's only the horizontal surfaces where they appear- the hood and trunk mostly.

artmcd88

Fading from more UV ray pickup because of larger contact area w/ sun

Xpditor

Except that it is garage kept, only has 4000 miles, and probably 3000 of those are after dark.

My Jeep Wragler is the daily driver.

dontcare4urshyt

mr clean mr clean. I use the AutoDry form Mr. Clean. I dont.. correction, WONT rub anything on my paint. And as of now there are 0 visible blemishes in the paint. I park the car in a very well it (Flouroscent light) garage and the finish is absolutely perfect. The car is also treated to Zymol regularly though.

Vicman17

I have a silver and a black car. I used the water blade on the black (scratches would be more visible) and did not notice any (that I have introduced anyway).

I've used a contoured soft rubber "squeegee" called EZ-DRI for years without any visible damage to the finish. When it wore out, I tried the CWB and loved it. It was even better. It just takes a little bit of getting used to. For me it cuts my drying time in half. And if you use it on a proper angle, you won't hear that nasty SQUEAAAK and can work the contours with the protruded "T" edge of it.

I also used the synthetic shammy and Absorber and I can say that rubbing it on you finish WILL dry it as fast as CWB but it WILL also introduce new scratches on your paint. I find that when the Absorber is all soaked up, dragging it across the finish just makes the car all wet again doubling my work. Storing it in it's plastic canister is absolutely necessary since it WILL dry all magled up if you don't.

Now I have better success with CWB then dragging a very big folded MF towel. No wringing and no scratches. Just my 0.02.

big mike 13

anyone Blot with the absorber? and follow up with a Microfiber?
i heard that has great results...

Xpditor

I wet the faux chamois absorber before I use it to soften it. Then, I wring it out. I then remove the water, a panel at a time- like half the roof, then the other half. Then the windows on one side, then the other. That gets it almost dry. I use the waffle-weave MF towel to finish drying and to buff to a shine.

I'm almost convinced to try the California Water Blade. But, why is it that anything with the name "California" in it seems to cost 5X more than it's worth?

Is that the premium for being "cool"?

Jputt

I use both the water blade and an absorber. I like the way the blade works on windows especially. I actually ran over one of my water blades so I bought another one. The old is now cut into smaller pieces so I can blade the side mirrors.

tacho

Been using the CA blade for months now and would never give it up. Like others have said, it gets about 90% off but isn't the greatest around contours. You can push down on the end to get it to wrap a bit better but it still won't get it all.

paulff3

I use an Absorber. I think it's a great product!!! Dries the car quickly and can be cleaned in the wash.

black_tl

i use both, the blade to take off the majority of the water, then the absorber to get the rest.

artmcd88

the real absorber has a case to hold it in to keep it moist...its not supposed to dry out to the point you need to re-wet it every time you use it

mfkitson

blade and MF towel work well togther and pretty fast, no problems from the blad at all, just doesn't get every drop...