So having a black car (thats not a company car) has got me back into the detailing scene :grin: .......
Things have changed somewhat since back in the day
but its good to see that Collinite 915 is still holding its own (my tin must be 15 years old
) but you have to be prepared to move with the times.....
So I have been experimenting this summer with pre wash soaks, no rinse additives and had just ordered some rinse top up waxes ......so far I have been very impressed and have actually enjoyed the research and testing......but one of the "next big things" has been using a hair dryer......we not quite but thats what I will be accused of :roll: to dry the car without contact. One of the things I hate most about looking after a car is the drying and I'm still an old school leather man
......... the prpblem is that as with any newish "trend" its a moving feast of options but still relatively limited....so what have I learned.....
- people started using leaf blowers, the down side to these are they are not designed for the job, they are unwieldly, just suck in and blow out dust / debris and do not use heated air
- so then people cottoned onto pet dryers aimed at dog groomers. These seem to have formed the basis for the development of more specialist "car" dryers
- There are now a lot of choice of relativelyt cheap "car dryers" on the likes of ebay <£100 but these almost certainly are converted pet dryers rebadged (or not in some cases)
- the real specialist car dryers seem to have been developed in America where there is obviously a massive market for them
- these specialist dryers are imported by relatively few outlets in the UK, mainly detailing outlets
- the "go to choice" of the pros over the past 5 years or so has been the American "Master Blaster" range. These are also the most expensive.
So after all my research I narrowed down my criteria as follows:
- I wanted a specialist car dryer with air (debris) filter and warm air
- I wanted "professional" quality in terms of both output and build. Yes its overkill for my likely use but I always like to buy well and buy once :wink:
- I wanted 8HP which is about as powerful as you can use on a domestic fuse board without being stupid. It also means dual motor which offers more flexibility.
- I wanted variable output which with dual motor usually means differing comboes of motor use
- I wanted long electrical cable as its not usually a good idea to use extension leads with high power requirements. Why do so many have short leads :frustrated:
- I wanted a long hose so that at most I only have to move the blower unit a couple of times ie to each side of the car once and don't have to drag it around with me
The master Blaster was the benchmark but I was conscious it was c£430 (for the revolution 30ft hose version) and actually despite slight updates the design is a good few years old now. That is good as in its proven but also may mean that there are now better options so I wanted to challenge the likely / easy option.
Part of my research was actually talking to professional detailers who used the Master Blaster. The valid question is what would you change about them. The main feedback was the hose. It is "industrial" designed for tough use but it is relatively rigid and hard to manhandle. I was informed that the newer models on the block used more flexible but shorter hoses.
So my research based on units with the same / similar specs as the Master Blaster Revolution model lead me to .....the Blo Air-GT.......now it is only really stocked by one outlet in the UK (its an American product).....
https://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/blo-air-gt-car-dryer
They also stock the Master Blaster products so I thought I would discuss my options with them....... their view (and I accept this may be based on profit margins but they seemed genuine enough) was that the Blo Air products are better. They have used the GT model (there is a newer lower spec RS model) for c12 months themselves and have been supplying it to customers for a few months with great feedback and no problems. They confirmed that athe hose is only slightly shorter (28 v 30 feet) it is a lot more flexible to use.
So I did some further research but there is relatively little on the model as its so new. What I did establish from the specs which I like:
- its a relatively small unit for dual motor 8HP
- it has a 5m power cable built in
- the hose "expands" with use so despite its length its relatively easy to store
- it has infinately variable power outputs using a ritating dial from min to max v limited pre set choices which is the norm.
- it has x4 lockable wheels for ease of use
- the cost is not far off 50% of the Master Blaster revolution
The other dilemma I had was I've put the black 987 into winter storage so won't be cleaning it for 6 months :wack: so sensible head said wait until over winter and there must be lots of discounts on cleaning products I can use .........but then I got bored :grin: ....but in my defence I was sensible and found a discount code for the supplier on "detailing world" which worked at "basket" level giving 5% off (hint: the code is DW05).....so that made my mind up, I pulled the trigger..........I ordered online using the discount code yesturday afternoon.........it was delivered before lunchtime today using their free "2-5 day" delivery service
........you can't ask for much more than that ie <24 hours from order :thumb: .....
So here we have it....
unboxed, ready to "put together"....
First impressions are very good in terms of build quality, it just "feels" well made......"putting it together" consisted of twisting both ends of the hose into place so they lock and it was ready to rock...
I plugged it in, set the speed to min and pressed the on button, waited for the fuse to trip :grin: .......and it just worked. I ramped the speed up and its strong enough to require some force to hold in place......with a massive puff of dust in the garage.......so my first "test" run involved walking down the garage.....I would say blowing leaves out but what it actually did was blow every bit of dust out of their, I've never brushed it so well
....all from a standing position in about 1 minute :thumb: .........of course that left a layer of said dust on the 993 which was parked outside the garage :roll: .......no problem a quick (and I mean quick) "waft" of the hose and it all blew off like a startled rabbit......wow this thing is powerful and puts my Stihl professional leaf blower to shame ........
Turned it off and the hose miraculously shrank back down :thumb: ....fitting snuggly next to the jet washer.......
So I have obviously not used it for its intended purpose yet but with the 993 on the road for autumn that will be my testbed in the coming weeks and I'll report back :bandit: