Anyone use the Metro Vacuum Air Force Master Blaster?

[bizzy]

This one: http://www.amazon.com/Metro-Vacuum-MB3CD-Blaster-Motorcycle/dp/B0002SPCGC/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1450911788&sr=8-7&keywords=metro+vac

I tried using one of these to dry the car, but it doesn't seem to work as effectively as I thought it would. When I start drying a particular area, most of the water flies off, but I also noticed the beads of water would break off into smaller beads and those would dry on the paint, leaving water marks.

Is having something like Opticoat necessary for it to bead more effectively? Just to clarify, I know it says it's a motorcycle dryer, but I've watched youtube videos of people drying their entire car using this without issue. Dunno though, after about 20 minutes of trying to get it to work properly, I just re-wet the entire car and dried by hand [headbang] Anyone with some experience with these kinds of blowers?

[Troglodyte]

I have been using the 4 HP (yours is twice as powerful) one for years. My car is always wearing some sort of coating which makes it hydrophobic, the water blows right off. Twenty minutes should be plenty of time to perform the task.

[bizzy]

I have been using the 4 HP (yours is twice as powerful) one for years. My car is always wearing some sort of coating which makes it hydrophobic, the water blows right off. Twenty minutes should be plenty of time to perform the task.

Which coating do you have on your car? I wanted to do Opticoat but my car is a year old, so I would need paint correction and all that, which I heard makes it rise in price very quickly..

[will13k7]

it takes some practice and sometimes you do get a few watermarks, but just hit those with a microfiber towel and detail spray. I'm too lazy to use it most of the time though, but its really useful if you need the car bone dry when you're about to polish or wax it.

[bizzy]

it takes some practice and sometimes you do get a few watermarks, but just hit those with a microfiber towel and detail spray. I'm too lazy to use it most of the time though, but its really useful if you need the car bone dry when you're about to polish or wax it.

Hm alright, I guess I'll keep trying it out to see if I can get it to work any better. Do you have any coating on your car though?

I thought it would speed up the drying time? It definitely saves time on the front due to the grilles, I tried drying those by hand one time and it took foreverrr. Not sure about the rest of the car though.

[will13k7]

A lot of folks mar their cars during drying, so drying touch-less removes this risk. It does take longer to dry plus you need to deal with the extension cord etc.

I just have adam's sealant on my car.

[xuandatou]

it should be working great due to the very high amazon rating, just quite pricey though

[Troglodyte]

Which coating do you have on your car? I wanted to do Opticoat but my car is a year old, so I would need paint correction and all that, which I heard makes it rise in price very quickly..

Any of the "big" name coatings will work fine and yes you will need to do a paint correction and all that. Failure to prep surface will impact the longevity and effectiveness of the coating.

[bizzy]

A lot of folks mar their cars during drying, so drying touch-less removes this risk. It does take longer to dry plus you need to deal with the extension cord etc.

I just have adam's sealant on my car.

Ah I see, it was advertised as being 80% faster so I thought it was actually supposed to be faster lol [rolleyes]. Guess I'll look into some cheaper coating options then to make it easier, thanks.

Do you have any advice on using the blower more effectively? I usually held the nozzle about 8"-10" away from the surface and just moved it from side-to-side to try and clump it into one area so I could blow it all out. Should I be maybe holding it closer/farther?


it should be working great due to the very high amazon rating, just quite pricey though

lolwut


Any of the "big" name coatings will work fine and yes you will need to do a paint correction and all that. Failure to prep surface will impact the longevity and effectiveness of the coating.

Yea I looked into Opticoat and CQuartz before, I was just wary of the quotes I received for all the work that needed to be done.

[14S4GWM]

I have C quartz and use the Metra handheld model and the water flies off. I probably wouldn't have bought it if I didn't have the coating.

[will13k7]

Do you have any advice on using the blower more effectively? I usually held the nozzle about 8"-10" away from the surface and just moved it from side-to-side to try and clump it into one area so I could blow it all out. Should I be maybe holding it closer/farther?

Not sure if this will help any, you might be doing similar or the same already, but I found fewer and slower left-to-right passes worked better for me than many quick left to right passes. I will get the nozzle closer if the water isn't going away completely, maybe around 6 inches, I run the hose over my shoulder and aim the nozzle almost perpendicular to the car surface, but at a slight angle in the direction I want the water to flow.

damn, 80% faster? lol. I must be doing it wrong.

[14S4GWM]

Also helps to sheet the water off with hose and no nozzle. That gets rid of 80% of the water right there.

[hotleadsingergu]

I used to use a nozzle with a high-powered compressor years ago, but haven't done it since then. I bought a good shammy, and I've used that ever since. It takes me like 7 minutes total to dry off the car with no streaks and no extra water. I've used the same shammy for years, and I think I bought it for like $15.

[LYKUNO]

I've had the Air Force Master Blaster for ~5 years. Used to use a Toro electric leaf blower but it was inefficient and I worried about hitting the paintwork with the nozzle end. The Master Blaster really works well for me, with just a coat of Collimate 845 Insulator Wax on the car. I start at the top and work down, and make sure to do the rubber strips on either side of the windshield to prevent getting water spotting on them. It also works great on getting the water out of all the crevices around the door weatherstripping, badges, rearview mirrors, gas flap, license plates and all the lights, door handles, etc. It is almost a necessity on the wheels and brake rotors and calipers, and helps avoid.

It leaves very little residual water droplets on the car so one Adams waffle towel takes care of any leftover water on the car. The Master Blaster I've got doesn't have the swiveling wheels, so a bit of a pain to pull around by the hose, and it's noisy enough to warrant wearing hearing protection (shooting earmuffs work well). Overall, I recommend the Master Blaster to make drying off the car efficiently and effectively. One last comment, don't try to dry the car off in direct sunlight as any leftover small water droplets will dry on the surface before you can wipe them off with a towel. And for the windshield, I don't try and dry it completely with the Master Blaster; a little moisture on the glass can be wiped off cleanly and without streaks using the towel.

[Mops@Nemesis]

I have the 4.0 pro vac/blow. Still use this to dry. Could not do without...


http://www.flooring-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Stihl-BR-600-Backpack-Blower-Curbside.jpg

[pdqgp]

Also helps to sheet the water off with hose and no nozzle. That gets rid of 80% of the water right there.

^^ this. I then just reverse the hose on my shop vac and use it with the crevice tool. Works awesome. Especially on the front end with the RS4 Grill and the areas around the fog lights.

[EuroBeast]

I've been using this same exact one on all my cars for years. Got it from autogeek during heavy discount time so it worked out great since they are a bit pricey. After a wash i use the "absorber" to dry the car and then use the blaster from top to bottom as stated by someone else. Its great for getting water out of all the spots that you cant really get the water our by towels or anything of that kind. Its great for jams, mirrors and wheels. After using it I have almost zero water coming out of all the little crevices when driving which is very annoying after spending all that time washing and drying the car. Would highly recommend it for anyone.

[bizzy]

Awesome, thanks for sharing all your experiences. @14S4GWM Will definitely use the sheeting method, although in CA it's illegal to wash your car without a nozzle lul

@will13k7 Alright thanks, will give that a try. And yea, I thought that exact same thing LOL

@hotleadsingergu [o_o] 7 minutes...how

@LYKUNO I'll try that Collimate Wax too, thanks. At $19 I'm definitely willing to give it a try before spending thousands on the paint correction and opticoat [:D] That sucks about the lack of wheels. There's actually a video this guy posted where he made a little cart with wheels to drag around. It looks a little too large but I'm sure you can build something better lol https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwqOjBVsO7o

@Mops Considered a cheap leaf blower for drying but just ended up splurging a bit. How does that blower do on crevices like the front grilles?

@pdqgp You should really try to use even the 4 HP blower, I've used a shop vac to blow air before I bought mine, and the increased air blowing is really noticeable. Shop Vac gets the job done though.

@EuroBeast YES, best part about using a blower. All the little crevices where water likes to hide just gets blasted out so it doesn't drip down later and leave water marks.

[cchoi83]

Also helps to sheet the water off with hose and no nozzle. That gets rid of 80% of the water right there.
This.

I have the 4.0 pro vac/blow. Still use this to dry. Could not do without...


http://www.flooring-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Stihl-BR-600-Backpack-Blower-Curbside.jpg
Mops, the OP is trying to blow the water off his car, not blow his car away which is what Stihl's will do you silly.

[Mops@Nemesis]

^Ha! LOVE my 600.

@bizzy Works so damn good. Once I sheet and blow, I dry with a 16x16 MF and detail spray. 99% dry post blow, and no drips. I've had some tell me I should not use the blower, as its not filtered air, and can cause issues. I call total BS. I've been using my 600s for 10+ years now. I think its one of those comments where one person says it, and it grows. Like how spacers are "bad" lol.

Merry Christmas!

[bizzy]

Nice, I'll keep that blower in mind if I ever have problems with this Metro vac. Thanks.

[Mops@Nemesis]

That one is overkill for sure. I used them commercially in the past, and could not step down for personal use. The BG55 would be perfect for vehicles. There are also BGEs, but I personally hate about anything corded.

[Lamprey]

This one: http://www.amazon.com/Metro-Vacuum-MB3CD-Blaster-Motorcycle/dp/B0002SPCGC/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1450911788&sr=8-7&keywords=metro+vac

I tried using one of these to dry the car, but it doesn't seem to work as effectively as I thought it would. When I start drying a particular area, most of the water flies off, but I also noticed the beads of water would break off into smaller beads and those would dry on the paint, leaving water marks.

Is having something like Opticoat necessary for it to bead more effectively? Just to clarify, I know it says it's a motorcycle dryer, but I've watched youtube videos of people drying their entire car using this without issue. Dunno though, after about 20 minutes of trying to get it to work properly, I just re-wet the entire car and dried by hand [headbang] Anyone with some experience with these kinds of blowers?

I think I have that version or one very similar to it. It has two switches (and two motors) with a heating element to heat the air. Works like a charm. I have had opti-coat on my car since I bought it and put the new opti-coat gloss on this summer, so as previously mentioned, water beads off pretty good. You just need to take you time and "sweep" back and forth to get all the water beads to go away, the heat helps too. I also suggest some ear protection as it can get really loud when getting water out of the small pockets! :)

[Mops@Nemesis]

Could literally finish with a face towel ;)

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/12/26/8d8182a4038626593c22f02c76f7ec9d.jpg


Mops on the move