The folks that make the California Duster and California water blade have a new Jelly Blade out that works wonderfully.

The blade itself is similar to the silicone blades found on the California water blades, but the handle is made of a flexible jelly material that you can bend easily in your hand while using it. It allows you to contour the blade to go over rounded surfaces that hard water blades just cant seem to get.

I was able to dry the Z in less than 5 minutes and the Jelly Blade made it easy to get the fenders and bumpers in one pass. Getting the Indentions on the hood was also easy too.

The blade itself will move quite a bit of water in one go and I was able to clean off the hood with 2 passes of the blade.

A quick once over with a micro fiber towel gets the rest of the water up.




http://www.autobarn.net/jellyblade.html

 

Only takes one spec of sand to get on that thing to start scratching...

 

I only use it after I was the car off and I "Wring" it out after every pull. Good thing to watch out for, thanks.

 

It's still so scary. lol
I went to Cars for the Cure in Orlando and it rained before the event, I can't tell you how many people were using waterblades on Ferraris, Lambos, Porsches, etc...and the cars weren't even clean! They had sand all over them from the drive there, soooo many scratches were made that day...it makes baby jesus cry. :-(

Those and the shammys that come in the little plastic tube...those scare me too...

 

I use the water blade on my old work car just to speed things up. It does work very well, but for my Z I only use a 100% made in the USA drying towel and finish up with a microfiber towel and speed shine. Drying is soo much more important than all the time people spend fussing about what wax to use.

 

If you use the 2 bucket method, after every couple of passes dunk the blade in the clean water bucket to make sure it is clean and sand free... Always have a clean micro fiber towel on hand at all times to make sure the cars surface is free of any abrasives.

 

I lived by mine, until I scratched the rear bumper my license plate. I now only use it on my cavalier.

 

I use it all the time and my paint is fine. I have a Chrome Silver so that might explain why its fine. I think if you worry that much about a spec of sand that might still be on your paint after washing it, then you shouldn't use any micro fiber towels, polishing/buffing pads, terry cloths, chamois, wash mit, or anything cuz there's just an inherent possibility with anything else that something might be left on your paint. So anytime there is two contacts you'd essentially be scratching it.

 

I use water blades almost everyday at work and have never seen a car scratched by them. The cars are clean though.

 

The water blade and similar products scare me too. I subscribe to the theory that the less stuff you have rub against your paint, the less likely it will get scratched or swirled.

Sheeting the rinse water causes the majority of it to run off - that's pretty much what the water blade does. Pat dry with a waffle weave microfiber towel anything that's left behind. Use a leaf blower to get the water out of the cracks, crevices, etc.

I have washed and dried my Z so it is spotless. In the 10 minutes it takes me to go inside and mix up some Zaino, gather my applicator and buffing towel, I can come back out and see dust particles already settling on it. Unless you're washing and drying your car in something like a paint booth or a clean room, you WILL have dust settling on it as you wash, dry, wax & buff. That's why I like to minimize the amount and type of "rubbing" that goes on.

 

those tube shammys aint bad if you dab dry

 

I use them all the time with no issues...

 

i will use my "absorber" till the day i die

 

I use cali blade..its awsome. I wouldnt use it unless i wash my car, and i keep it in a box thats away from any dirt. cuts my washing time by 30 minutes..

 

wow it takes me like 15 min to wash my car..... and thats when i wash everything slowly and acutally wash it 2 times....

drying takes me like 10 min with the absorber... so easy that thing holds so much water... and it keeps asking for more!

 

Youll Also Notice That The Water Blade Removes Wax......

 

hey hey mike, u know i have a bad knee. I pretty much work at a snails pace.. I can't get down either, so i'm always walking around or sitting down.. It takes me 2 or 3 hours to really clean my car... thats w/ the 2 hours of waiting.

 

1. Presure Spray-wash/wax very thoroughly.
10-20 mins is what I do.
2. Then gently use the silicone-blade to remove the water.
3. Wipe the blade with a micro-fiber towel after each stroke.
I use glass wipes to ensure proper dirt-removal.

 

anyone use the blade on black cars? would you recommend against it?

 

how do you figure that one? no way a silicone blade is going to remove wax...