[Junkman2008]

Originally Posted by afadeev

Using air to blow water off the paint works well. About 95% well, unless you have inifinite amount of time and patience.

Again, this is where a complete understand of detailing cars is paramount. I can dry the majority of a car with WATER, BEFORE I even get to the drying process. That's right, you heard me correctly. Dry the majority of a car with water. Don't believe me? WATCH.

By using what I call "the pooling rinse", the car is pretty much dry before I actually get to the drying process. The catch is, your paint must be in immaculate condition for this to work. That means swirl free and a coat of wax. Once you get your paint in the condition that I have mine, the amount of water remaining takes just a few minutes to remove. As that TV show we use to watch as kids use to say, "The more you know."

Quality microfiber drying towel can definitely help.
Most effective after you've already blown most surface water off the paint with iar. In some cases, towel is the best and the quickest way to go.

All microfiber towels are NOT created equal. There's the REAL microfiber that is manufactured in South Korea (because the manufacturing process is EXPENSIVE, so most manufacturers cut corners because they don't have access to cheap labor), and then there's the trash that you get from China, that does more damage to paint than sandpaper. So saying that using a microfiber towel is better, totally depends on the quality of the microfiber. If your towels are coming from AutoZone, Western Auto, Pep Boys, Costco or Sam's Club, you are using some of the worst Chinese made trash out there.

I ONLY buy my towels from a business that states WHERE their towels come from, or are manufactured. All I have to do is touch one and I will instantly be able to tell. If the business won't disclose that information, they are probably selling Chinese trash. I won't touch my paint with that garbage.

You seam to be implying that using a clean microfiber drying towel leads to swirls. That is not accurate.

That's not what I said at all. Exactly what I said was, "The less you touch your paint, the less chance you have to create paint damage." Now I think that anyone reading that statement would 100% agree in the common sense behind that statement. If you don't touch it, you can't damage it. That's just common sense. Thus, if you DO touch it because you will have to touch it, then you want to use products and methods that negate the possibility of any damage happening.

It's comparable to someone who is trying to lose weight. You can't hit the gym 7-days a week, and run 20-miles daily , only to knock down 5-baconator pizzas every night. One negates the other. So throughout your entire process, you have to look at every aspect of what you are doing and identify any part of your process that can be improved. If you have to break out a buffer and fix your paint more than ONCE in the life of your car, something is either wrong (or needs improvement), with your process or the swirl fairies are visiting you at night.

FYI... there are no swirl fairies.

Both approaches can dry the car well, though one of the two is much quicker than the other.

YMMV,
a

So now you know which one is actually faster, because you don't have to remove as much water as you thought you did. The pooling rinse is real. The more you know.