California water blade

[redbeast]

Just wondering if anyone has used the California Water Blade

http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/pw/waterblade.htm

I have always used a chamois to dry my car and saw this the other day and wondering if anyone here has used this before?

It claims that it has medical grade rubber and will not scratch your paint.

There was this one time I saw a guy who used this at a car wash and he dried his car in less than 10 minutes.

Any info on this would be great!

Thanks

[jdm_eg6]

Use it 8 hours a day 5 days a week... and yes its SUPPER Effing fast, but make sure you also shammy or else you end up with little lines everywhere. Its a good thing though and gets the water off fast! except its expensive no? like 60$? Anyway its great and WONT scratch!!! its SUPER soft you couldnt scratch pudding with it haha. It works great though.

[euro_racer]

cali blade FTW :D

i had to use it alot when i was working as a wash boy at a dealership and it is really nice. fast and easy drying and scratch wise, it does not scratch the paint unless you have sand on the rubber part of the blade that contacts the car so just go over the blade with your fingers every now and then to get rid of sand

well worth the money and it lasts a while too :thumbsup:

[Calgarydetail]

The water blade can be a great toll if used corectly. They are made of a super soft rubber. They really help remove water quickly

The big problem... they can casue marring. not the actual blade but if for watever reason there is some dirt on the paint (perhaps the wind blew the wrong way) it can be dragged by the water blade and scratch the paint

If you plan on using a WB the mkae sure the paint is spotless

[HiSpec]

i just bought a "dry blade" from CT. DOn't know if its same as the "water blade", because it is made by California as well.

[MackDawg]

I use to be a Detail boy like some of the previous posters and yes the C.W.B is the best tool for the job of water removale. Any other blade is a waste of money because the C.W.B has the patents on the rubber that the blade is made of.

I paid $55 for mine at NAPA.

F.Y.I
The Red blade form Crappy Tire leaves plastic streeks on your paint if you run it across your car and hit a dry spot.

Peace

Marc.

[Jed Bouscal]

The water blade is safe - just be sure you've cleaned your car properly using a wash mitt.

If you just spray it, then use the blade, it will rub the remaining residue/dirt against the paint and cause light scratches and swirls.

[b18c1]

got one at mopac for $40 saw it at canadian tires a week later for $20, but it does work like a charm. i dont wash my car without it

[sneek]

NO...don't use a water blade unless you are 100000000% sure that the finish is absolutely free of any dirt. using 2 WW doesn't take that much longer

as for the price...Are u f'kin kidding me?

the firm one is around 20 the "jelly" one is a bit more maybe 25 or 30....I used to work at CT, and Im almost positive that it is not above 40 for either of them


BTW dont but the "original" because its a huge rip! There is a non jelly one that is 20 and the original is 30.

[7thgenvic]

i used it all the time in the summer. If i used it on SL 65's and any other car that is 100+ K then i'll sure as hell trust it on my 240 :)

you just need to make sure the car is clean as a whistle

[A2VR6]

My dad uses it on his VW... seems to work pretty well... i'd rather dry it using a microfiber towel for my car tho... just to be safe, i dont mind taking the extra time.

[civickid_21]

It works great for drying cars off, but the smallest piece of dirt can scratch your paint. So if your gonna use it, make sure your car is super clean. But if I were you, I would just take a couple extra minutes and use a soft towel or something.

[Hash_man]

My dad and I both have them and use them a fair bit... combined with a shammy they work great.

[old&slow]

Been using it for a couple years now...Deerfoot destroys cars way faster than that blade would ever do!

Buy it ...you won't be disappointed!

[topher91]

Blade is awesome!!

B4 they were really popular, Costco sold them for about 30bux, same with Crappy Tire (where I got mine for about 30ish??).

Best to use with a shammy though.

Best way to do it is swipe with the blade and clean off the blade with a shammy after every swipe.

I was a detailer too and we used this on all the cars.

[Graham_A_M]

using a foam brush with dirt on it will destroy the paint WAY faster then this "blade" ever will... Its best to comprehensively wash the cars paint of all the dirt and grit before washing it with the foam brush; and with that, spray the actual brush of the "foam brush" before running it over your car since most people at self-serve car washes use that same foam brush to wash the wheels and wheel wells with it. :thumbsdow

[sneek]

I bring my own brush :D the Meguiar's wide versa angle body brush (not available in Canada),

As I said before, you MUST be certain there is absolutely nothing on the paint. Take a towel and wipe the blade from time to time and pat attention. Unlike the people at Big Bucket, who don't pay attention and even when a pebble (yes a full pebble) gets caught they keep on going. But in that case using a towel wouldn't have turned out any better.

:D 2 waffle weaves using the blot method is the best, it doesn't even take that much more time. FWIW I think that using a PVA drying skin is faster than using the water blade, but both of them don't have any sort of nape.