Are water blades safe to use?
September 3rd, 2006 by Danny the web stig
Sure they are! We’ve known water-blades since before they were famous and been using them for years and never had a problem, nor have we ever heard of anyone else having a problem.
Although we have heard that there are some cheap ones on the market with plastic/silicone which may be a little harder than the quality ones.
It’s our understanding that they have 15 times less friction on your cars surface than a terry towel.
They are exceptionally useful in the winter months when cars can be difficult to dry, they speed things up.
Water-blades are known by many brand names including Hydra-Blade, Dry-blade, Power-blade, California-Blade, Paint Safe Squeegee, soft touch auto dryer, Hydraglide, and many, many more. And when used properly, they are safe.
However, you do drag them across the surface of your paintwork, so if you get grit on them you can have a disaster on your hands. So make sure you car is properly clean before you use it, don’t put it on the floor, and generally use all the same rules you would for any other tool that is going near your paintwork.
If you have no idea what I’m talking about when I talk of water blades — you know that the guy who cleans your window has that funny tool for wiping all the water off the gass? Well, a water-blade is a tool for doing a similar thing on a car. It usually has a soft plastic or rubber coated handle, and the blade it’s self is made of a soft latex so that it can fit to the contours of your car… because a car isn’t as flat as a pane of glass. It can get a lot of the water off your car without leaving smears and will safe you from having to wring out your chamois quite so often.
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I thought water blades were a bit of a gimmick until i started using one. now
i use one all the time. much quicker than a chamois leather, although i still use one
to wipe the edge of the blade between
swipes with the blade, if that makes sense,it seems to make the blade more
efficient.
I didn’t have any pictures before, but for those of you wondering what a Hydrablade is, it’s pictured left. Photo Courtesy of one of our sponsors - www.valetshop.co.uk.