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Drying a car after washing it can be as simple as drying it with a drying towel, but if you want to take it a step further, you can dry your car with air. This isn’t just some gimmick, but an actual alternative to drying your car. If your car has been detailed in that it has been cleaned, decontaminated, and final protection applied (i.e. wax, paint sealant, or coating), then you can dry your car with air in a faster, safer, and easier way than you could with a drying towel.
Now if your car is detailed and has a last step protectant applied (doesn’t matter if it’s a wax, paint sealant, or coating), then you just need a leaf blower that is ideally battery-powered and has a high CFM rating. If it’s battery-operated, then you have maximum portability without having to fight a cord in the process. And if it has a high enough CFM rating, then you know it is able to push enough volume of air to adequately dry water off your vehicle.
So you have a portable and powerful leaf blower to dry your car with, but it still has the long nozzle that the leaf blower came with. The long nozzle works great if you want that air blown at the tip down low to the ground, which is ideal for blowing leaves from the ground surface. But for drying your car, you need something shorter to maximize portability and maneuverability. Otherwise, it becomes a necessary two-handed operation and feels awkward trying to dry your car with it. This is where a short nozzle comes in.
How Does a Short Nozzle Work?
A short nozzle is really just that, a short nozzle for your leaf blower. The standard long nozzle that comes with your leaf blower is made of plastic. Replacement short nozzles that are offered on the aftermarket are usually plastic as well. With the advent and ubiquitous use of the 3D printers, many of these short nozzles being sold are 3D-printed. But, they still work well for their intended purpose, which is to blow air. But, it also shortens the output nozzle so that it is not so unwieldly when you’re handling it in your hands.
What Short Nozzle Options Do I Have?
You basically can choose between one that is made by a more renowned company like Stubby Nozzle Co., which has been in operation for some time now. I’ve used their short nozzles since I started using a leaf blower to dry cars about ten years ago, and I continue using their nozzle today. With Stubby Nozzle Co., you can trust that their products will be of high quality, fit properly, and offer great customer service.
Stubby Nozzle Co. offers short nozzles for most if not all of the common high-powered leaf blowers on the market right now. They also include a blower band, which is a silicone band that goes around the edge of the nozzle. It acts as protection in case you bump the edge of the nozzle into your car’s paint. They also protect the nozzle from breaking in case something hits the edge. The short nozzles from Stubby Nozzle Co. sell for about $30 each (plus an extra $10 if you get the blower band which I recommend as I have broken a nozzle before) and you will need to get the one that fits your specific leaf blower.
Shop for Short Nozzles at: Stubby Nozzle Co.
If you want to go with a more affordable option, you can buy one from a more unknown brand off Ebay. There are plenty of folks who are 3d-printing these short nozzles. They are usually cheaper (I got mine for less than $15 on Ebay), but they tend to be less flexible than the Stubby Nozzle Co. ones. If you don’t need the protective blower band, and don’t mind a no-frills option, this can be a good option.
Find Short Nozzles on: Ebay
With any of these options, a short nozzle on a leaf blower works wonders on a car that has been detailed and protected. With a hydrophobic coating on your vehicle, it makes it much harder for dirt and other contaminants to stick on the car’s paint. Not only does this make it easier to wash your car since there are less contaminants stuck to your car, but it also makes it easier to dry your car after washing it.
What exactly makes this better than drying your car with a drying towel? It’s fast: simply grab your leaf blower with a drying nozzle and walk around your vehicle as you blast air and blow all the water off of your car quickly. It’s safer: you don’t even have to touch your car. The more you touch your car’s paint with a drying towel, the more chance of introducing scratches. And finally, it’s easier: you just grab your portable blower, dry all around blowing air into all the gaps and crevices and blowing all the water off easily and you’re done.
So do I use a short nozzle on a blower these days to dry my cars? If my cars are not protected with some kind of hydrophobic protection, then I use a normal drying towel. Even then, I still pull out the blower to blow all the water behind door jambs and other crevices of the car that my drying towel can’t get to.
On the other hand, if my car is protected with something like a wax, paint sealant, or coating, then I’ll absolutely pull out the blower. If your car does have a protectant on it, it makes your car cleaning maintenance so much more enjoyable. As you wash your car, you don’t need as much effort with your soap and wash mitt. And then when you dry your car, you just grab your portable battery-powered blower with the short nozzle on it, and just walk around the car blowing all the residual water off your car. It’s really easy to do as the water just runs straight off your paint, and then you’re done in just a few minutes.
My setup? I’m already invested into the DeWalt family, so I have a DeWalt leaf blower DCBL722 and I’ve got a Stubby Nozzle Co. short nozzle on it with a blower band for protection. I also have a cheaper one I got off Ebay as a backup. I highly recommend a short nozzle on a battery-powered leaf blower if you want to make your regular car wash maintenance quick, easy, and safe. Additionally, it’s highly enjoyable to wash and dry your car this way your paint has last step protection on it.
