Automotive

Bigboi BlowR PRO Car Dryer

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After trying a few different more budget-friendly car dryers, I’ve decided to see what a top tier dryer could do. For this, I picked up the BigBoi BlowR Pro.

From my experience with a few different dryers, the thing that seems to be a big determiner in price is the amount of power that a dryer can output. Here with the BlowR PRO, we have dual 1600 watt motors totaling 8 HP that can output up to 179 MPH of warm, filtered air. From my research, this is essentially the most that we can get from a car dryer and really only one other dryer even compares.

With the BlowR PRO, we have the ability to individually control the two motors. Each motor can be used at half speed or full speed, which in combination gives us a total 4 power modes. This allows for the scaling of power based on the surface that you’re working on. Say you’re trying to just blow water off of a large panel, then you can turn the power all the way up. Then when you’re working with something more delicate then you can turn the power down. But remember, this unit also blows warm air, so really no matter the setting, you are getting additional drying power from the warmth.

I should also mention that on the side of either power switch is a green cap. At first, I thought that this was some sort of button but it is actually a light to indicated that the individual motors are on. The weird thing is, the cap is not really translucent and looks to be painted over plastic so it can really only be seen in dimly lit conditions. I confirmed this by reaching out to BigBoi so from my understanding unless you are drying a car in the dark, this feature is pretty useless.

Instead of having these light-up power indicators, I would’ve much more appreciate a master power switch. Most of the time when I use this blower, I will use it at full power. This means that I have to flip both switches on and when I’m done, I have to flip both switches off. Having a master power switch would allow users to have the power setting preselected and just flip one switch to turn everything on and off. This would be a time saver and something that I think the manufacturer overlooked.

Included with the BlowR PRO is a self-expanding and retracting hose. The one that comes in the box stretches out to about 5 meters or 16 ft but an optional long hose that stretches up to about 9 meters or 30 feet can be purchased separately. Something to note about this self-expanding design is that the expansion is based on the power setting of the blower. You only get the full expanded length when you are using the blower at max power. Anywhere in between and the hose will be shorter. This is a bit annoying but I’m willing to deal with it because this design allows the hose to retract when not in use and saves a lot more space than just having a singular sized hose.

For use with the hose are two nozzles. One round tip nozzle that concentrates airflow into a smaller outlet which equates to more power and a flat nozzle that allows for a larger air spray pattern. Something that I really like about these nozzles is the inclusion of a rubber tip. I’ve had other nozzles that have something similar but this is definitely the softest rubber tips that I’ve experienced. I’m usually really careful with any hard substances around a car but this is something that’s nice to have just in case. Both the nozzle and hose are held in place by a locking cutout design. Just insert and twist.

I do want to note a few things that I’ve noticed. With some older reviews and unboxing of this product, the BlowR Pro seems to come with 3 hose nozzle tips and lack the interlocking hose and nozzle design. I purchased this unit in December of 2020 and my unit, again, comes with 2 hose nozzle tips and the hose and nozzles do lock into place and are not just simply held on by friction.

Finally, the BigBoi BlowR Pro also comes with a set of extra air filters and a replacement o-ring for the hose.

When it comes to power, the BlowR Pro is easily the most powerful dryer that I’ve tried. The combined 8 HP easily blasts water off the surfaces of my car but something that I can’t stress enough is that you still need to have a nice slick paint protection coating present. You can’t expect a dryer to adequately blow water off a car that has minimal to no protection present.

For example, with my hood, I have a coating in place but it’s diminished and is not as slick as it used to be. A full power, the BlowR Pro is able to blow most of the water off of the surface but because there’s some drag, Microbeads break off from the larger beads as the water is moving across the surface. Even a dryer as powerful as this one will not be able to get rid of all the microbeads. But if a surface has an adequate layer of protection, water will fly off.

Overall, this is a really nice dryer. There’s plenty of power to dry a car, motorcycle, boat, or whatever else you want to blow with air. At an MSRP of $349.95, the price is a bit steep but relatively speaking you’re getting a lot for the price. This is the cheapest 8 HP car dryer that I could find and it arguably comes with some better features than the competition. If you’re looking for a professional-grade car dryer and you can spend $350, then the BigBoi BlowR PRO is the way to go.

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Cheaper Alternatives:

Adam's Air Cannon https://amzn.to/3jd8Yqx

Adam's Air Cannon Jr. https://amzn.to/2QqNY3e

Homend Pet Dryer https://amzn.to/32tTyt7

SHELANDY Professional 4.2HP Dryer (same thing different name) https://amzn.to/30ZTnVn

SHELANDY Motorcycle & Car Dryer (smaller version) https://amzn.to/2PTau4w

Other Car Dryers https://amzn.to/2DXPabz

Other Pet Dryers https://amzn.to/32DQoTL

All the Auto Detailing Equipment I Use: https://www.amazon.com/ideas/amzn1.account.AF43XRPGVOUH2E5CJXQY4FIOGVAQ/3AI3XVAQEMORX?type=explore&ref=idea_cp_vl_ov_d

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Adam's Graphene Ceramic Coating After 3 Months

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It’s been three months since I applied Adam’s Graphene Ceramic Coating to my Supra and in this post, I want to briefly go over how the coating is holding up. This post is really a supplement to the video above and I would highly advise you to watch that as it contains examples of the statements that I make here.

Before we get started, I want to give you some background information. Since application, this car has been parked outside, facing all the elements. I applied the coating at the beginning of September so it experienced some decent end of summer heat for that month, 70-80 degree Fahrenheit easily. Then getting further into fall, we’ve had a particularly wet season so the car has just been getting beat with rain for multiple hours a day for days on end. Now into winter, we’ve been getting below freezing temps every night. Sometimes it would rain during the day and the rain would freeze at night leaving chunks of ice on the finish. During this time, the car also experienced hail 3 or 4 times. Not sure if that has a major effect on the coating, but it’s something to note.

When examining a coating, I largely just look at two things, the coating’s self-cleaning capabilities and it’s hydrophobic capabilities.

After three months, I would say that Adam’s Graphene Ceramic Coating is doing great with the self-cleaning capabilities. My car usually doesn’t get too dirty as I clean it pretty regularly but with all the rain, there is often dirt and debris that collect. With a coating, I really expect it to not allow the contaminants to attach to the surface and be able to take it off with just a spray of water. Adam’s Graphene Ceramic Coating does just that and its self-cleaning capabilities are still good after three months.

In terms of it’s hydrophobic capabilities, there seems to be a bit of a slow down. The coating is still able to produce a lot of water beads but its water sheeting capabilities have really diminished. After the coating had a chance to cure for one week, water just ran off the surface. It was possibly the slickest coating I’ve ever seen. However, after three months, I couldn’t shake the feeling that water was moving a lot slower off the surface.

I was able to verify this with a little test. At the one week update, I showed how a cheap underpowered leaf blower was able to blow water from one side of the hood to the other, without me having to move around the hood too much. At three months, I used my Adam’s Air Cannon dryer, which is much more effective at blowing water off of a car and I was not able to clear water off the hood by just standing in one place. Even with a more powerful car dryer, I could only get the water to move so far. A lot of the water actually broke up into smaller droplets. This happens because there’s drag to the surface. As the water is being blown away, small portions of it is catching on the surface and break off, leaving the smaller beads. In some places, there’s so much drag that the water really only moves a few inches and continually gets broken up.

For me, this was very disappointing and no doubt shows that the coating has diminished. Is the coating still there? Absolutely. It’s still able to bead and sheet water very well, but the evident decrease in slickness is somewhat alarming. With any other coating, I probably wouldn’t think this, but with a coating that’s advertised to last seven years and has diminished this much in only three months, the advertised durability is looking like a far reach.

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Golden Wrench Supply Blackline Performance Oil, Coolant and Gas Caps

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As you can see, my Supra’s engine bay has a bit of a red theme going on. The car came from the factory with a black and red engine cover. I added the Injen Evolution 2300 Intake and the Blitz Front Strut Tower Bar. Things are looking pretty good but there are a few more touches that I can add like these Golden Wrench Supply caps.

We have the coolant cap, heat exchanger cap, and engine oil cap. All three are CNC milled from T6 Aluminum and anodized to get the red color. It should be noted that these Golden Wrench Supply caps are covers and are not replacements. This means that we affix them on top of the OEM caps. All three caps come with precut double-sided 3M VHB tape.

Installation is pretty straightforward as you’re just taping the parts on and there isn’t too much to the process. But after doing this for myself, there are some things that I want to point out that may make the process a bit easier for you.

First, make sure that you are installing on a clean surface. I’m using Chemical Guys Wipe Out which is an isopropyl alcohol mixture. A product like this will strip the surface of waxes and oil. This will make the surface bare and will allow for the best adhesion with the tape.

The next thing to think about is temperature. I installed these caps during winter and it’s pretty chilly outside. This just means that the tape is not going to stick as well as if it were installed during a warmer time of year. To combat the climate, I used a heat gun to warm up the various surfaces prior to applying the tape. This in turn will warm the tape up and make it tackier.

Once the surfaces are cleaned and warm, it’s just a matter of sticking the parts into place.

I personally installed the two coolant caps without removing anything but you can take the stock caps off and install the new ones off the car if that’s easier for you.

Installation of the engine cap is going to be the exact same. Clean the cap, warm it up, apply the tape, and install. With the engine cap, I find that removing it from the engine does make things a bit easier.

And there we go. A few minutes of really easy, straightforward work and we have an engine that has a little less visible plastic and a bit more character.

Now, along with the engine bay caps, I did also pick up the gas cap cover from Golden Wrench Supply. This part is also a cover and is also held in place with 3M tape so installation is going to roughly be the same.

And that’s going to be it. If you’re looking for some extra color for your Supra, definitely check out the offerings from Golden Wrench Supply. You can also use the code HT10 for 10% off of everything from the official Golden Wrench Supply Website.

If you're considering buying any of the products mentioned, please support my work by using the links below.

Use code HT10 for 10% off your order at https://goldenwrenchsupply.com

GWS Supra store https://goldenwrenchsupply.com/collections/a90-supra-collection

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Griot's Gar Brilliant Car Wash

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In this post, we are taking a look at Griot’s Garage Brilliant Finish Car Wash, a pH-balanced car shampoo that contains a proprietary blend of gloss enhancing additives. Brilliant Finish Car Wash is advertised to be safe on previously applied waxes and is also advertised to be good in both a foam cannon and wash bucket so I’ll be trying both.

First, let’s see how this product foams. The label recommends adding 3 ounces of Brilliant Finish Car Was and filling the water reservoir. This of course doesn’t account for the various sizes of foam cannons. On my channel, I test shampoos by using 3 ounces of product and filling my foam cannon reservoir up to 800ml. Because I use the same mixing ratio for all shampoos, you’ll be more easily able to compare the results of Brilliant Finish Car Wash to previously reviewed shampoos on my channel.

As someone who’s tried many different car shampoos in a foam cannon, I’m surprised to say that Brilliant Finish Car Wash gave me something different that I have not seen before. The foam initially came out very aerated. I wouldn’t say that it’s the traditional shaving cream thick foam, but the foam gives the perception of thickness because it’s so fluffy. The foam is also very dry. It’s didn’t come out thin, wet, and run off the surface right away. Sure, in places where I sprayed a lot of foam, the excess rolled off pretty quick but that’s something that happens with every product. Here, when the excess is gone, what’s left just clings and moves at a snail’s pace. In some flatter areas like the hood and roof, the foam just didn’t go anywhere. I like it when foam clings because I feel that it gives the foam more chance to encapsulate contaminants. Then when the foam is rinsed off, it’ll take more contaminants with it.

Next, we’re going to use Brilliant Finish Car Wash for a two bucket contact wash. The directions recommend mixing one ounce of Brilliant Finish Car Wash per gallon of water so that’s what I did. I’m using the Griot’s Garage Ultimate Car Wash Bucket and that has a built-in measuring cup and fill capacity indicators. So, I mixed four ounces of Brilliant Finish Car Wash with four gallons of water.

We’re going to start with the hand lubricity test where I run my hand through the soap solution and just get an initial impression of its lubricity. At one ounce to one gallon of water, I can definitely tell that there’s some slickness to the water but it’s just right below what I typically like. So, I’m going to add one more ounce to the bucket. Now, at five ounces of Brilliant Finish Car Wash to four gallons of water, I think the solution is good to go and provides adequate lubrication.

As a bucket contact wash shampoo, Brilliant Finish Car Wash gets a pass. It provides good lubrication and cleaned the car with no issues. Five ounces of product to four gallons of water is more than my one ounce to one gallon of water standard but to be fair, five ounces here was pretty slick and I think I could’ve actually used less. So at this point, I can only say that, for me, when using four gallons of water, I would use somewhere between four and five ounces of product.

That’s still a bit more than what I would like but in the grand scheme of things, I would give Griot’s Garage Brilliant Finish Car Wash a recommendation because it performs very well. In a foam cannon, its performance was very memorable in a good way. I actually really like the foam that this shampoo gave me. It can definitely be used as a pre-wash and if you use foam for a bucketless contact wash, this is going to perform really well for that too. As a bucket shampoo, Brilliant Finish Car Wash Cleans as needed and provides excellent lubrication. As for Griot’s claim that this product enhances the gloss of the finish, I can’t really say. I don’t use a gloss meter so just based on eyeballing it, sure the finish is a bit glossier but the car was dirty prior to using this product. Cleaning the surface with just about any shampoo would’ve made the surface glossier. I don’t think the difference is enough to warrant buying this shampoo simply for the gloss enhancers. I would buy it for its versatility in a foam cannon and bucket.

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Griot's Garage Brilliant Car Wash https://amzn.to/395kTF3

MJJC Foam Cannon Pro https://amzn.to/32fjyHG

Greenworks GPW1702 Electric Pressure Washer https://amzn.to/2TV1ePx

Griot's Ultimate Car Wash Bucket https://amzn.to/3ncuj6k

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Chemical Guys Maxi Suds II

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In this post, we are taking a look at Chemical Guys Maxi Suds II, specifically in the grape scent. This shampoo is available in a few different scents but from my understanding, they all provide the same performance and the only differences in the various versions are scent and color.

Maxi Suds II is a pH balanced shampoo advertised to be tough on dirt, gentle on paintwork, and safe for all wax, glaze, and sealant coatings. It is also advertised to work well in both a foam cannon and bucket so we’ll be trying both.

First up, the foam cannon. For this, I’ll be adding 3 ounces of Maxi Suds II to my MJJC Foam Cannon Pro and filling the water reservoir up to 800ml. This is my standard for testing all car shampoos in a foam cannon so if you’d like, you can compare the results here to the other car shampoo reviews that I’ve previously made.

From my experience, one thing that Chemical Guy’s car shampoos do really well is providing thick foam in a foam cannon. Here with Maxi Suds II, I would have to say that the tradition continues. The foam is very thick and clings really well to the surface. As the foam clings longer, it has more chance to encapsulate any loose contaminants and take them off the surface as the foam rolls off or is rinsed off. From these results, I would say that Maxi Suds II is completely viable as a foam pre-wash or even as a sprayed-on soap for contact cleaning without a bucket.

Next, we’re moving on to using Maxi Suds II for the two bucket method and contact wash. The directions say to mix one ounce of product to five gallons of water. First up is the hand lubricity test. This is just me getting a feel of the soap solution between the skin of my hand. Upon first impressions, Maxi Suds II failed miserably. This has got to be the most watered-down soap solution that I’ve ever felt and there is little to no lubrication. Because of this, I DO NOT recommend that you mix Maxi Suds II at the manufacturer’s recommended ratio. For my personal testing, I’m going to add another four ounces of shampoo, bringing the total up to five ounces to five gallons of water or one ounce per gallon of water. Doing the hand lubricity test again, my hand feels like an oil slick, and I do not feel my skin rubbing against each other at all. To be honest, five ounces to five gallons of water may be a bit much. If you’re going to try this out for yourself, I would recommend starting at three ounces to five gallons of water and go from there as needed. Once I got the soap solution to a point that I was satisfied with, I would say that there wasn’t anything particular that stands out about this product and that’s a good thing. It was able to clean the car as well as anything else so no complaints there.

Overall, I would say that I’m happy with Chemical Guys Maxi Suds II. It performs really well in a foam cannon and just as good as every other car shampoo that I approve of. The only disappointing thing about this product is the one ounce to five gallons of water mixing ratio that Chemical Guys recommends. I’ve noticed that they recommend this with a few of their car shampoos and the recommendation never lives up based on my personal testing. One ounce of Chemical Guys car shampoo to five gallons of water is always watered down and I always have to add more products to get something satisfactory. It would’ve been great if this advertising were true because the shampoo would’ve been extremely economical but even at one ounce per gallon as shown in this video, the cost per ounce of Maxi Suds II is still pretty low. With all of this in mind, I would have to give this car shampoo a recommendation. If you’re looking for something that can be used as an all-in-one, for both the pre-wash and contact wash, then Chemical Guys Maxi Suds II is worth a try.

If you're considering buying any of the products mentioned, please support my work by using the links below.

Chemical Guys Maxi Suds II https://amzn.to/3pqd8j2

MJJC Foam Cannon Pro https://amzn.to/32fjyHG

Greenworks GPW1702 Electric Pressure Washer https://amzn.to/2TV1ePx

All the Auto Detailing Equipment I Use: https://www.amazon.com/ideas/amzn1.account.AF43XRPGVOUH2E5CJXQY4FIOGVAQ/3AI3XVAQEMORX?type=explore&ref=idea_cp_vl_ov_d

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