For half a century I have dried my cars with a chamois leather and have been pleased with the results. They take a lot of care, they need the car to be scrupulously clean before use and they need to be squeezed rather than wrung dry. I have tried the PVA synthetics which are not as good but today people tend to use microfibre cloths instead. My leather needs replacing so should I stay with what works for me or are the cloths the way to go?

Meguiars X1802EU Supreme Drying Towel Extra Large works well https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B079CJNGWZ

15 minutes ago, anon said:

My leather needs replacing so should I stay with what works for me or are the cloths the way to go?

Stay with the chamois if you can find a good quality new one. I lost my chamois sometime round the start of the first lock-down and have yet to find a replacment. Like many I'm using the microfibre cloths (Halfords best with my FOC discount) but my car is black and I seem to have to go around it half a dozen times to get it dry without streaks.

28 minutes ago, anon said:

For half a century I have dried my cars with a chamois leather and have been pleased with the results. They take a lot of care, they need the car to be scrupulously clean before use and they need to be squeezed rather than wrung dry. I have tried the PVA synthetics which are not as good but today people tend to use microfibre cloths instead. My leather needs replacing so should I stay with what works for me or are the cloths the way to go?

Drying towels(specifically for cars.) Chamois just scratch bodywork,they hold grit etc,& tend to leave very fine scratches on the bodywork,& are really old school these days.Once you have rinsed a car,just open up the towel & drag across the bodywork of the vehicle.Once used,always wash them,(by hand)never use a fabric softener.Any professional car detailer worth his salt,would never ever use a chamois.(fact.)Once you have used a drying towel,you would never go back to a chamois,leather OR synthetic.

I have never found a chamois to scratch the body myself but that is about making the car clean before it is dried. If there is no grit there are no scratches. Old school is not of itself a reason to cast it aside; it was enough to win me several concours d' elegance over the years ( with a lot of elbow grease, admittedly.) I shall try a microfibre cloth although if that is the preferred method I shall probably use old Christy bath towels as Madam replaces them annually. They are really good for polishing, having had the newness washed out of them. 

Ok. Tried both. Microfibre does 90% of what a leather does in ten per cent of the time which is why the professionals use them. Leather gives the better finish to my eye and fingertips so I'm with the dinosaurs on this one. No discussion about windscreen cleaning though. Pink Windolene still cannot be beaten.

What about an air dryer that blows the water off the car including our of all the gaps?

Show me one that beats a chamois.

25 minutes ago, anon said:

Ok. Tried both. Microfibre does 90% of what a leather does in ten per cent of the time which is why the professionals use them. Leather gives the better finish to my eye and fingertips so I'm with the dinosaurs on this one. No discussion about windscreen cleaning though. Pink Windolene still cannot be beaten.

There are a huge range of microfibres.  If you get a decent quality, thick pile one it'll dry the whole car quickly & easily with no constant wringing or swirls left in the lacquer.  If you use an old thin microfibre that's been washed with fabric conditioner and cooked in a tumble drier it'll be useless.

I like the AutoFinesse aqua deluxe towel myself.  Just don't make the mistake of trying to hand wash it in a bucket...  It soaked up so much I couldn't lift the damn thing!  

I bought the Meguiars one. I don't think it is as good as a leather, having used my old one on the car, so my curiosity is now satisfied and I shall buy another good leather. I never wring a leather and neither should anybody else. The water should be squeezed out of it. Then when finished with, stretched back to size before air drying. Never expose it to soap or, of course, dirty water.

When I cam be bothered I use an airline from my compressor and good quality microfiber cloths.

Never needed anything else for drying.

Since 1984 I've used leather chammies, two years ago I turned my back on the slimmy golden oldie, watched my Son clean his car and the results was amazing, what he uses, must fast to dry the car and shines deeper.

Autoglym silicone water blade.

 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Autoglym-945108301-Hi-Tech-Flexi-Water/dp/B0011DYB9G/ref=asc_df_B0011DYB9G/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309775958298&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17596502952060041479&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006914&hvtargid=pla-440959633109&psc=1&th=1&psc=1

Pro-nano microfiber cloth.

https://www.pro-nano.com/en/ultra-large-xxl-green.html

6 hours ago, cjay1 said:

What about an air dryer that blows the water off the car including our of all the gaps?

Yup,excellent way of doing it,tried & trusted.

5 hours ago, Mavroz said:

When I cam be bothered I use an airline from my compressor and good quality microfiber cloths.

Never needed anything else for drying.

Yup,also very good way of getting all the water out of alloy wheels.

6 hours ago, anon said:

Show me one that beats a chamois.

Any of these.Get a good LED torch out,& go over your paintwork,you will see many fine scratches,the method of washing a vehicle & a chamois can & generally does cause this.I have two vehicles,one has ceramic coating applied,they had to go over it four times to do paint correction,their were a lot of very fine scratches over the vehicle.The Fiesta has many,the only way you will ever get them out is paint correction.No amount of polishing will eradicate them,you can mask over them,but they will reappear.Chamois can also cause swirls in your paintwork,also never use a sponge,use a good quality Mit,& a two bucket method,one for rinsing your mit.These products are only a small part of my ‘armoury’.

What’s the difference between polishing and paint correction? 

4 minutes ago, MarksST said:

What’s the difference between polishing and paint correction? 

Paint correction refers to the process of removing the imperfections in a vehicles finish to a better than new finish.Paint correction involves the use of machine polishes & a range of different polishes & graded pads.There is a very good range of YouTube videos by ‘Car Craft auto detailing’.(Australian guy).Sandro is just an amazing detailer.He certainly knows what he is talking about.One of the best out there.He has a massive following from around the world.Very good @ explaining things.

11 hours ago, unofix said:

Stay with the chamois if you can find a good quality new one. I lost my chamois sometime round the start of the first lock-down and have yet to find a replacment. Like many I'm using the microfibre cloths (Halfords best with my FOC discount) but my car is black and I seem to have to go around it half a dozen times to get it dry without streaks.

Again,no.Drying towels are the best way to go.Black is a notoriously hard colour to keep looking good.Get a LED torch & go over your paintwork,you will have many,swirls & fine scratches in the paint work.The cause?The method of washing used & more than likely the chamois contributes to this issue.

Complete BS. I have never scratched a car using a chamois and until microfibre cloths became popular there were plenty of very shiny cars that were always finished with a washleather.

 

9 minutes ago, anon said:

Complete BS. I have never scratched a car using a chamois and until microfibre cloths became popular there were plenty of very shiny cars that were always finished with a washleather.

 

As I posted earlier,get a LED torch out & go over your vehicle(out of the sunlight)it will surprise you how many swirls & minor & very fine hair line scratches there are.I have been detailing for many yearsThey might be ‘shiny’,but there will be many marks in that paint work(fact).My Fiesta is ‘shiny’(like a mirror) but there are a lot of swirls & imperfections in the paintwork.The only way to get them out is by paint correction.You can use Autoglyms  ‘super resin polish’ to mask them,but once the polish starts to wear down,they just reappear.Do some research if you do not believe me.

 Cue the "detailing experts"  (people who can also clean a car well,) squabbling about how many angels casn dance on the head of a pin to fourteen decimal places. It won't make my car any cleaner any more than 488 strand oxygen free copper will make my home stereo sound better than the current 2.5mm csa mains flex. The last valeter did more harm to my car in twenty minutes than I've achieved in fifty years. After a month of elbow grease, it looks much better. The weather is sealed out until the spring. That's the reason for cleaning it in the first place.

9 minutes ago, anon said:

 Cue the "detailing experts"  (people who can also clean a car well,) squabbling about how many angels casn dance on the head of a pin to fourteen decimal places. It won't make my car any cleaner any more than 488 strand oxygen free copper will make my home stereo sound better than the current 2.5mm csa mains flex. The last valeter did more harm to my car in twenty minutes than I've achieved in fifty years. After a month of elbow grease, it looks much better. The weather is sealed out until the spring. That's the reason for cleaning it in the first place.

Look,I am not going to argue or debate with you,I have put the facts out there.You do what you have to.I am also speaking on experience.If you are going to get the vehicle professionally detailed,again do your research,go on recommendations,a lot of so called ‘detailers’ are just ‘cowboys’.As I alluded to,do a bit of research if you do not believe me.You have a lot of reputable companies in the UK who do this all the time.Debate over.

The debate  Ron is not yours to declare over.   I have no reason to have my car "professionally" detailed because "detailing" is only cleaning a car thoroughly, nothing more and I have been doing that for more than fifty years. I enquired about two methods. Opinion was divided  so I tried both methods. I've never seen scratches on a hearse in sixty years so I have ample reason to make an informed decision. Leather is harder work, but done properly it provides an entirely satisfactory finish. 

48 minutes ago, anon said:

The debate  Ron is not yours to declare over.   I have no reason to have my car "professionally" detailed because "detailing" is only cleaning a car thoroughly, nothing more and I have been doing that for more than fifty years. I enquired about two methods. Opinion was divided  so I tried both methods. I've never seen scratches on a hearse in sixty years so I have ample reason to make an informed decision. Leather is harder work, but done properly it provides an entirely satisfactory finish. 

The debate between you & I is over.

4 hours ago, Hackney said:

Paint correction refers to the process of removing the imperfections in a vehicles finish to a better than new finish.Paint correction involves the use of machine polishes & a range of different polishes & graded pads.There is a very good range of YouTube videos by ‘Car Craft auto detailing’.(Australian guy).Sandro is just an amazing detailer.He certainly knows what he is talking about.One of the best out there.He has a massive following from around the world.Very good @ explaining things.

So your earlier quote that no amount of polishing will remove swirls etc, was wrong. Thanks