The best car dryers for quickly drying paintwork

Drying a car has now gone high-tech.

Water beading off an orange car

by Ryan Gilmore |
Updated on

The hardest (and most irritating) part of washing a car has long been the drying process. From the dark ages of chamois that left swirl marks galore on paintwork came the improved microfibre drying towels that work far better but were susceptible to leaving water spots and still need to be washed after each clean. The latest and best option available is the car dryer, a big hair dryer for blowing the water safely and cleanly off your car.

As water spots are a visual blemish on otherwise clean paintwork, it makes sense to try and avoid them at all costs. Full-size specialist car dryers will use warm, filtered air but are rather specialist tools and probably best left to professional detailers as they also cost a decent wedge of cash. Instead, we’ve found some genuinely useful gadgets that can double as car dryers to save you drying time while washing your car.

The best car dryers

The best car dryer
Vertool Airdry 180 Car Dryer

Rrp: £169.99

Price: £158.91

Description

If you're wanting to completely forgo drying towels and instead use warm, filtered air to dry your

Pros

  • Exceptional power
  • Versatile

Cons

  • Expensive

The best car dryer for small areas
MetroVac Air Force Blaster Sidekick

Rrp: £140.00

Price: £129.99

Description

MetroVac is an American company that specialises in both car dryers and beefy vacuum cleaners. The

Pros

  • Great for small nooks
  • Solid construction

Cons

  • Not powerful enough for a whole car

The best car dryer for quality
BigBoi BlowR PRO+

Rrp: £485.00

Price: £485.00

Description

The BigBoi is a big unit of a car dryer, and is priced accordingly, but can quite easily be used

Pros

  • The ultimate way to dry a car
  • Exceptional build quality

Cons

  • Very expensive

The best multipurpose car dryer
Draper 90107 230V 1250W 15L Wet and Dry Vacuum Cleaner

Rrp: £65.99

Price: £44.99
Alternative retailers
Robert Dyas£54.99View offer

Description

A good wet and dry vacuum cleaner is essential for properly cleaning a garage, and finding one

Pros

  • Can be used for drying nooks
  • Also works as a good wet and dry vacuum cleaner

Cons

  • Not the most effective car dryer

The best car dryer for home mechanics

Description

More serious home mechanics will probably have a fairly beefy air compressor taking up a good

Pros

  • Great water removal
  • Versatile

Cons

  • Expensive to set up

For verdicts, scoops, news and analysis from the team, delivered direct to your inbox, subscribe to the CAR newsletter.

You can enjoy CAR in its traditional print format, or one of the swelling number of digital editions, optimised for Apple iPhones, Android devices, iPads, tablets and desktop computers.

Just so you know, whilst we may receive a commission or other compensation from the links on this website, we never allow this to influence product selections - read why you should trust us