I'm very embarrassed to admit that Mrs Pulp bought me this for my birthday in March, but only today have I had the chance to use it for a full sealant / wax session on my (exclusive colour) Amalfi White S3.
It's circa £75 to buy and is available from most good detailing websites. It says its for motorcycles but its well known to be great for cars also. So....what do you get in the box ?
- Sidekick air blaster - 220v UK plug and 2 metre long cable.
- Wide angle nozzle
- Direct blast nozzle
- Instructions / warranty card.
The main reason I wanted this was to reduce down the time I spend prepping my car for waxing. Basically to dry out all those hard to reach areas, crevices, shut lines, door handles etc. It blows out warm, filtered air and weighs about 2kg's. There is a handy thumb switch by the handle to switch the unit on.
Using the Sidekick
Firstly - this is super powerful. The first time you switch it on its a bit of a shock with the amount of air it pushes out. I dread to think what the £200 Air Force Blaster is like. Initially however, I was quite disappointed while using the wide angle nozzle, it didn't seem to move water very efficiently on paint panels or around the window frames but was good inside the door shuts.
I decided to move on to the thinner direct nozzle. Wow! What a difference.....water just danced off the paint and I could see it drying in front of my eyes. Normally it takes me circa 30-40 minutes to properly dry my car with drying cloths. I reckon this cut that time down in half. It cleans tyres and wheels in a blink of an eye. Grills are dried in minutes. For wheels and grills alone it's worth every penny.
When you doing a proper detail, you can spend hours just prepping with washing / de-contaminating the paint before you even get to sealant and wax. The big thing for me was the absence of any water runs from shut lines, wing mirrors etc making life painful when putting on the sealant. So with the various washing and drying I do with my regime I reckon this little beauty saved me a good hour (on a 4 hour detail). The direct nozzle is made from soft rubber (so won't cause paint damage if you hit the paint). However the wide nozzle is made from hard plastic so care is needed with the attachment.
The unit is well made and is "built in the USA deliberately" according to the packaging. It's very easy to use and is well weighted. My only gripe is the cable - it's way too long and can make it a trip hazard. In the end I just put the cable over my shoulder and it made it much easier to use.
Summary
If you love your detailing and want to reduce your drying time then I suggest giving this some serious consideration. It's an essential tool for the person who does considerable prep with the paint before getting sealant and wax on. It's well made and I personally think it's a bargain. Along with a drying towel it will save you time on the paint. It's especially good around the wheels and grills.
Oh...and some gratuitous shots below. Paint de-contaminated with TRIX, clayed, snowfoam, dried, Angelwax Ti-22 sealant (can't rave enough about this stuff), waxed with Angelwax Drift wax, buffed and then all rubber / black areas finished off with Angelwax Elixer dressing.
It's circa £75 to buy and is available from most good detailing websites. It says its for motorcycles but its well known to be great for cars also. So....what do you get in the box ?
- Sidekick air blaster - 220v UK plug and 2 metre long cable.
- Wide angle nozzle
- Direct blast nozzle
- Instructions / warranty card.
The main reason I wanted this was to reduce down the time I spend prepping my car for waxing. Basically to dry out all those hard to reach areas, crevices, shut lines, door handles etc. It blows out warm, filtered air and weighs about 2kg's. There is a handy thumb switch by the handle to switch the unit on.
Using the Sidekick
Firstly - this is super powerful. The first time you switch it on its a bit of a shock with the amount of air it pushes out. I dread to think what the £200 Air Force Blaster is like. Initially however, I was quite disappointed while using the wide angle nozzle, it didn't seem to move water very efficiently on paint panels or around the window frames but was good inside the door shuts.
I decided to move on to the thinner direct nozzle. Wow! What a difference.....water just danced off the paint and I could see it drying in front of my eyes. Normally it takes me circa 30-40 minutes to properly dry my car with drying cloths. I reckon this cut that time down in half. It cleans tyres and wheels in a blink of an eye. Grills are dried in minutes. For wheels and grills alone it's worth every penny.
When you doing a proper detail, you can spend hours just prepping with washing / de-contaminating the paint before you even get to sealant and wax. The big thing for me was the absence of any water runs from shut lines, wing mirrors etc making life painful when putting on the sealant. So with the various washing and drying I do with my regime I reckon this little beauty saved me a good hour (on a 4 hour detail). The direct nozzle is made from soft rubber (so won't cause paint damage if you hit the paint). However the wide nozzle is made from hard plastic so care is needed with the attachment.
The unit is well made and is "built in the USA deliberately" according to the packaging. It's very easy to use and is well weighted. My only gripe is the cable - it's way too long and can make it a trip hazard. In the end I just put the cable over my shoulder and it made it much easier to use.
Summary
If you love your detailing and want to reduce your drying time then I suggest giving this some serious consideration. It's an essential tool for the person who does considerable prep with the paint before getting sealant and wax on. It's well made and I personally think it's a bargain. Along with a drying towel it will save you time on the paint. It's especially good around the wheels and grills.
Oh...and some gratuitous shots below. Paint de-contaminated with TRIX, clayed, snowfoam, dried, Angelwax Ti-22 sealant (can't rave enough about this stuff), waxed with Angelwax Drift wax, buffed and then all rubber / black areas finished off with Angelwax Elixer dressing.
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