Can I towel dry a ceramic coating?
Quick answer: Yes - you can towel dry a ceramic-coated car. Use clean, plush microfibre drying towels with a gentle lay-and-drag or blotting technique. Don’t do this in the first week while the coating cures.
We recommend you towel dry your car after washing, but you can also use a silicone squeegee to remove the bulk of the water.
We would offer the same advice for any car, regardless of the coating. A car with a ceramic coating isn't any different, except that the coating is highly hydrophobic, so a lot of the water may have already fallen off the car.
We prefer very large plush towels, and to use a couple. If they are large, they can soak up all the water, and you shouldn't need to wring them out. As we know, wringing out towels is hard work.
Microfibre towels are super absorbent and softer than cotton terry towels. We think it's worth spending a bit more money to get a couple of good towels because they can make your life so much easier.
A good quality silicone squeegee or water blade, can also be used to remove the bulk of the water from your car if the water is beading up into small droplets.
One of the things that a ceramic coating cannot prevent is hard water spots, which care caused when water on your car evaporates and leaves behind mineral deposits, so it is important to dry your car.
I wouldn't use chamois leather (or 'flunky') on coated paint. Leather has no pile, so any grit sits between it and the clearcoat and gets dragged about. On a slick coating, you end up pushing harder just to move the water, which is where the fine wash-marring comes from. It also tends to smear a thin film that flashes into water spots, especially with hard water. The better way is to sheet most of the water off, then lay a big plush or twisted-loop microfibre on the panel, pat and lift, minimal wiping, flip often.
Air blowers are brilliant on ceramics. Touchless drying means you’re not grinding anything across the paint, and the airflow chases water out of badges, mirrors, trims, grilles, fuel flaps, wheel nuts and brake callipers – all the little traps that drip and spot later. It keeps towels cleaner and speeds the job up nicely.
What to buy – for a dedicated car dryer with filtered air, a gentle warming element, variable speed, a long hose and a rubberised nozzle so you don’t mark anything. Pet-dryer style units are great value, the proper vehicle dryers are more powerful. A clean electric leaf blower works in a pinch, just make sure the intake isn’t sucking up dust. You’ll find them at detailing suppliers online, decent motor accessory shops and some pet stores. In the UK, expect roughly expect to pay £80–£200 for mid-range, £200–£400+ for professional kit, which is a little spendy unless you are a dedicated enthusiast.
Keep the nozzle a safe distance, start at the roof, work down, and let the coating do the work.
Written by Danny Argent. Last updated 21/10/2025 17:30