Seems like the rubber blade would scratch more that a 100% cotton towel made in USA. dunno.

 

My new 2001 Jetta is pain in the a$$ to keep clean as well, dark blue. That's why I bought a red Lightning, drying a big truck like ours without spots on a black is very difficult. IMO nothing beats a good chamois to dry my L or Jetta with very little water spots.

 

another vote for the Cali Water Blade.. it rocks

btw, the blade is medical grade silicone, wtf ever that is. No scratches yet. Got mine at wally world for 20bux

I think the zaino is going to take care of most of my problems, but then I have pecan tree sap to contend with

 

Black truck = wash weekly (even though it needs it daily!

My immaculately clean SCrew is 4 months old, and gets 2 baths and Zaino each week. What ever method you use (blade or chamios) use common sense, don't wipe a dirty finish. That'll keep new scratches to a minimum.
I have a rather heavy amount of water spotting on my hood that will not buff (by hand) out. These spots are actually etched clearcoat. Take a strong magnifying glass and check them out on your truck.
Lot's of Z5 and Z2 helps but they are still there.

 

Yet another vote for the California Water Blade and Z6.. I do keep a soft towel handy for the water that likes to drip out from under the mirrors/bed mldgs.

It's true you _can_ do the whole truck in 3 minutes with a blade...well, unless you run out of beer in the middle <g>.

 

I got the blade and I like it a lot, but I noticed that it doesn't conform to those hard contours to good, like at the top of the doors and top of the bed. I had to move the blade downward to get all the water. I am very pleased with the job it did though!!!

 

My California Water Blade left a big 2 foot long scratch metal deep on the hood of my F-150 the first time I used it on the truck.

Since then I refuse to use it except for windows, and will sell it extremely cheap if anyone is interested.

I find a chamois much better, water blade doesn't work well with trim and around the edges.

 

If you keep the blade clean there shouldn't be a problem with it. I rinse mine REAL well before using it and it does a great job.

 

The water blade is not made of rubber and IT will not scratch your truck..either something wqs left on the hood or the blade had something on it..I've used mine on 2 reuck over 2 years and have had no problems..