So, I finally got my hands on one of those detailing air guns. Been meaning to try one out for ages. You see them used online, looked pretty useful for getting into all those annoying little spots in the car.

Getting Started

First off, I needed air. Rolled my old air compressor out into the garage. Plugged it in, let that tank fill up – takes a minute, always does. Once it hissed off, I grabbed my air hose, stretched it over to the car. Popped the quick connect fitting onto the compressor outlet. Then, took the new air gun, felt decent enough in the hand, and clicked it onto the other end of the hose. Gave the trigger a little test squeeze – psssht – okay, we have air.

Tackling the Inside

I decided to start with the car's interior first. It always collects dust in the worst places. I aimed the nozzle right at the dashboard air vents. You know how dusty they get? Pulled the trigger, and man, a little cloud just puffed out. Stuff I couldn't even see. Felt good, like I was actually getting it clean.

Moved on to the gaps around the gear shifter and the center console buttons. Same deal – blasted out crumbs and dust. Then I went after the seat tracks. Always nasty down there. The air gun pushed out a surprising amount of old dirt and lost French fries, probably. I even used it along the door seals and inside the door pockets. It was great for blowing debris out from tight seams where the vacuum struggles.

Pulled the floor mats out onto the driveway. Gave them a good blasting with the air gun first to loosen up all the ground-in dirt before I hit them with the vacuum. Seemed to make the vacuuming part quicker afterwards.

Using it Outside After a Wash

A few days later, after washing the car, I thought I'd try the air gun for drying. Always get water drips from the mirrors and badges, drives me nuts. So, I hooked the gun back up. Went around the car, blowing water out from behind the side mirrors. Pointed it into the grille, around the headlights and taillights. Blew the water out from the window seals and the door handles. It was pretty effective at getting trapped water out of those crevices. Even used it on the wheels, especially around the lug nuts, to stop water spots forming there.

Some Thoughts on Using It

Here’s what I found using this thing:

• It's pretty powerful. Gets into places rags and brushes can't.
• You gotta have a decent compressor. It uses a fair bit of air, so a small pancake compressor might struggle to keep up for long periods.
• It makes a mess initially. All that dust it blows out? Yeah, it goes everywhere inside the car, so you definitely need to vacuum after using the air gun, not before.
• Good for drying tricky spots. Definitely helps reduce those annoying water drips after washing.

Was it worth getting? Yeah, I think so. It’s not a magic wand, you still need to do the other cleaning steps. But for blasting out those hard-to-reach areas, it’s a solid tool to have in the garage if you're into keeping your car clean. Simple, does the job. Happy I tried it out.