Al old cotton towel?

[dolebludger]

OK, so you've washed your car via your favorite method, and given it an initial drying with a real or synthetic chamois, water blade, leaf blower, or whatever. Now, you've got to do a final drying to get off all the water and renew the shine. For this final process, is there anything that can beat an old cotton towel?

Thanks,
Richard :) :) :)

[Allen]

It's my favorite, for drying car and removing wax. :D

[dolebludger]

Sherrill:

Maybe a bit of wax stripping is what I like about drying with a cotton towel! I live in the dustiest city in the US, and tend to get "crud" imbedded in the wax. Removing a layer is the cure.

If I don't want to strip wax, what should I use? I tried microfibre cloths, and was disappointed.

Thanks,
Richard :confused:

[Allen]

Sometimes I use a chamois to get the inital water off, but always finish with an old towel.

[MTI]

Microfiber works for me on the painted surfaces and glass.

[marlinspike]

The detailers choice makes an orange colored buff cloth that I like (is no good at removing wax or drying, just dry buffing), but make sure the car is spotless or scratch city.
Richard

[A Perfect Shine]

An old cotton towel is probably not a good choice to use on your paint. The reason being is that there is likely a lot of dirt particles, dried soap, and other contaminants on the towel that will scratch. There is also the possibility that the towel itself will scratch the paint.

I prefer a microfiber towel, very absorbent and will not scratch the paint if properly cared for.

[Chappy]

My-kro-fee-bray works best for me ;)
(microfiber)

[dolebludger]

A Perfect Shine:

Thanks for your response. I note from your posts that you are a professional detailer, giving credibility to your statments in the area of detailing. BTW. I always wash my "old cotton towels" after each use, and haven't done any damage --- yet. My problem with microfiber is that the only ones I've been able to find are face cloth size, which is just not large enough for my to use for the final drying - shining process. Do you know where I could get some larger ones?

Thanks,
Richard :confused:

[A Perfect Shine]

There are a lot of places where you can get waffle weave drying towels such as:

25"x36" Waffle Weave Drying towel
http://www.pakshak.com/

several large drying towels
www.exceldetail.com

Both of these places have a reputation for having very high quality towels. Walmart actually has a decent towel for about $7 in their automotive section if you want something locally.

[dolebludger]

Just to put an end on this story, I followed the advice of A Perfect shine and bought a large microfiber towel at Wal-Mart for drying, and it works great and leaves a nice shine. I also bought some small microfibre towels that really are more like thin felt material, which are unbeatable for applying detailing spray for the final shine.

Thanks to all,
Richard :) :) :)

[tiggerfink]

Zanio does not believe in micro-fiber towels. I thought that was odd.

http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc

[dolebludger]

I read the Zaino piece. They are recommending a new 100% cotton US made towel for initial wax buffing. I can see why. A microfiber towel doesn't give the buffing "friction" of such a cotton towel, and might not get off all the haze from this wax product. I think some of the objections raised above to the "old cotton towel" use were a result of possible other fiber content and possible damaging residue in an "old" towell. Use of a new towel, known to be 100% cotton content and known to be free of residue, should be a good polishing cloth also.

Thanks,
Richard :) :) :)

[marlinspike]

The guy I buy my car care stuff from says that people who use just enough product (be it polish or wax) will prefer cotton flannel and people who use too much will prefer microfibre. I've used undershirts, cotton towels, and now some blu-velvet microfiber and I must say his advice was spot on (if your curious I use too much product so I like the microfiber). I found it removed the wax just as easily, if not easier, than a cotton towel (though I use P21S wax which isn't like most waxes).
Richard

[dolebludger]

Odd indeed. When I get too much wax on, it is the cotton towel I revert to to help me get it off! The microfiber is just too soft to do the job. So, when I use the microfiber, I put on miminal product. If the finish is "bad" and I have to use more product, I have to revert to the cotton towel. Just the reverse?

Thanks,
Richard :confused:

[marlinspike]

Odd indeed. When I get too much wax on, it is the cotton towel I revert to to help me get it off! The microfiber is just too soft to do the job. So, when I use the microfiber, I put on miminal product. If the finish is "bad" and I have to use more product, I have to revert to the cotton towel. Just the reverse?

Thanks,
Richard :confused:


What are your microfiber towels like? The microfibers I use for polish/wax removal, have a smooth side and then a side that is basically a terry towel, just made out of microfiber instead of cotton.

[tiggerfink]

Q: Are Micro-Fiber products safe to use?


A: Zaino has been testing various Micro-Fiber products. Unfortunately, the jury is still out on them. Some of them are excellent and do not scratch. Others are terrible and definitely scratch. The quality control of these products from overseas, especially Korea, is not consistent, so you never know if they will be the same scratch-free quality. Even when using the same brand, we found the quality to be inconsistent. For now, we do not recommend using them. However, lab testing is ongoing, and we will post an update when we have more conclusive results.

NOTE: If you are already using microfiber towels, look carefully at your paint finish under flourescent light when you are using your towels. If you are not getting any swirls or fine scratches from the microfiber towels, then you are okay and can continue to use them. Remember it's better to be safe than swirly.


Zaino does not recommend Micro-Fiber products.

[marlinspike]

Zymol leaves the decision up to the user. I think microfiber is a lot like cotton towels: some scratch and some don't. Just make sure the ones you are getting are good and you should be ok. I really don't think Larry at carcareonline would recommend microfiber if it were bad. IIRC he councourses (or maybe just used to) BMW's, and he also tests everything he sells (and test many things he doesn't sell, i.e. I asked him about the wax I saw them use at Euromotors - forget the name, it was a specialty brand thats unheard of - and he said he tested it and it didn't meet his standards).
Richard

[dolebludger]

marlinspike:

My microfiber drying towel and wax polishing cloths are "smoother" on one side than the other, but neither is as "rough" as cotton terry cloth. And then I have some microfiber polishing cloths which are as soft and smooth as felt or flannel. These, I use for wiping detail spray. These also work great for wax buffing when one is very sparing in wax application.

We sure have a lot of opinions here, don't we!! Here is my "guess" on drying and polishing cloths. Perhaps it is not the kind of fiber in these cloths that makes the difference. Perhaps it is whether they are free of contaminants. This is why I wash mine after each use.

Thanks,
Richard :) :) :)

[tiggerfink]

When I get done washing and waxing, I wash over 10 micro-fiber towels.