Cars House

I know the title sounds stupid, but I was wondering if Im using my microfiber towels correctly. I bought a few of these Meguiars MF towels (http://www.meguiars.com/?car-wash-towels/Supreme-Shine-Microfiber-Towel)to use on my Camry and so this weekend when I washed my car, I used one to clean my windows. I was disappoint when after spraying tint-safe cleaner into the towel, I wiped the windows with the towel and it left behind a small amount of lint behind. I flipped the towel over and dried the area and there still remained a small amount of lint (as if by static cling). I thought arent these things 100% lint free? The towel was straight out of the bag and was not washed prior to use. Should I wash them first? Should they be washed alone vs. with other towels where they might really pickup lint? Or, am I just over analyzing this?




It's typically recommended that you wash them once before you use them.

If you search the forum you'll find varying opinions on the best washing methods, but most suggest washing your MFs separately from other items. I wash all my MFs in a batch with no other items. Don't use any fabric softener, just plain laundry detergent. Some people use Woolite. There are also special detergents made just for MF that you can get from places like Autogeek.com, etc.

Some people will say line dry, some will say the dryer is fine. I line dry mine. If you put them in the dryer, tumble dry with no heat or low heat and again, don't use any fabric softener sheets.
As for an initial washing, look at it this way -- while they will not lint, they will catch lint. When the towels are made, the edges are cut and thus creating lint during the manufacturing process, so that's likely what you were seeing.

Also, I too think it's a good idea to wash them before using them as you don't know where those towels have been in terms of being manufactured, transported, handled, stuck in the shopping cart, etc.

In other words, while the towels won't scratch (if they're quality), they can carry things that can scratch.

I always wash (liquid detergent only), tumble dry, inspect on a clean surface, fold and put away in a clean place. Never drop them on the ground.

Oh, and I like to use those fabric softener balls that toss the towels around in the dryer... I think it helps fluff them up while completing the drying process a little better.

One more thing... buy a variety of towels... learn that there are better towels out there than the ones you bought. Not that these are horrible, but there are better ones in different qualities (while there are some good towels made in China, most towels made in Korea are good). There are polishing towels, drying towels, detailing towels, and glass towels (though I tend to like a waffle weave-type towel for automotive glass). And there's even a place for cheap towels, such as wheel and metal or chrome polishing.

Good luck!
Meguiar's usually makes quality stuff, but I would try another brand of MF towel because I've never had any linting with the ones I use. Get some Viking gray microfivers from your local Target. They are pretty good.
Thanks for the replies folks. Dan, I'll try those target ones too.
Hey Playr,

On washing MF Towels eddie926 is right on, the only thing that I can add is if you line dry the material will hold up and last longer. Rather then throwing them in the dryer!!

Adam's supplies a New Technology Korean Super-Plush Microfiber Towel (http://www.adamspolishes.com/c-5-microfiber-products.aspx) which is thick and plushy.

Check out the link!!

Let me know what ya think.
J,

Wow, those are nice. Kinda reminds me of the Korean blankets they sell here in downtown L.A.
Blah Blah Blah! If you want quality MF towels go to http://www.autogeek.net/mictow.html and get the Cobra's. By far the best around. OTC (over the counter the Meg's are good, but no where near the Cobra's). Also when you wash your microfibers you can NOT wash anything else with them...same with the drying. Wash with liquid detergent and a splash of simple green (my added secret) on delicate cycle, tumble dry on delicate (super low setting) and buy some of these http://www.asseenontv.com/prod-pages/dryer_balls.html (blue balls). They actually refluff the towels to give them a more plush feel and they take less time to dry.

Did some say waffle weave? http://www.autogeek.net/ww1627.html Amazing on your glass!

For drying your cars http://www.autogeek.net/waffle-weave-drying-towel.html The best around!
Did some say waffle weave? http://www.autogeek.net/ww1627.html Amazing on your glass!

Actually, I disagree. I have one and have been disappointed with it from the beginning. It leaves a lot of streaks. I don't really recommend this product. For me, the best non-streaking thing I've found is newspaper.
To avoid streaking on the glass, I've had my best results using Stoner's Invisible Glass or Sprayway glass cleaner and using two MF towels. Spray product on glass. Wipe with towel #1, then immediatlely wipe with towel #2. Then, continue to use #1 as your "wet" towel, and #2 as your "dry" towel. Be sure to avoid touching the glass with your hand as you wipe. Oil from your skin will smudge.

I've never cared for the newspaper thing. I always end up with newsprint all over my hands and subsequently on anything else I happen to touch. But then, maybe I've just never used the correct technique.

Guess we've strayed off the original "linty MF" topic.;)
Great to see people are experiencing the difference in Microfiber technology! There is a huge difference, and towels can cost from $.30 to $20, depending on quality and technology.

We started importing a nice towel from Korea 7 years ago, then went to China as the price was less than half. We realized immediately that the best towels from China are equivalent to the medium-quality towels from Korea. Our customers rejected the cheaper towels, even at a lower price.

Here's a microfiber quality test: Does the towel stick to your hands or finger prints? If yes, the towel is on the lower quality end of the scale. The towels available at Wal-Mart, Pep Boys, and the like are all Chinese, entry level towels. They are better than cotton towels, use them for polishing aluminum, cleaning engines, checking oil, etc. They are cheap enough, and anything is better than cotton shop towels!

Go for Korean Microfiber, and you won't back, even at 4X the price! Super Plush is again higher in quality, but also comes with a hefty price tag. If you want only the best for your paint, zero-scratching, keep a few set aside for your most perfectly painted finishes.

-Adam:thumbsup:
I use Cobra MF, are they quality towels?
To avoid streaking on the glass, I've had my best results using Stoner's Invisible Glass or Sprayway glass cleaner and using two MF towels. Spray product on glass. Wipe with towel #1, then immediatlely wipe with towel #2. Then, continue to use #1 as your "wet" towel, and #2 as your "dry" towel. Be sure to avoid touching the glass with your hand as you wipe. Oil from your skin will smudge.

I've never cared for the newspaper thing. I always end up with newsprint all over my hands and subsequently on anything else I happen to touch. But then, maybe I've just never used the correct technique.

Guess we've strayed off the original "linty MF" topic.;)

I really like Stoner's.
I use Cobra MF, are they quality towels?

Cobra are among the better microfiber towels. The microfiber is made in Korea, and sent to China so it can be sewn cheaply. Quality towels for sure, and clearly better than the Chinese made and stitched cousin.

-Adam
Actually, I disagree. I have one and have been disappointed with it from the beginning. It leaves a lot of streaks. I don't really recommend this product. For me, the best non-streaking thing I've found is newspaper.

First off what kind off glass cleaner are you using? That makes a a world of difference. And how are you washing and drying that towel? (You can not use fabric drying sheets when you dry MF towels or the waffle weaves). Meg's NXT glass cleaner is my personal choice. Once in a blue moon I will use the newspaper to polish the glass!
Dktaco, we are having a Detail Day at our warehouse in Torrance on February 23, and I'd love to personally hand you samples of some glass cleaner, Super Plush Towels, etc. If you can make it, 2020 W. 166th Street, Torrance, CA 90504. 9AM - Noon. We'll have an official post shortly with the announcement, so yours is the first invitation!

Hope to see you in Torrance in a few weeks,

-Adam:thumbsup:
First off what kind off glass cleaner are you using? That makes a a world of difference. And how are you washing and drying that towel? (You can not use fabric drying sheets when you dry MF towels or the waffle weaves). Meg's NXT glass cleaner is my personal choice. Once in a blue moon I will use the newspaper to polish the glass!

I use Stoners glass cleaner. I wash and dry the towel with my other MF towels in a solution made by Pinnacle specifically for them. No drying sheets.

What do you mean "to polish the glass"? Are you saying the newspaper route is more harsh on the glass? Just curious...don't want to do anything that would harm my glass.
You won't harm the glass with newspaper. It's pretty tough stuff! Messed up wipers, used for a whole season, can put scratches in the glass. Outside of that, it's tough to beat up glass!

Glass, however, can shine. Tinted more than non-tinted, but I always use Detail Spray on the glass when I've wash the car. There is a noticeable difference, believe it or not!
So would the best "quick glass polish" way to go would be with detailer and newspaper? I have some of the Meg detailer that came with the clay bar set. That should work for me?

Oh, I got some pretty window wiper scratches last year... not fun.
Instead of newspaper on glass I prefer a short pile microfiber towel. Newspaper works fine, but it can leave a little lint sometimes where you stopped wiping, and it can get your hands black with ink from the paper.

BTW, sometimes actual scratches in the windows can be removed or minimized by polishing your glass with a buffer just like you would when you polish out a scratch in the paint. It kinda depends on your glass. Some vehicles have harder glass than others. Recently I was able to polish out a real deep scratch in my drivers side window with some real aggressive polish and my buffer set on high speed. It took about 10 minutes, and it saved me from having to replace a $200 window. :)
Dktaco, we are having a Detail Day at our warehouse in Torrance on February 23, and I'd love to personally hand you samples of some glass cleaner, Super Plush Towels, etc. If you can make it, 2020 W. 166th Street, Torrance, CA 90504. 9AM - Noon. We'll have an official post shortly with the announcement, so yours is the first invitation!

Hope to see you in Torrance in a few weeks,

-Adam:thumbsup:

I am going to try and make it. I normally have to work weekends. If not I am going to send my dad with my truck and you can show him some techniques. :naughty:
Whats wrong with good ol' paper towels?
Whats wrong with good ol' paper towels?

Hi Pete-

Paper towels are great! My wife is an addict, and we use a roll every week in our kitchen. As for automotive use, outside of checking oil, they are not the most effective tool.

Consider this: You can use cotton towels, paper towels, even newspaper. In the same respect, you can still watch the Super Bowl on a 13" black and white TV. :confused: Still, why not take advantage of today's technology and enjoy better performance? Just like a flat screen compares to a B&W 13incher, the microfiber technology doesn't even compare to paper towels.
Whats wrong with good ol' paper towels?

Using MF towels are more envrionmentally friendly, no waste of natural resources and the MF towels can be used again and again, wash after wash. MF towels leave no lint behind either.
Just a side note to reinforce what was said about washing the MFs separately and NO dryer sheets.

I keep a 16X16 Vroom MF in the bathroom to wipe down the countertops and mirrors when they get water splashed on them.

I had been washing that towel with my other car MFs, and all was well, but last week my wife threw the bathroom MF in the wash with with the cotton bathroom towels, and then it went in the dryer with a dryer sheet. Oh my gosh, what a mess. Now if I wipe the mirrors with it leaves a really nasty lint embedded film that must be a combination of stuff from the dryer sheet and the lint from the cotton towels.

WASH THEM SEPARATELY AND DON'T USE DRYER SHEETS!!!!!!!!!!!!
Using MF towels are more envrionmentally friendly, no waste of natural resources and the MF towels can be used again and again, wash after wash. MF towels leave no lint behind either.


Environmentally friendly I think not! Actually you are using water when you wash the MF's, using water when they are being rinsed, and now you have dirty water that needs to be processed. I am all for taking care of the environment by recycling, reusing, and I am a conservationist. However, no one in God's green earth is going to tell me what towel I am going to use, what car I am going to drive, how much electricity I am going to use, and how much methane I am going let out of my a$$. Sorry for the rant, but you left it open.

Lastly, more lint will be definitely left behind with paper towels, less with newspaper, and there will still be very very minimal with good quality MF's or waffle towels.
Dude, you need a vacation or something. Relax.
Dude, you need a vacation or something. Relax.


He said it was enviromentally friendly I pointed out that it isn't...whatever! Gotta be PC here...I forgot! :rolleyes:
Hey, I formerly ran a recycling program and I currently am a wastewater operator...my bread & butter is from that "wasted water". Oh and we use that methane(biogas) to produce some of the electricity we comsume at the plant...to bad we couldn't bottle human & animal farts for energy production. Hey maybe we can use up some of those used grocery bags for that.
Hi Pete-

Paper towels are great! My wife is an addict, and we use a roll every week in our kitchen. As for automotive use, outside of checking oil, they are not the most effective tool.

Consider this: You can use cotton towels, paper towels, even newspaper. In the same respect, you can still watch the Super Bowl on a 13" black and white TV. :confused: Still, why not take advantage of today's technology and enjoy better performance? Just like a flat screen compares to a B&W 13incher, the microfiber technology doesn't even compare to paper towels.
Can I get these MF towels at the local PepBoys or Autozone?
Can I get these MF towels at the local PepBoys or Autozone?

They have MF but the quality of them is average. Using high quality MF makes a big difference compared to cheap stuff. Good towels can make your detail job go a lot easier. If you want to avoid swirls get good towels and wash mitts. Cheap and dirty wash mitts and towels is what causes most of the swirls on your cars paint.
Hey Mixednuts,

You can get MF Towels from stores like that. But if you are looking for the best out there, Adam's has MF Towels that are Super Plushy, Big, and Awesome!!!

They are worth it, Super-Plush Microfiber Towel (http://www.adamspolishes.com/p-128-super-plush-microfiber-towel.aspx)!!

Let me know if you have any more questions.

Thanks,
Environmentally friendly I think not! Actually you are using water when you wash the MF's, using water when they are being rinsed, and now you have dirty water that needs to be processed. I am all for taking care of the environment by recycling, reusing, and I am a conservationist. However, no one in God's green earth is going to tell me what towel I am going to use, what car I am going to drive, how much electricity I am going to use, and how much methane I am going let out of my a$$. Sorry for the rant, but you left it open.

Lastly, more lint will be definitely left behind with paper towels, less with newspaper, and there will still be very very minimal with good quality MF's or waffle towels.

I'm not telling any one what to do, they asked for an opinion and I gave it.

You're right, I guess using paper towels is more envi. friendly. Companies have to drive their diesel powered trucks up to the forest to use their diesel powered logging machinery to log the trees and use more diesel trucks to haul the logs to the mills. Not to mention that the mills have to use electricity or other means to power them to make paper, lumber etc. How is paper made? They make the wood into pulp by using what? You guessed it... water. And what makes that paper white? A bleaching agent.

So I guess turning on the washer to wash MF towels and having a waste treatment plant treat the "dirty" water isn't so envi. friendly afterall...I guess I must have been mistaken. :eek: :hammer:
I'm not telling any one what to do, they asked for an opinion and I gave it.

You're right, I guess using paper towels is more envi. friendly. Companies have to drive their diesel powered trucks up to the forest to use their diesel powered logging machinery to log the trees and use more diesel trucks to haul the logs to the mills. Not to mention that the mills have to use electricity or other means to power them to make paper, lumber etc. How is paper made? They make the wood into pulp by using what? You guessed it... water. And what makes that paper white? A bleaching agent.

So I guess turning on the washer to wash MF towels and having a waste treatment plant treat the "dirty" water isn't so envi. friendly afterall...I guess I must have been mistaken. :eek: :hammer:


No hard feelings! :)
No hard feelings! :)

:werd:
I'm sorry, I don't mean to offend anyone, but it strikes me as funny to be debating the environmental impact of the various towels we could use to clean the glass on our gas burning, oil consuming, air polluting, ozone depleting, etc., CARS. :lol:
I'm sorry, I don't mean to offend anyone, but it strikes me as funny to be debating the environmental impact of the various towels we could use to clean the glass on our gas burning, oil consuming, air polluting, ozone depleting, etc., CARS. :lol:

True.

It really doesn't matter. We've only got 4 more years to keep our cars looking good because the whole world is gonna blow up in 2012 anyway, so who cares about paper towels and bleach?

LOL
True.

It really doesn't matter. We've only got 4 more years to keep our cars looking good because the whole world is gonna blow up in 2012 anyway, so who cares about paper towels and bleach?

LOL

^ That is if you believe that stuff! :rolleyes::lol:
Got a real question... when drying a vehicle with a waffle weave or any other MF towel, do I need to wring it out if it gets soaked with water or should I use a new one instead? I know, a dumbass question....
Got a real question... when drying a vehicle with a waffle weave or any other MF towel, do I need to wring it out if it gets soaked with water or should I use a new one instead? I know, a dumbass question....

Assuming the towel is still clean, I'd just wring it out and go on. The waffle weaves I'm using work better when they're a little damp anyway. But the ones I'm using are 25" X 36" and I can dry both of my Camrys or my Sequoia with one without having to wring it out.

I started using the "no nozzle" final rinse method last summer which dramatically reduces the amount of water I have to remove with the towel. If you're not already doing that, I recommend trying it. It really reduces your drying time.
Agreed! A tip to make drying even easier: Take a leaf blower, air compressor, or the the exhaust of your wet/dry vac and blow the majority of the water off the car, and especially, out of the cracks, crevices, lights, door handles, wheels, cowl, etc.

Then, to make it look and feel like you just waxed it, mist Detail Spray over the entire car before drying with the Micro Waffle Towel.

When I wash our 4Runner and Ford Excursion, I only use one waffle towel to dry both.

This method also eliminates water spotting.

Try this dry program, and you will use it for life!

-Adam:thumbup:
I've tried the leaf blower method and it works really well. Unfortunately, I currently have a gas powered leaf blower and not only is it noisy, but whenever I use it I end up smelling like gas fumes. It's also rather akward for hoisting up to dry off the Sequoia. I've thought about buying an electric one or one of the battery powered ones just for doing the cars.
Do you have a Shop Vac Eddie? If not, that's the unit to get, as you'll use it in the house, garage, yard, and cars. Swap out the hose to the exhaust and use it as a blower. Home Depot sells a Rigid unit for $99 with a detachable blower, and I've had great luck with it!
Yes, I have a good Craftsman shop vac. I've never tried that because I was concerned that some amount of dust/dirt would get through the filter and be blasted onto the car. As I said, never tried it though, so maybe my concern is unwarranted.
Got a real question... when drying a vehicle with a waffle weave or any other MF towel, do I need to wring it out if it gets soaked with water or should I use a new one instead? I know, a dumbass question....

A leaf blower, and two waffle weave towels will dry off just about any passenger vehicle. One big towel might do it.

Your water makes a difference too. It's easier to dry off vehicles when I wash them with water that has gone through my filter & softening system.

Personally, I have about 10 waffle weave towels, so I can wash several vehicles without having to do the laundry so often.
Eddie, what is the "no nozzle" approach?
Eddie, what is the "no nozzle" approach?

After you've completely washed the car, take the spray nozzle off the hose and do a final rinse of the entire car from the top down with just a free flowing stream of water. The sheeting action of the water will drag a huge amount of water off the car as opposed to having the water bead up and sit on the surface like it does when you use a spray nozzle. This only takes a couple of minutes, and leaves you with MUCH less water to remove by towel.:thumbup:
I had a feeling that's what it was, thanks for the explanation.
http://www.adamspolishes.com/t-Videos_DVD5_7.aspx

Go to 2:34 for a video of this exact process.
When I wash our 4Runner


Adam, got any pics of your own personal vehicles? :cool:
How do I post photos here Dana? My vehicles are a little beat down by snow right now, but I'm happy to share photos!

I need to make the photos in to a URL?? Correct?

Thanks for any guidance!

Adam
Adam, you can use a photo hosting site like photobucket.com.
How do I post photos here Dana? My vehicles are a little beat down by snow right now, but I'm happy to share photos!

I need to make the photos in to a URL?? Correct?

Thanks for any guidance!

Adam

Adam, made a new sticky for you on how to post pics at the top of this sub-forum:

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/showthread.php?t=235188