JBRhee

I was doing some research on Microfiber Towels, and many people have recommended different sites to buy them.

Has anyone had experience with any of these sites:

http://www.microfibertech.com/index....ATS&Category=2

http://www.autogeek.net/mictow.html

http://www.premiumautocare.com/microfiber-towels.html

http://www.dftowel.com/ordertowels.html

I really don't know which place to order them from. Any help would be appreciated.

Chi500

ebay has some cheap ones too, I figure they're pretty much all the same

wnycec

I bought my microfiber towels from costco... they work great

lkirchner

They are not all the same. There are significant differences in the material content, the edging and the overall softness. I too have the Costco micro fibers (the yellow ones) that I use for removal of wax but do not use them for the final buffing or polishing. I tried that early on and found that the Costco towels will scratch the finish. I use Sonus micro fibers for polishing and detailing and there is a world of difference. In addition to that I use the blue waffel weave micro fibers for drying my cars, no scratching and the absorb water extremely well.

Keep in mind I am obsessed when it comes to taking care of cars, so I might be a "little" overboard.

agentf1

DFTowel gets my vote.

CE750

I too am a bit obsessive, do you happen to know if the paint those towels are scratching is the nanopaint on the '02 and newer cars?

I have been using a mishmash of microfiber towels and want to make sure I avoid harming my '05 paint.

TOGWT

Cotton (micro fibre) Towel :
Modern water-based paint is very soft and easily scratched making the choice of towel and wash mitt very important a natural 100% cotton towel is less likely to cause scratches to a paint system then a plastic fibre like nylon (Polyester).

Micro fibre by definition (very small; involving minute quantities or variations) is not a fabric; but a yarn, that’s spun into thread, which is then used to weave a terry fabric. These ultra-fine yarns (2X as fine as silk and 100X finer than a human hair) are made form various sources, they can be made from many different materials, such as a 70% Polyester 30% Polyamide or a natural material such as cellulose, a plant carbohydrate. (AlpineFiber™ is made entirely of a blend of micro fibre cotton and pima cotton, 100% Cotton (50% Cotton Microfiber/50% Pima Cotton)

Its scratch resistance has a lot to do with the way the fibres are processed and spun, there are too many factors to be able to say conclusively that natural fibres will not cause scratches and artificial fibres will. In my opinion, however, natural fibres are far less likely to scratch, flannel or cotton flannel is a very tight weave and it could scratch as it mats down easily, always try to stay with a terrycloth weave.

DF® Concours Towel is exceptionally soft, super absorbent terrycloth. The fabric is woven from a blend of micro fibre cotton and Pima Cotton; no artificial fibres of any kind are used in the weaving or sewing of this product.
(For more information on cotton - http://www.supima.com/faq/index.htm)

The most important criteria for any fabric used on a vehicle surface is its quality and scratch resistance. Natural cellulose can be spun with long staple cotton and then woven into 100% natural looped terrycloth or velour, were the loops are trimmed to produce a fine nap (ideal for glass cleaning). This is very soft, absorbent, and non-abrasive and will not cause scratching. Once this type of fabric is washed two or three times, to remove any short fibres it will not leave a lint trail.

The principal structural chemical in cotton, wood, and most other plants is actually cellulose consisting of many small molecules linked together (monomers) in a chain or lattice like structure: both linen and cotton are natural plant fibres. Quality towels edge bindings are sewn with cotton thread, not polyester.

A couple of ‘tests’ you could use to assimilate wither or not a towel will cause scratches, they are not at all scientific nor 100% accurate, they are only indicative of what the towel may do to your paint surface, but then which is preferable to scratch a CD or your paint surface? Ensure the towels have been washed before carrying out these ‘tests’.

1) CD Scratch Test- with a micro fibre cloth, using medium to heavy pressure rub the surface of a CD. If no scratching is evident then it probably won’t scratch the vehicles paint surface, be aware that the bindings can also cause scratching. If the towel does scratch the CD’s surface that doesn’t necessarily mean that it will scratch the vehicles paint, a CD has a much softer surface so use caution, initially trying an inconspicuous area

2) Burn Test- to test a material for polyester content, light a thread, if it emits a black wisp of smoke and then shrivels up into a black hard ball, its polyester and will probably scratch your paint.

Information resource- DF Alpine™ Towel website (http:// www.dftowel.com/microblurb.html

JonM

CE750

Wow! Thanks Jon, I now know more than I ever thought about the subject!