rb23lb

I bought some car wash products, mostly microfiber wash mitts and microfiber drying towells... they work wonderfully...

i also bought some leather chamois though, as I have heard they are extremly soft and suck up tons of water and are good for drying the car...

but damn, when the chamois get wet, they barely slide across the surface of the paint and feel like they are chaffing or making swirls in the paint! Is this just me using them wrong, or should chamois not be used to dry the car??

i also used on the windows to dry, as the stupid package they came in reccomended, but dang, do these things leave a TON of lint!! now I need to go over all by black rubber trim and felt linings and seals and work on getting the lint out from these stupid chamois...


what the heck are they good for, if anything? and if not a good thing to use, what is their best purpose for car care???


does anybody here even use chamois or do you guys just stick to all microfiber stuff???

Blk04cobra1

I use a chamois, but it does have to be wet for it to work properly...if not, it will scratch the paint...mine does tend to leave a few "streak" marks if you will, so I follow it up with a microfiber towel...just make sure when you wash your microfiber towel that you do not use any fabric softner or else it will start to leave streaks as well.

rb23lb

damn, i probably made swirls in my white paint this morning then... i used it to touch up after my microfiber got too soggy....

so how do you do it, you get the chamois all wet first then wring it out, then start drying up water droplets with it???

what about the lint factor, is it not as bad if you start from wet??

do you use on windows when it is wet too???

oblu

Chamois were the best in the days before microfiber. Now I just do micro only.

I used to completely soak the chamois before using it, and then used it more to push the water off more than attempt to soak it up. But then you get the streaking, and they smell like wet dog.

You've got white. Even if you did swirl it, nobody's going to see it under anything but stadium arc lights.

oblu

PS. the absolute best way to guard against swirls when drying is to blot the water up instead of drag the towel across.

Never got any swirls from my blue waffle weave though so I've quit bothering to blot. Lot of guys even will use an electric leaf blower ... which works surprisingly well as long as you're in a clean environment and not just kicking dirt up onto the car.

rb23lb

thanks for the tips oblu, u da man!

so get something completely wet before you use it to dry, how counterintuitive... but makes sense since you are just pushing water off

rb23lb

what do you use on the windows???

oblu

Regular old bath towel. Not worried about scratching glass, dry it quick and don't streak.

Actually, the thing that worries me most on this car is the black trim on the roof for the pano. I haven't looked close enough to see if it's the same plastic as the B pillar (which, no matter what brand, always scratches the second you touch it) or if it's actually glass).

Two things I've noticed ... probably because we have a lot of pine trees in our neighborhood ... I've had to clean the driver's side drain grating twice now. No other car I've owned has clogged up like that. Luckily it's easy to get to. And the plastic chrome trim on the bottom of the doors snags on stuff easy. I can see myself popping a piece off over the years during washes.

Jorg

I have seen people drying the windows "pretty" good and then use plain old newspaper, crumble it up and wipe it down. It does an amazing job. No streaks.

Jorg

platinumsc

I've been using chammy's for over 20 years. I thingk they are great. You wet them, wring them out, dry, wring out repeatedly. They don't scratch and actully leave a good shine when broken in. They are best after using them several washings. I've never seen lint, you must have bought a cheaper product...one mixed with another material. I've seen those but always buy the most expensive pure cow hide chammy I can find.

TOGWT

Chamois Leather:
Genuine chamois leather is a unique and natural product, which is extremely soft, flexible, and absorbent
Typically chamois leather is used to dry off surfaces after washing; this is due to the absorbency and softness of the leather, the particles are held within the hollow fibre of the leather, eliminating abrasion.

The chamois needs to be damp, but not wet to work, it is made by splitting the skin into two pieces; the selected sheepskins are 100% cod oil tanned to give the luxurious, golden, soft finish that can absorb six times its weight of water. Place the damp chamois flat on the paint surface and pull towards you

A Microfiber chamois (woven in a very similar texture) is a machine washable alternative that you don't have to soak before use and it releases dirt, brake dust and stains much easier that natural chamois (Groit's Microfiber Synthetic Chamois) doesn't dry hard, is very absorbent, easier to wring out and it will not `shed' and lasts longer and is less expensive than its natural counterpart.

The inherent problem of any flat weave drying towel; is that it breaks the surface tension to ‘lift’ the water from the surface along with any protective wax. Modem synthetic materials have gained ground and the use of chamois is being replaced by Microfiber waffle weave technology as they hold more water (approx. 5 times more water, therefore require wringing out less often) and will not `pull' wax from a paint surface as the ‘dimpled ‘pattern of the towel allows air pockets that do not allow ‘lift’ like a flat towel surface

BlackLiquorish8

chamois are wack imo unless you know how to use it properly b/c they will scratch your car. the absorber is def more forgiving, it can be washed, can dry plenty of cars, last forever, and very easy to use!

john1c

chamois will create swirls. try getting some microfiber waffle weaves to dry your car.

www.autogeek.net

Greg@DI

I highly recommend our Microfiber Waffle Weave Drying Towels with Silk Edges. These towels are approximately 2ft x 3ft, super absorbent, paint safe and washable. They are also on sale for the month of November! Let me know if anyone has a question about these towels.

Greg @ Detailed Image

dnegri

+1 (Best drying towel I have ever used)