Quality control problems with MF towels?

[sync]

Zaino recommends using only 100% cotton towels. I emailed them about MF towels and got the following response from Sal:

"I've been testing the various Micro-Fiber products.

Unfortunately, the jury is still out on them..... Some of them I
tested are excellent and do not scratch... however some are terrible and definetely 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 brands, I found the quality to be inconsistent. It's a shame because I think the concept is excellent...

For now I do not use them.... I'm still lab testing...

Unless they change there quality control...
I would not use them on my paint finish..."

I did a lot of reading about MF on this forum before I ordered a bunch of towels (from JT Intl). I didn't see any mentions of quality control problems that are related to scratching. Has anyone else noticed this?

[jmsc]

a month ago. Asked him about MF and was quoted the same inconsistency among different MF towels used for polish/wax/qd/water removal. He told me that he was still lab testing.

Recently, I bought some white Neatitem mf's and white Charisma towels and tested them on a aol cd. Sprayed some Meguiar's #34 FI and rubbed like heck with the towels but could not produce a scratch. I've used them under halogen and cannot see any new induced clear coat scratches on my car from the neatitem mf nor the charisma towels. At least for now that is good enough for me.

Just hope that Sal issues a definitive statement soon on the Korean mf issue.

[bretfraz]

If you search thru the archives you'll find several discussions of MF production and QC issues. There are only a few mills making MF's and most are in Korea and China. QC is going to vary somewhat.

Many senior Autopians test new MF's on a CD to see they scratch. Smart Autopians buy MF's only from suppliers that do their own QC or purchase MF's from top quality mills.

I understand what Sal is saying but I think the same comment can be made with cotton terry towels. Many Autopians have tested 100% cotton towels only to find they contained some polyester or nylon.

Since it's well known that MF's are much much softer than any cotton terry towel, I think you'll be fine with the MF's you have. Sal can do all the product testing he wants but I'm not gonna wait for a conclusion I am already well aware of.

[Guess My Name]

There are differences amoung towels...cotton and MF....

Before I buy I check them out....then after I buy I check them again....

I wish they had a born on date....whoops that beer never mind

[RobD]

I'm currently using CMA's MF Towels and their quality seems consistent. The only problem I have with the CMA MF Towels are the tags. If CMA goes to the trouble of having these quality towels made, shouldn't they request the supplier exclude the tags? With regards to scratching, I have only experienced scratching with inferior MF Towels. Although, even when using quality towels (MF or cotton), I think a rule of thumb remains - don't (1) use excessive pressure or (2) move the towel in multiple directions. Since MF is so good at holding onto dirt/debrit, I store MF Towels in zip style plastic bags.

[James A]

I use CMA's MF towels and have never had any scratching, but they do have lint problems. Even the glass cleaning towels leave lint!