Is it microfiber cloth?

**zey** · 10-07-2004, 07:06 AM

Given a piece of cloth which is made up of 80% Polyester and 20% Polyamide; it has thick nap. How do I determine that it`s a microfiber cloth? Thanks!

**BMcN** · 10-07-2004, 07:17 AM

Well thats the correct makeup for a micro fibre.

When simply playing with it in your hands can you feel it gripping you hands and making them feel rough as sandpaper?

**zey** · 10-07-2004, 07:18 AM

When it`s dry, it grips my hand well, and I feel it`s very soft due to its thick nap. When I use it for wiping down the exterior, it leaves very clean surface.

**medic159** · 10-07-2004, 07:44 AM

You can`t tell by looking or feeling. The yarns need to be tested with specialized testing equipment.

**togwt** · 10-07-2004, 08:31 AM

By definition, (very small; involving minute quantities or variations) micro fibres are ultra-fine yarns made from various sources. They can be polyester, nylon, or a natural material such as cellulose, Microfiber filament spun or extruded from natural materials such as cellulose (plant fibres) are available. Micro fibres are two times finer than silk and nearly one hundred times finer than human hair. The smaller the diameter, the softer the fabric will feel

**Bobby G** · 10-07-2004, 11:36 AM

Originally posted by TOGWT

The smaller the diameter, the softer the fabric will feel

Possibly true... but I agree with you differently.

Many of the synthetic microfiber towels made in China and Korea are finished with chemicals that give them a softer feel and a nicer hand (for a while). This has little to do with the yarn content or denier.

AlpineMicrofiber has larger fiber strands than most polyester/polyamide yarns, yet it is much "softer". Softness is more than what we feel, and should be measured by the original material strength. Polyester/polyamide (Nylon) is a lot tougher than cellulose (soft wood pulp).

db

**Bill D** · 10-07-2004, 11:39 AM

DF Towels are in a league of their own but maybe not practical for dirtier day in day out jobs. I`m anxiously awaiting my Souveran and hope to play with it this weekend :bounce. I`ll be using DF Towels to buff :up

**medic159** · 10-07-2004, 06:43 PM

Originally posted by DavidB

...Polyester/polyamide (Nylon) is a lot tougher than cellulose (soft wood pulp).

db

Sorry but that`s not completely accurate David. Cellulose refers to plant based yarns and does not necessarily mean it is soft wood pulp or any wood pulp for that matter. Cotton is cellulose and so are linen and flax and none are made from pulp. As far as strength is concerned most natural fibers are actually stonger than artificial but in the context of what we use them for it isn`t very immport which is stronger, in fact, a yarn that is too resistant (silk for example) will scratch much easier than one that is not.

**a.k.a. Patrick** · 10-07-2004, 10:06 PM

Back to the original question, dont use it until your sure your not damaging the surface. A commonality for that is by using a old, useless cd (AOL rings a bell) and rubbing the cloth from inside to outside diameters. Look at it in the lights reflection for obvious scratching. There are microfibers that scratch, and microfibers that dont......

**togwt** · 10-08-2004, 06:04 AM

~One mans opinion / observations~

DavidB- I concede your point that the soft feel (chemically induced or natural) of a micro fibre fabric yarn is not in itself any guarantee that it will not cause scratching

The main purpose of using micro fibre fabric is to ensure that it will not cause surface abrasions or leave a lint residue on the surface its used on.

One method of testing a fabric is too rub the face of a CD (one member here said thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s why AOL provide us so many for free LOL) If there is no evidence of surface abrasion on the CD then in all probability it should not scratch the paint surface

And like foam pads proper care / maintenance is used by ensuring there is no hardened product residue on its surface and that they are washed separated from anything that will deposit lint or fibres, using a liquid soap solution that will not leave a powder residue. And not drying them with anything that will coat the fibres (i.e. fabric softeners) to ensure they remain scratch free I would also suggest that the CD test be used periodically as like any other fabric they can deteriorate over time.

~Hope this helps~

Knowledge unshared is experience wasted

justadumbarchitect / so I question everything/ Jon