Costco MF Towels Can`t Be Beat!

I`ve seen people complain that these towels cause marring/scratches, but I`ve NEVER witnessed it. And I work on some pretty soft paint finishes. I just can`t see the point in spending money on pricey towels when these work just as good. Especially when used for coatings when they`re getting thrown away anyways. The only way I can imagine these causing problems is if you didn`t tear the tag off or you`re wiping too hard with the edges against the paint. Besides this, they work great for just about everything (coatings/polish/wax/drying/etc). Keep in mind that I only use them once on critical areas (drying, final polish, wax or coating removal). After the 1st use/wash they then get used for compound removal and carwashing. After that, wheels, interiors and misc cleaning. At $15 for 36 towels they can`t be beat. Why some people feel the need to spend that on 1 high end towel just doesn`t make sense to me?

Towel Rant Over :mellow:

David! Great to see you! Does anyone know if the towels from Sams Club and BJs perform the same scratch free way? I`m tempted to pick up a pack and use them without worry

You’re right... TRC should just close up shop 🤣🤣🤣

“Find something you like and use it often.” - Mike Phillips

I used a couple Costco towels yesterday doing some metal polishing, then tossed them away. They are handy to keep around for certain tasks imho...

Where you use a costco towel once you can use a high quality mf towel several times if proper maintance of them. They have their places and others has theirs. It`s on you what you are satisfied with to use and feels safe enough. I do the cd test regualary so I notice when my towels degrade.

the sam`s club towels feel little thicker to me, but i use both. on exceptional rides that the owners really take care of, i use my nice towels, but most of the rides i do are daily drivers that the owners don`t go out of their way to care for and yes, i really don`t see scratching or marring with the less expensive towels either before i redelegate them.

I have both the Costco towels and some from AG as well. Besides the nap being longer on one side of those from AG, I don`t really notice much difference. As long as I keep the Costco towels clean and free of debris, they work just as well and I`ve never experienced any marring from them.

I think they are thin. Good for door sills. Sams towels are now as thin as Costcos. I think TRC has better towels at a good price.

I`m rather new to all of this and stocked up on a modest number of quality MF from AG. I also have some cheapo Meguiar`s towels that I got 3 for $4.50. I assume the Meguiar`s ones are similar to the Costco ones. They`re light - not a lot of GSM, but for a lot of tasks they`re just fine.

Remove the tag, watch the seams on paint, and relegate them to wheel cleaning or changing your oil or whatever far sooner than you would a quality MF and I think they have their place. The biggest difference to me is the lower GSM and shorter life of the budget MF - but in some instances I can see where having some "throwaway" towels is useful.

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Originally Posted by SWETM

Where you use a costco towel once you can use a high quality mf towel several times if proper maintance of them. They have their places and others has theirs. It`s on you what you are satisfied with to use and feels safe enough. I do the cd test regualary so I notice when my towels degrade.

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What is this cd test you speak of?


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Originally Posted by EmDoc

What is this cd test you speak of?

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As I understand it, you`re supposed to "test" your microfiber towels by rubbing them on an audio CD with medium pressure. If they scratch the CD, they can scratch/mar paint on a car. I`m not sure that this is a viable test, since CDs could vary in hardness depending on manufacturer, and most times I am only using light pressure when using a microfiber on paint.

I agree David. I use brand new bulk microfiber towels for my coating removal and then toss them. They also work great for compounding removal etc.

I have about 100 of the yellow ones. They are fantastic and at a great price!

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Originally Posted by EmDoc

What is this cd test you speak of?


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As noted it`s takeing a cd or dvd and wipe the towel in straight motion about 6-10 times with pressure. I use new empty writeable cd disc. And I do this to everything I will touch the paint with. Like mf towels and mf mitts and mf wash pads and brushes and sponges and so on. And then if I feel a change in the product I do a new cd test to see if they scratch/marr. This is not a definitely test that it will marr/scratch your paint. If you have a very easly scratch sensitive paint it can save you alot of headache.

I Detailed a newer black Mercedes that had been only wiped with the yellow Costco microfibers, and it was all scratched up.. Hard Mercedes paint...
That`s all I know about the yellow Costco microfibers...

Like everything in this business, it all has to do with how the user "uses" any of the zillion+ products out here..

Now to be sure, I am a Costco Executive Card member for 16 years and I love about everything they have - even their top tier gasoline prices...
Dan F

They are definitely suited for door jambs and under the engine bay. Essentially dirty jobs.

Other than that they are not worth it on paint. They marr and scratch. Experienced this myself. I’ll stick to a better towel for coating removal such as the edgeless 300 from TRC.