100% Cotton to dry????
- Thread starter 416 Auto
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You should be able to pull a multitude of threads on this subject by using the search function.
100% cotton towels are the next best thing to MF. Just make dang sure they are not nylon w/ cotton loops or something similar.
Your search should yield the names of reputable companies that make the 100% variety. (Fieldcrest, etc...)
100% cotton towels are the next best thing to MF. Just make dang sure they are not nylon w/ cotton loops or something similar.
Your search should yield the names of reputable companies that make the 100% variety. (Fieldcrest, etc...)
Clinton said:
If you want to use 100% cotton towels, make sure you get the right ones. I get mine at the Bay when they have their 50% off sale intermittently plus whatever scratch and save coupons are applicable. The small Fieldcrest made Royal Velvet face cloths and hand towels are a bit pricey for the size so I get the large bath towels. Regular price 29.00 Canadian. I end up paying, with the sale discounts, about 11-12 bucks each. Then I cut it up into 3 towels, each ending up about 12 x 28in approximately. All the borders are cut off as they might scratch. Note that this is all done as per Zaino. The edges fray as a result but they seem to stop after a few washes.
Before cutting them up, make sure you wash them several times first as they tend to lint quite a bit at the beginning. I found this out the hard way as I just washed them once and got lint all over the place when drying the car!
I found that they are quite good for washing as the nap is thicker/plusher than MF towels so any dirt gets caught up and lifted away from the surface. But I was disappointed at the drying aspect as it just didn't seem to soak up water that fast.
So I got some JT International MF towels by mail order. The 16x16 terry cloth ones are quite soft and less likely to scratch than the cotton towels. I found they weren't that absorbent for drying either so I will use them just for buffing off polish, cleaning glass, and wiping the interior as they don't lint. I got the large 24x46 waffleweave MF for drying and dried the whole car without wringing it out even once and no lint.
If you don't want to do mail order from the US and want to find some decent MF towels locally, you might want to try Zellers and look for some Turtle Wax ones as some other Canadian Autopians have found them reasonably priced. The Meguiars Ultimate Wipe MF towel at Canadian Tire is good also but not that plush and outrageously priced at 11.99 each.
I'd just like to add:
-only really trust made in Canada or USA made towels. "100% Cotton" isn't always true.
--if you have access to a sewing machine, you can fold over the edges and sew a zigzag pattern over it to stop fraying... umm... I did....
-TW MF towels are what I use now and I'd get more, but all the Zellers are probably out of stock (not long after I posted about them... gee I wonder if that's a coincidence....
) and I bet they won't bother restocking till spring. If you can find them though, they are quite plush, and about as plush as the JT international towels I've seen.
-ditto on the Meguiar's MF :down
-quality MFs are probably worth it also because of the reduced linting (especially when new). The TW MFs I had almost 0 linting even when new.
-only really trust made in Canada or USA made towels. "100% Cotton" isn't always true.
--if you have access to a sewing machine, you can fold over the edges and sew a zigzag pattern over it to stop fraying... umm... I did....
-TW MF towels are what I use now and I'd get more, but all the Zellers are probably out of stock (not long after I posted about them... gee I wonder if that's a coincidence....
) and I bet they won't bother restocking till spring. If you can find them though, they are quite plush, and about as plush as the JT international towels I've seen.-ditto on the Meguiar's MF :down
-quality MFs are probably worth it also because of the reduced linting (especially when new). The TW MFs I had almost 0 linting even when new.
imported_Intermezzo
New member
I don't trust Canadian made towels. Hehe, j/k
Yes, definitely stay away from the smaller sized towels. On his website, Sal specifically mentions bath-sized towels not only to prevent getting your towel saturated when buffing, but also because the smaller towels made by Cannon-Fieldcrest are NOT 100% cotton (despite their claims). Because of their size, the wash cloths & face/hand towels are a little more vulnerable to falling apart than the full-sized bath towels. For this reason, a small amount of polyester is blended into them (according to Sal) for added durability.
iceman said:
Yes, definitely stay away from the smaller sized towels. On his website, Sal specifically mentions bath-sized towels not only to prevent getting your towel saturated when buffing, but also because the smaller towels made by Cannon-Fieldcrest are NOT 100% cotton (despite their claims). Because of their size, the wash cloths & face/hand towels are a little more vulnerable to falling apart than the full-sized bath towels. For this reason, a small amount of polyester is blended into them (according to Sal) for added durability.
imported_Intel486
New member
Intermezzo said:
I know the small cannon hand towels are 100% cotton loop. They say it on the tag. So they have polyester in the backing. Think they also say they are 86% cotton, 14% poly.
I use cotton bath towels to dry. I use the bath towels to get most of the water around and then go around the vehicle again with a smaller towel to get all that water that always drips out.