100% cotton towels for drying?

T

tyoung

New member
A couple other places, including Zaino reccomend using only 100% made in the USA cotton bath towels for drying. They also reccomend staying away from micro fiber. :think2

I gotta admit I'm confused. I have found high quality bath towels on sale at places like Macys or those bath stores and always wondered about using them for drying. But I assumed they would cause swirls. Anybody use them? How are the results?
 
never never ever !!!use towels for drying trust me they will leave little scratches in your paint.over time. i know from experience. i only use microfiber towels for drying.
 
i only uses micro fiber applicators. i have all dark colored trucks so they show every little micro scratch so i do every thing to avoid scratches...
 
tyoung said:
A couple other places, including Zaino reccomend using only 100% made in the USA cotton bath towels for drying. But I assumed they would cause swirls. Anybody use them? How are the results?
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Lint free terrys are the only thing I feel the need to use and I do not have any marring problems what so ever. I think people create damage to their vehicles from improper washing, not from drying. Go for it.
 
Make sure the entire towel is 100% cotton like the base and edges and not just the loops. Best thing to do pluck a strand and burn it. If it burns up into an ash and disappears it is cotton. If it burns into a black, plastic, hard ball it is not 100% cotton.



My local auto parts place sells 100% Viking towels that are genuinely 100% cotton. I use them for interior work.



Just proceed with caution.
 
Why would a maker of one of the best car cleaning products put his reputation on line by recommending the use of cotton if it did not make sense. Remember Sal is talking about high quality American made bath towels. Those thing can cost a ton of dough. Stop by high end store and price the towel you will be in for a shock. I am sure the people who complained about towels are using relatively inexpense towels or towels that their wifes or mothers gave them.
 
I've been in Bed Bath & Beyond and searched out the high priced towels. Most are NOT made in the USA. They're made in countries heavily into textiles like Pakistan and India. Plus, these towels also have a coating on them when new to make the feel super soft to the customer in the store.



Fieldcrest used to be the choice of cotton towels in the past - made in the USA, high quality, etc... But I don't see them anymore and the ones I do are from overseas.



Secondly, his recommendation has been on his website since day one, long before the onset of high quality microfiber or even microfiber in general. I remember he was unsure about microfiber because not all of it was safe like those coming from China. That comment used to be on his site. I'm not sure if it still there.



Again, the best thing to do is the common burn test like I mentioned. This way you know if you truly have 100% cotton.



What makes and / or "high end" stores do you recommend for cotton towels that you've used that are 100% made in the USA cotton towels?
 
kt2000 said:
would you guys use the cotton applicators zaino gives you?
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The problem I have had with the cotton applicators is that it becomes saturated and I end up wasting a lot of product. I use the Meguiar's foam pads and don't have the saturation problem, plus I have a lot more control around molding, door handles, etc.
 
Good point about the cotton towel recommendation being old. Call Sal at Zainos and ask if he still recommends towels.

On your other question, my wife buy me towel at Bloomingdales in NY. Bed, Bath and Beyond is not high end. However, you may well be correct about the country of origin, as almost nothing is made in this country. That does not mean it cannot be top quality stuff. All you need to do is look at where the best cars are made.
 
tabinha said:
Bed, Bath and Beyond is not high end.
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Sal recommends Bed Bath & Beyond and Linens and Things for cotton towels.



I'm in "Bloomies" all the time and their towels are no different than BB&B. In fact BB&B has a much larger selection.



Bloomingdale's: Search



Now look at the pages of selections and prices at BB&B. Plus BB&B mails out 20% off coupons like they're going out of style. You can walk in with like 10 of them! Or they have $5 off any purchase over $20 coupons too.



Bed Bath & Beyond Search
 
If you want to use an all natural towel you might want to try the DF Concours Towel:



"Our flagship product, the DF® Concours Towel, is an exceptionally soft, highly absorbent terrycloth. The fabric is woven from our own unique AlpineFiber™ yarn. AlpineFiber™ is made entirely of a blend of microfiber Cotton and Pima Cotton, no artificial fibers of any kind are used in the weaving or sewing of this amazing product."



While I'm not sure you would call them 100% cotton (Leo at DFT could explain that better than I could), their site does say their textile products have been approved by Zaino:



"........ After extensive testing Sal Zaino has declared our AlpineFiber® to be safe to use with their Show Car Polishes to produce a scratch free, swirl free shine. Our products are the only all natural towels and related products to receive this coveted endorsement........"





Not my first choice for drying, I still prefer a soft WW, these are a very good towel for wax and polish removal.
 
I used 2nds, 3rds and irregulars that towel companies sold for $1 each and they worked just fine. They were the exact towels that were rejected by the manufactuer and weren't perfect enough for retail. I think that buying towels at Bed, Bath & Beyond or Bloomies ins't necessary. Save your money and search for the same thing elsewhere for a fraction of the cost. New towels need to be washed a half dozen times before they became super absorbent.
 
David Fermani said:
Lint free terrys are the only thing I feel the need to use and I do not have any marring problems what so ever. I think people create damage to their vehicles from improper washing, not from drying. Go for it.
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I use Pak Shak MF drying towels, but I also use high quality plush cotton ones for drying ,as well. If you you use quality cotton towels gently, they work just fine. I even use a chamois:soscared: from time to time, though usually when I plan to polish next.
 
I use a water blade and a little MF towel to do the rest. As far as textiles go - here in North Carolina, we use to be a big textile state. I even worked 8 months at a Burlington Mills plant back in the early 80's. But foreign compition killed us, all the little "plant towns" in NC and SC lost their main employer's. You can't compete with someone in Nam happy with 27 cents a day wages.
 
David Fermani said:
I used 2nds, 3rds and irregulars that towel companies sold for $1 each and they worked just fine. They were the exact towels that were rejected by the manufacturer and weren't perfect enough for retail. I think that buying towels at Bed, Bath & Beyond or Bloomies ins't necessary. Save your money and search for the same thing elsewhere for a fraction of the cost. New towels need to be washed a half dozen times before they became super absorbent.
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Now this makes sense! I plan on using MF and 100% cotton and making up my own mind.

Sometimes you can take things to an extreme and become anal like I have been on many occasions. Use a little logic and maybe some "Wool lite" on the cotton towels if you are really paranoid. Lets just face it, if your wife will use a cotton towel on your baby's little bottom and face do you really think it is going to hurt the paint on your vehicle! ;)



Changeling
 
I read a post on how to wash and dry a car when puchasing my new car and took it to heart. I use 2 waffle weave MF towels from pakshak. They are unbelievably absorbent. I don't "wipe" or drag the WW for fear of dragging fine particles across the paint. Instead I Place the WW spread out on the car(starting from the top of the car and working my way down) I then "dab" or slightly press on the towel. These things absorb EVERYTHING and leave no streaks. I flip them frequently.



In the past, I used old towels or t-shirts to dry the car if I even dried it. I'm sure i wrecked the paint. I'm sure part of the reason I use the WW is because I wanted a regiment that was completely different than anything I've ever done. May explain my use of sheepskin mitts(by the way, I finally found where to buy them for under $5.00 like the rest of you vets-was paying $8-$12. One word....WALMART). Either way, its been about two and a half months and I've kept up with washing the car every week(once it went 10 days) I actually enjoy it and look forward to it now.
 
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