How many MF drying towels do I need?

J

Jreepers

New member
I've got a midsize SUV, a Jeep Grand Cherokee, which is similar in size to a Ford Explorer and Chevy Traverse.



How many microfiber drying towels of what size would you say I'd need to dry the entire vehicle? I'm looking specifically at the Griot's waffle weave which is 25" x 35". Would two cut it? Better yet, how about just one?



Hopefully not three or more? The Griot's towels are highly rated but not the cheapest.
 
The answer is: always more than you have.



I usually use one towel for the bulk of the drying and another, smaller one for buffing off any remaining moisture. I find SUVs have a lot of cracks and crevices that hold water (particularly the rear, side windows and roof racks) that tend to load up a towel quickly or continue to drip. I would recommend getting at least two. You can use both to dry each time or go an extra wash without having to wash them. Plus, there will always be the time when you accidentally drop your towel early in your process and need the backup.
 
I use 1 large one to get the majority on the flat panels by dabbing them, about the same size as you said, then a $30 electric leaf blower to get everything else. And I really like the cobra green WW towels.
 
Nth Degree said:
The answer is: always more than you have.



I usually use one towel for the bulk of the drying and another, smaller one for buffing off any remaining moisture. I find SUVs have a lot of cracks and crevices that hold water (particularly the rear, side windows and roof racks) that tend to load up a towel quickly or continue to drip. I would recommend getting at least two. You can use both to dry each time or go an extra wash without having to wash them. Plus, there will always be the time when you accidentally drop your towel early in your process and need the backup.
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That was what I was going to say...more than you have...
 
beatcop49 said:
That was what I was going to say...more than you have...
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Me too!



I blow most of the water off with my AirWand and the compressor, but I still often/usually use two or three, plus a few smaller towels for jambs/underhood/undercarriage/etc.
 
Accumulator said:
Me too!



I blow most of the water off with my AirWand and the compressor, but I still often/usually use two or three, plus a few smaller towels for jambs/underhood/undercarriage/etc.
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How is that AirWand compared to just a plain electric leaf blower???
 
pwaug said:
How is that AirWand compared to just a plain electric leaf blower???
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I've never used the blower without the AirWand attached, so I can't say for certain. BUT....the configuration of the AirWand (long rectangular slot that's easy to hold parallel to the panels) seems so swell that I'm confident it's a lot better. Better enough to justify the expense? :nixweiss Was for me, but...well, that's just me. I will say that it's one of those "toys" that someone else might be all :nono: :rolleyes: about, but I use it at *EVERY* wash and if it weren't any good I'd just pitch it and poke fun at myself for wasting the money.



It did take a little while to get the hang of using it efficiently though ("efficiently" = worth the bother as opposed to just grabbing another drying towel), not like it seemed all that swell the first few times I tried it ("eh, this thing's kinda a hassle..maybe it's just a gimmick" :think: ) but with a bit of use/thought/experimentation I fell in love with it. Gotta use a good "water flies across it" LSP though; on bare paint/dead LSPs it's utterly useless.



One more thing- gotta keep an eye on where it attaches to the leafblower hose! I had the thing pop apart and that sent things flying and the hose was whipping around and, well.... :eek: No damage (pure luck!) and it hasn't happened since, but you gotta inspect it and replace the fittings that hold it all together *before* they fail. I also taped mine for a little extra insurance as the whole episode really spooked me. Gee, did that just scare off any potential purchasers?!?



Jreeepers said:
Accumulator, two or three for just one vehicle (presumably a car), or all of them?
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That's two WWMFs plus additional drying towels for *one* vehicle, even if it's just a car as opposed to something like an SUV. I can imagine somebody getting by with fewer, but I'm just not that guy :grinno:
 
Thanks for the AirWand info!!! I use the leaf blower all the time, but often wondered if there was something that made it more efficient--looks like this might be just the thing. Know what you mean about the finish needs to be slick for even the blower to work.
 
I have about 25 quality microfiber towels (~560 gsm or whatever the rating is, I forget) and 2 quality waffle weave drying towels. I also have about 15 lower quality microfibers for the dirty jobs. I find this to be plenty.



I've been very happy with the blue 560 gsm microfibers and the blue Korean waffle weave towels on microfibertech.com.
 
I just ordered one of the Uber Super Drying towels from Detailers Domain. I'm going to purposely not blow dry the car and fully expect this towel alone to dry up all traces of water from my paint-- I'll give it a headstart by squeegeeing my windows. I look forward to the results.
 
beatcop49 said:
That was what I was going to say...more than you have...
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Me too.



What I was going to say is buy more than you need for the task. Think you need two drying towels? Double or triple that. Likewise for the other types for other tasks.



The reason I say that is I've accumulated enough MF towels of various types so I can afford to let the dirty towel volume pile up until I have enough for a decent load in the washing machine (just like household laundry). I'd be reluctant to run the machines just to wash a scant few 3-5 towels, for example. Especially since you are not supposed to wash MFs with other types of fabrics. I'd rather do fewer larger wash loads than many smaller loads. But that's just me.
 
David Fermani said:
Keep us posted...about how the Detailer's Domain drying towels work out]...
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Yeah, I'm interested too. *ESPECIALLY* about any linting.



There are situations where I do greatly prefer a plush drying towel over a WW, but the ones I have lint too much for use on areas that show (note however that others using the exact same towels did *not* have this problem :think: :nixweiss )
 
As always, as soon as I get it, into the wash it will go to hopefully remove any initial lint, then I will have it ready for drying the car. I wont fret if it lints a little during the first use. I ll keep on trying to see how long before (hopefully) theres no lint at all. So Im thinking this will probably be my exclusive drying towel this summer.
 
Lets just say it wouldn't be the first nor will it be the last time, strong product claims from the detailing world have wooed me. This is just me getting rid of all the what if-type of questions I would have if I didn't try it.
 
Yeah, I felt the same way when I tried the plush MF drying towel that Tom P recommended. I've never before had a plush MF get *all* the water, but those did. Other than the lint (wonder why it only seemed to happen to me :confused: ) I did like them, but my local Walmart doesn't stock them any more but rather a pretty crappy substitute.. just good enough to keep in the Tahoe for when I'm hauling stuff; I drape it over the painted part of the rear bumper just in case something spills.
 
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