Scratchy microfiber towels?

A

ahunt01

New member
Hey all, I just got my first package of Zaino in yesterday. Great shine with Z2, without Z6 it's a DUST MAGNET!!!

Anyways, I talked to Sal Zaino, and he said not to use microfiber towels because they are inconsistent in quality and some can leave swirl marks in the paint....So of course I bought some expensive 100% cotton Fieldcrest towels, even though they don't take off polish as well as MF.

Does what Sal said true about Microfiber?

Thanks everyone,

Adam
 
Well I know what Sal says and I do think good high quality cotton towels do a good job, but I'm not giving up my MF towels. :D Of course you have to use good plush high quality MF towels. If you search the forums you'll find any number of excellent vendors that get great reviews. I've used nothing but MF for Zaino removal for the past year or so. You might look into cotton microfiber towels from DFTowel.com. I just recieved some and they look great, maybe the best of both worlds.
 
Sal's answer sounds like one of those safe, non-committal type responses. This way he doesn't endorse or condemn any source for MFs. He's also big on 100% cotton towels for use with Zaino.



Do some research here. You'll find all the information you'll ever need on MFs and where to buy them.



And welcome to Autopia, :wavey.
 
Sal is right. What is that brand that Wal-Mart used to sell, Nicsand? Go with a reputable source for your MF.



Also, regardless of brand, I wouldn't buy a MF from a store that had it so people could touch it or it could fall on the floor.
 
Postwood said:
Sal is right. What is that brand that Wal-Mart used to sell, Nicsand? Go with a reputable source for your MF.



Also, regardless of brand, I wouldn't buy a MF from a store that had it so people could touch it or it could fall on the floor.
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I think thats taking it a LITTLE far .....



OCD anyone ?



;)



You do know your sposed to wash em before ya use em, right ?
 
You have to be careful it's 100% cotton, and made in the USA. From what Sal told me, foreign towels that claim to be 100% sometimes are really a poly/cotton blend which could possibly swirl the paint.
 
ahunt01 said:
You have to be careful it's 100% cotton, and made in the USA. From what Sal told me, foreign towels that claim to be 100% sometimes are really a poly/cotton blend which could possibly swirl the paint.
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And he's right about that too. :angry
 
ANother thing to watch out for on cotton terry towels from anywhere, INCLUDING the USA, is that many say "100% Cotton loops." What this really means is that the yarn looping up is cotton but the base is probably polyester which can cause scratches if it comes into contact with the surgace.
 
ahunt01 said:
Hey all, I just got my first package of Zaino in yesterday. Great shine with Z2, without Z6 it's a DUST MAGNET!!!

Anyways, I talked to Sal Zaino, and he said not to use microfiber towels because they are inconsistent in quality and some can leave swirl marks in the paint....So of course I bought some expensive 100% cotton Fieldcrest towels, even though they don't take off polish as well as MF.

Does what Sal said true about Microfiber?

Thanks everyone,

Adam
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The same inconsistency that one finds with MF's are also found with 100% cotton towels.

Find a reliable source ( many listed here at Autopia)

IMHO a quality MF ( PakShak, DFTowel, MicrofiberTech) is far superior in terms of safety from self-induced surface marring and price ( high quality MF's $2 - $9). I was a hard convert but have not looked back since using these MF's.:xyxthumbs
 
I use both MF and cotton towels, both of varying quality.



I dont see the point in using expensive MF towels for door shuts or under the hood, or expensive terry towels for tire gel ....





Horses for courses i guess, but to me I'm trying to do a top class job while keeping the costs down.



One thing I HAVE learned is to use the best quality MF for glass!
 
Smoker said:
I think thats taking it a LITTLE far .....



OCD anyone ?



;)



You do know your sposed to wash em before ya use em, right ?
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Maybe I'm oversensitive since I'm having MF issues currently which are probably the result of me not keeping contaminants off them after use and before washing. I have to pick out little sawdusty looking bits. I don't do woodwork either.



it's either them or the applicator pad that came with my S100 that's putting microscratches onto my car (which is black since I'm a glutton for punishment).
 
I also used cotton towels only when using Zaino. Last year I picked up some MF's from Pahshak and JTinternational and I hav'nt used cotton since.
 
One thing I didn't like about the MF towels I had awhile ago (walmart towels) was that when drying off the car they just smeared water and didn't absorb much at all. I noticed the same thing with brand new 100% cotton towels too. My old bath towels work great for drying off the car though, how come new towels suck?
 
<center>Microfiber doesn’t cause scratches, people cause scratches!</CENTER>



The quality and price of the 35-45 microfiber towels in my collection range from AutoZone cheapies to CMA’s Magic Towel. In my experience none of these towels will cause marring when used with light pressure unless they have picked up debris or still have label remnants. The big difference between the “cheapies� and the better towels is how much effort is needed to remove wax/sealant. With the cheapies a lot more rubbing is needed to get a smudge free surface. Being normal (are Autopians normal?) human beings we tend to use more pressure if the product is difficult to buff off. Wrong approach! Just use light pressure and maybe a little QD and continue rubbing. It’s taken me a long time to break the habit of adding more pressure to the towel - - staying conscious of any tightness in my arm muscles helped a lot.



When washing I add no pressure at all to the twice folded 16�x16� towel on the horizontal surfaces, and on the vertical surface only enough pressure to maintain contact. When drying or buffing I use a little more pressure, but not very much.



Why so many towels? Because I use 3-5 towels for each car wash, 3-4 for buffing off one coat of Zaino, etc., plus if one gets dropped that just adds to the count. Being a little <S>cheap</S> frugal, I don’t like to run the washer and dryer for just a few towels - so it’s nice to be able to wait a few days until there are more of them to wash.
 
Nick T. said:
Why so many towels? Because I use 3-5 towels for each car wash, 3-4 for buffing off one coat of Zaino, etc., plus if one gets dropped that just adds to the count. Being a little <S>cheap</S> frugal, I don’t like to run the washer and dryer for just a few towels - so it’s nice to be able to wait a few days until there are more of them to wash.
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I agree! :lol :xyxthumbs



ahunt01 maybe try washing them well in hot water. When brand new my MFs absorbed wonderfully. After several uses though some of them perform a lot worse. I'm theorizing this is because they've retained wax or oil or picked up fabric softener from the walls of the dryer. I haven't gotten around to trying this yet though...
 
Well I have brand new Fieldcrest towels (pretty big brand name) and they absorb water terribly. Regular old towels work great but I'm afraid they will scratch the car. I did wash my new towels already. Microfiber have been washed many times and still are bad at water absorption. Maybe my towels are just odd lol.
 
The new waffle weave microfiber towels are very absorbent. One Big Blue Towel from CMA is enough to dry my car absolutely dry. The Little Blue Towel is good for those area where it may be a little difficult to control the loose end of a large towel.
 
Cool, any idea why regular new cotton towels do not absorb well? Do you have to wash them a dozen times before they start to absorb stuff?
 
Nick T. said:
<center>Microfiber doesn’t cause scratches, people cause scratches!</CENTER>
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Next time I checked (never again), Nicsands marred the heck out of the flip-screen on my HU, after that they got demoted to wheels.



Microfibers are difficult to control across brands. Within the same brands they're consistent cause they're made the same way. All in all, CD tests are a good marring test to check consistency.



Cotton towels have no better a chance of being more consistent, IMO, they're based upon cotton crops.
 
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