Wash Mitts What`s Better: Sheep Skin -VS- Micro Fiber?

[Dispatch]

In my experience of all the car wash mitts available the pure wool mitts tend to have the longer softer fibres and thus are gentler on your paintwork help keep the particles of dirt and grime away more effectively.

The downside is that they do not tend to have so much of the dirt removal powers of microfibre and also being a natural product will not tend to last as long as the microfibre types.

However a good quality wool wash mitt, properly cared for should last you at least a couple of seasons.

The downside of the microfiber mitts, including the noodle variety is that the fibres tend to be shorter and thus risk some the particles they pick up making contact back with your paintwork.

Thus it is equally important to have a process of regular swilling of your wash mitt during your car washing process.

The two bucket method also significantly helps.

Another type of mitt is the synthetic wool type, which tend to have equally long fibres, are much cheaper than the pure wool but not as gentle on your paintwork.

Personally I only use Dodo Juice Supernatural Wookie`s Fist wash mitts, they are pricy as hell but I can find no better quality mitt on the market.

 

[Coleroad]

Like accumulator says, do what works for you. My experience with wool is the fibers are so densely packed they don`t give up all the dirt when washed. I can use MF towels and use as many as I need(a dozen or more) and never have to put a dirty one in my wash bucket. Then washing the towels is easy to get them clean again. That said, I do use synthetic wool mits or cheap mf mitts on the undercarriage of the car.

 

[Accumulator]

Sorta-random thoughts follow, and some of them will show how YMMV (compare with Coleroad`s post):

IME, and I`m sure Wash Technique factors in, MF is *MUCH* more gentle and thus *less* effective with regard to getting things clean when used with a very gentle touch. Wool/sheepskin/etc. is much more aggressive, which is why I use it as the second touching-step of my wash regimen (but only after getting all the "big stuff" off; nothing like MF or sheepskin touches the paint until it already appears clean).

Trying to get a dirty surface clean with MF requires much harder pressure than I will apply.

I find that MF is the one that`s harder to rinse clean, some types of contamination really stick to my MF mitts.

I finally tried the "noodle/dreadlock/muppet" MF just to see if I was missing something....NO, ..[EDIT: original comments deleted]..I don`t like them at all for anything.

 

[Desertnate]

Like accumulator says, do what works for you. My experience with wool is the fibers are so densely packed they don`t give up all the dirt when washed.

This was my experience as well. I found myself constantly hand picking grit and debris out of the the sheep skin or "wolly" wash mitts...imagine a monkey sitting around picking insects from the hair of a fellow monkey.

I really like the chanile, or "wormy", MF wash mits. They are soft and easy to rinse while washing whether via a rinse bucket, or with a blast of a hose. The clean up nicely and I`ve never had issues with embedded debris.

 

[Accumulator]

By pre-rinsing with a pressure washer, and then using a BHB + foamgun approach for the first actual Wash step, you can eliminate most anything that`d stick to the mitts. "Dislodge and flush" so there`s never anything stuck to the mitts, not when they`re going across the panel, or being dunked in the rinse bucket, or...ever.

 

[mobiledynamics]

Call me old skool. I`ve tried many and still prefer SS - the short nap sheepskin - not the long nap ~premium~ merino wool fancy pants one. The short one provides the best tactile feedback for me - inch per panel and I responded back to the feedback, knowing if the panel is more gritty in which I need to back off ever more pressure

 

[DetailZeus]

I prefer Meguiar`s-style mitts; I actually use two of the "rinseless wash mitts" for all my washes. I prefer smaller mitts because I`m dunking in the rinse bucket quite frequently. An extra-large mitt would probably go through the bucket of shampoo before I`m done. White mitts with a short or medium nap make it easy to check for contamination after rinsing. Tbh after a thorough pressure rinse or pre-wash, there`s usually not much more than road film that needs to come off except down by the rocker panels.

 

[Dispatch]

Is there a best quality micro fiber mitt or are they all made the same?

 

[Stokdgs]

I use the thick, chenille mitts available anywhere - even Target has or had orange colored ones..
I like that they hold a lot of soapy water in them so I can squeeze out the soapy water as I go over the panel, and it runs down rinsing, and getting the next section ready..

Since the ones I like best are bright orange, I can easily spot anything in them that`s not orange, so no problem keeping bad stuff out of them..
These things don`t really like to hold onto anything anyway, so I get a lot of really nice washes out of them and no damage...

The thin mitts - could never get used to them.. don`t hold any water, the pile is very thin and short, I don`t like that for my wash process... Don`t want to stick the mitt a zillion times in the bucket to accomplish this part..
Dan F

 

[quebert]

Is there a best quality micro fiber mitt or are they all made the same?

Last week I bought a Gyeon Smoothie mitt, maybe it`s just a placebo effect because of the brand. But it sure feels to be a lot higher quality than other MF mitts I`ve used. Even in the inside feels nicer.

*waits for someone here to post it`s the exact same mitt as TRC`s that sells for half the price lol*

 

[Dispatch]

Last week I bought a Gyeon Smoothie mitt, maybe it`s just a placebo effect because of the brand. But it sure feels to be a lot higher quality than other MF mitts I`ve used. Even in the inside feels nicer.

*waits for someone here to post it`s the exact same mitt as TRC`s that sells for half the price lol*

I have been told that one appears to be the same thing as the Incredimitt and has a bit more friction on painted surfaces compared to the wool mitt which isn`t good if true.

I`m sure there is a industry standard for them, I`m just not sure who it is. Some have mentioned `CG` in the past but they don`t deserve the credit being everything they sell is way over priced, they have atrocious customer service in that they don`t support what they sell along with the liquids and waxes they carry have a short shelf life.

There has to be one or two, I just don`t know who it is...

 

[Mary B]

If I do a wash first up is always a PW rinsing blast, then foaming & rinsing blast.
(Omitting this step for Rinseless)
I use MF in the pad form. Like to swing them around, with 1 per panel .
Dunk them in soapy water, also great for Rinseless. Never reloading it. Always a fresh pad into the soap.
I have 8 sofar with 1 smaller one for the grill.
My black car is a marring magnet. This has been helping.

 

[The Guz]

At one point I had the Adams wash pad which was wool. That thing although was nice and soft was a terrible wash pad. It held onto everything. The smallest thing would get caught up in it. I would have to brush it out to remove any little thing that could potentially cause damage.

I then started to use the Meguiar`s microfiber wash mitts which are nice. They do a fine job. The Griot`s microfiber wash mitt is another nice mitt.

I am currently testing out the Microfiber Madness Incredimit XL. This one holds the most soapy water of the bunch. At first I did not like it and the more I use it the more I like it.

Nick from McKee`s had sent me a wash mitt and bone sponge similar to the Gyeon Smoothie, Incredimit material. Both work well. I use the bone sponge for the lower portions of the car. Holds a lot of soapy water as well. I don`t know if Nick sells these as a stand alone on the McKee`s site

I tried the noodle finger type wash mitts and I am not a fan.

As I continue to test the incredimit over the year I will see if I switch over to that. It is hard to beat the price of the Meguiar`s mitts that get the job done.

 

[Dispatch]

I might be interested in trying one of the micro fiber mitts but weighing the differences, there doesn`t seem to be a huge benefit to them over the real sheep skin ones I nornmally use. :thinking

 

[Desertnate]

Is there a best quality micro fiber mitt or are they all made the same?

I use the thick, chenille mitts available anywhere - even Target has or had orange colored ones..
I like that they hold a lot of soapy water in them so I can squeeze out the soapy water as I go over the panel, and it runs down rinsing, and getting the next section ready..

Agree. I`ve bought mits from Target, Walmart, AAFES Exchange, and Autogeek. They are in various colors, all of them are different "brand names", but I honestly don`t remember which mitt came from which source and can`t tell them apart since they don`t have any tags in them. The construction and materials are all the same. Only the colors are different.

 

[Accumulator]

Is there a best quality micro fiber mitt or are they all made the same?

Heh heh...every one of my MF mitts lints. Not that it`s a real problem when used for washing...

My mitts are always used "full of wash solution" whether IUDJ or shampoo mix even though I`m always spraying foamgun output when using shampoo.

IMO you need different mitts for different jobs, even on the same vehicle. Short/long nap, thick/thin, large/small...When I need to get down into a deep tight spot it takes a certain type of nap, when washing a large flat panel I might want something else, and when doing a coarse surface (e.g., gravel guard/etc.) I might want yet a *different* type. It`s just like BHBs; I use numerous different ones during every wash.

And of course, I`m *assuming* that everybody CD-tests their Wash (and Dry) Media....

 

[Accumulator]

Griot`s sells a sheepskin mitt that`s *really* soft/fluffy/fine in the sense of thin, whispy nap. Somehow reminds me of cotton candy! I *really* like it for some things, but !oh man! if you get the wrong type of (gritty) contamination in that thing it is indeed time to "pick at it like a monkey"!

It really is a neat mitt though, very different from my regular sheepskin ones and perfect for removing road film. Not that I`ve tried all the ones on the market these days...somebody else probably has the same thing, but I always get that type from Griot`s.

 

[Dispatch]

Griot`s sells a sheepskin mitt that`s *really* soft/fluffy/fine in the sense of thin, whispy nap. Somehow reminds me of cotton candy! I *really* like it for some things, but !oh man! if you get the wrong type of (gritty) contamination in that thing it is indeed time to "pick at it like a monkey"!

It really is a neat mitt though, very different from my regular sheepskin ones and perfect for removing road film. Not that I`ve tried all the ones on the market these days...somebody else probably has the same thing, but I always get that type from Griot`s.

So what you`re saying is, this is how it will be after a detail if I use them? :huh:

 

[Surly]

This whole post will fall short of Autotopia, I`m sure.

I keep coming back to "fairly plain" natural sheep skin, not the wookie merino ones. I have found that they aren`t all the same, but the true manufacturer is always kept a secret and the store brand slaps their label on whatever they get, which changes from time to time. Some last years, some barely make a season, and they look almost identical prior to purchase.

Full of wash solution I have found they have the most glide and lowest friction. With a light touch, they hold all the dirt. I have never used a two bucket method. I do use a 5 gallon pail and when I dip the wash mitt I use an aggressive twisting back and forth to agitate the mitt. If really dirty for whatever reason I`ll get my other hand in there and rub my hands together in the wash solution. I`ve usually found the dirt all falls right off, and the rest of the good properties of the wool (gentle touch, good glide, deep nap) keep the nasties away from the paint. I`ve never had a wash marring problem in decades, though it`s usually been daily drivers I try to keep at "best in the parking lot" status and not a creampuff. I`m sure most of you could grab an inspection light and find something. To be far I`m washing off rain spray and grime, and sometimes winter road salt, not mud from offroading.

I need another mitt this season - I have none left and the one I`m using is breaking down (good old natural sheepskin - yuck). I`m thinking of trying to wookie style but in Canada that`s a boutique specialty item than can be hard to get and will definitely be expensive. I have a chenile/deadlock/whatever one and it has a LOT of surface friction. I don`t like using it.

 

[Accumulator]

So what you`re saying is, this is how it will be after a detail if I use them? :huh:

Heh heh, hey...I like that

And yeah...you get the wrong [stuff] stuck in that (otherwise swell) Griot`s mitt and that`s exactly what it`ll be like! You`ll wish you had those extra monkeys to help out.