Chamois -- any problems?

Prometheus

Prometheus

Perfectionist in Rehab
It seems to me like a lot of places market chamois specifically for drying cars, but everything ive read on the board here nobody seems to use them... are they harmful or not safe or what? It seems to me like they are safer than just a regular terry cloth to dry, but maybe im mistaken. I'm just wondering if a chamois is ok to use, not the cheap imitation chamois, but a actual leather chamois. I just trying to figure all this stuff out... i need more terry cloth towels anyway, so i was wondering if i should get a chamois to dry too? Maybe do a chamois to get off most of the water then go back with a terry cloth towel for the last little bit? COrrect me if im wrong, but it seems to me like that would be an ok way to go. Thanks in advance.



Prometheus
 
Actually, from my experience and readings, the synthetic chamois is much better than the leather. Leather will mildew/mold and pulls much harder than the Water Sprite chamois. I read once that the real leather chamois can pull wax off a car. A lot of guys are using microfiber towels for drying (waffle weave). However, I was talking with the owners of One Grand the other day and they still support the water sprite, followed with a mf towel. They were telling me something about the fiber structure of the mf towel in drying situations. They felt the chamois (synthetic) was still better and safer for drying the car when done correctly. How many time have you seen someone holding a corner of a chamois to dry a panel while the rest of it drags on the ground?

I use both, but really do like the absorbtion of the mf towel (6.75 sq. ft.) It doesn't leave "tracks" of water along the edges like the chamois.



Hope this helps,

R Regan
 
i think more of us use waffle weaves. its basically like chamois, but its a microfiber, and it absorbs something like 6 times its weight, making it easy to dry a big vechicle.
 
That's correct. I have one that I can dry my wife's Volvo V70 (station wagon) without wringing it once. The chamois I wring out about three times on the same car. My neighbor just got one from me and he emailed me that he loved using the mf drying towel. Another detailer in town saves the mf drying towels for his best cars.
 
The MF is the best choice although I don't have the money to fork out on a good set of them as yet. I have been using a professional perforated chamois for drying the body and a top quality bath towel for drying the underside of bonnet/boot and inside of doors and jambs

After that I finish off with 3M GE. It's a long process but at least my car won't rust.
 
There is nothing wrong with a good chamois, but as everyone here has stated, the result from a good waffle weave defy description. The amount of water these babies hold is unbelievable! No water streaks, no wringing....enough said I reckon.

I am also testing a large green MF ( tricot cloth 16" x 28" ) from an australian distributor that, so far, is on par with my ultimate drying towel WW's from Autopia store. Not sure whats so different about it to a regualr MF but it does the job. Not gonna hand in my WW's quite yet, but they have a serious competitor.
 
Ditto that, there is nothing wrong with an old school chamois. But with the lack of technology, you will have the issues that others have said. I use one of those "cheap fake chamoises" which is actually more expensive. It's an aborber clone, or a PVA spongecloth.



I think it works great for what it does. I'm fully aware that a WW towel will be better, but my upgrading is very low on my priority scale.



I think, maybe, if I had a roadster from the 1960s, I might want to be old school around it, just for fun, and use a real chamois. Well, when I wasn't working on the car to try to keep it running.
 
I used to use the Absorber,I found it to last a lot longer than a regular chamois.But I have switched to WW MF towels,no more wringing out,but it does take 3 towels to dry my Chevy Avalanche even after sheeting the water over it do to it's size.
 
waffle weave is much faster and efficient, I still have 2 leather chamios somewhere in storage but havent cared to pull them back out after using a ww mf for the first time :cool:



Eric
 
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