Do microfiber towels scratch?

Stevet- I agree with your 'actual' use test as paint will vary in hardness.



CD Scratch Test- with a micro fibre cloth, using medium to heavy pressure rub the surface of a CD. If no scratching is evident then it *probably * wonâ€â„¢t scratch the vehicles paint surface.



The only towels I use are DFTowels and they have not produced scratches on my paint, or on a CD. [ maybe its th quaility of the AOL CD they keep sending me as a test site for towels LOL ]

JonM
 
TOGWT said:
Stevet- I agree with your 'actual' use test as paint will vary in hardness.



CD Scratch Test- with a micro fibre cloth, using medium to heavy pressure rub the surface of a CD. If no scratching is evident then it *probably * wonâ€â„¢t scratch the vehicles paint surface.



The only towels I use are DFTowels and they have not produced scratches on my paint, or on a CD. [ maybe its th quaility of the AOL CD they keep sending me as a test site for towels LOL ]

JonM
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I agree that if a towel does not scratch a CD than it probably won't scratch your car. The problem is I have never found a towel or applicator that doesn't scratch a CD. Some are worse than others but they all scratched.



Just like with your paint different light sources will reveal different defects. I can always find marring on my CD'S after a scratch test.

It's not visible in some light but is in others.



I have brought a CD to the store to test towels. In the store it appears the towels passed. I get home and look at the CD again and I find marring in the area I tested. Different light sources different results.
 
Hey guys you have to try somewhere, I suggest you try harder on a cd than on your car. I think its an excellent indicator. I mean who wants to work hard at scratching your vehicle surface when theres a useless AOL CD right next to you, or probably in your mailbox? True, paints harder than a CD, you make the decision, AOL or BMW......
 
a.k.a. Patrick said:
Hey guys you have to try somewhere, I suggest you try harder on a cd than on your car. I think its an excellent indicator. I mean who wants to work hard at scratching your vehicle surface when theres a useless AOL CD right next to you, or probably in your mailbox? True, paints harder than a CD, you make the decision, AOL or BMW......
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If I used a CD as an indicator I would not be using any of the towels or apps that I have. They all scratched. I have about 300 pieces of MF from towels to wash mitts to apps. All scratched a CD. Most (90%) don't scratch the paint. The CD scratch test is not an accurate test. The paint is much harder than the surface of a CD.





When I test towels on my car it is in a small area and if the towel fails and leaves marring it is very minor and can be corrected in a matter of minutes.
 
stevet said:
If I used a CD as an indicator I would not be using any of the towels or apps that I have. They all scratched. I have about 300 pieces of MF from towels to wash mitts to apps. All scratched a CD. Most (90%) don't scratch the paint. The CD scratch test is not an accurate test. The paint is much harder than the surface of a CD.





When I test towels on my car it is in a small area and if the towel fails and leaves marring it is very minor and can be corrected in a matter of minutes.
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Steve, as stated, an excellent indicator. The test only brings indications of evident marring. Theres no way any microfiber is going to touch my paint without it first being tested on a CD. If through the test, it "indicates" the possibility of marring on a cd, then by assumption, it is possible to induce marring on the vehicle surface. One should excercise cautionIf I have purchased different MF's from say 5 vendors, why would I use my vehicle surface as a test platform?

Some people use washer lids to conduct polish and/or cleaner tests. Its a platform to measure "possibilities".

I think its an excellent idea.



Consider it the "Test Drive" for microfibers.....
 
I tried the CD test with the MF towels got from BJ's. They definitely scratched. I also tested the towels from Walmart also. They didn't scratch the CD. I know where I'll be getting my MF towels!:xyxthumbs

BTW, the MF towels from BJ's were also by Microtex, but they were made in China. The Microtex towels from Walmart are made in Korea. Guess you can't go by brand.



Augustine
 
a.k.a. Patrick said:
Steve, as stated, an excellent indicator. The test only brings indications of evident marring. Theres no way any microfiber is going to touch my paint without it first being tested on a CD. If through the test, it "indicates" the possibility of marring on a cd, then by assumption, it is possible to induce marring on the vehicle surface. One should excercise cautionIf I have purchased different MF's from say 5 vendors, why would I use my vehicle surface as a test platform?

Some people use washer lids to conduct polish and/or cleaner tests. Its a platform to measure "possibilities".

I think its an excellent idea.



Consider it the "Test Drive" for microfibers.....
Click to expand...



How can it be an excellent indicator? A CD and your paint are not even close. It's like comparing apples to oranges only the difference between the paint and CD is bigger than the difference between an apple and an orange.



When I first found Autopia I read about the CD test and tested everything that touched my paint. Everything failed. What was I supposed to do, not use anything on my paint. I mean I had Pakshak, Magic towels, Big blues all top quality stuff and they all scratch if I looked in the right light. So I pulled out the halogens cleaned the hood and went to work testing all my stuff and 90% of it passed. The cheaper stuff lightly marred. It became obvious that the CD test was a poor indicator of weather or not a towel will marr your paint. The CD test only proves that the towel will marr the CD and I didn't buy the towel to use on the CD'S.



You say you won't use anything on your car that does not pass a CD test. I bet all the towels you think passed actually failed. I bet I would find marring if I looked for it. In the right lighting it's there. Maybe not severe but it's there.
 
IMO the CD test is not a proper indicator BUT it can still be a tool none the less. If the CD does not get scratched then you can assume the towel is safe for your car. if the CD does scratch then it is NOT an indicator that your car will scratch since the CD surface is so much softer, it only means to exercise caution.



Also, many people here say to rub the CD with moderate or hard pressure. Why would you do that? You wouldn't do it on your car would you? Just fold the towel and wipe it op the CD surface EXACTLY like you would on your car, not by pressing hard with one finger!



Whenever I do a CD test I apply some polish or wax, let it dry, then buff it off using the same pressure and technique I would use on the car. It's only common sense.



I also picked up a small panel from the local body shop that they were throwing away from a wreck. I use that as a more accurate test.
 
Indicator: "a signal for attracting attention".



If the CD does not get scratched then you can assume the towel is safe for your car. if the CD does scratch then it is NOT an indicator that your car will scratch since the CD surface is so much softer, it only means to exercise caution.
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What have I been saying ????????



If through the test, it "indicates" the possibility of marring on a cd, then by assumption, it is possible to induce marring on the vehicle surface. One should excercise caution.
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I dont know how much easier I could explain it! But I will say it again, an excellent indicator!
 
DFTowel said:




Also, many people here say to rub the CD with moderate or hard pressure. Why would you do that? You wouldn't do it on your car would you? Just fold the towel and wipe it op the CD surface EXACTLY like you would on your car, not by pressing hard with one finger!
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DF Towel, I appreciate your frequent and insightful input on textile matters, but I disagree with you on this. Pressing hard with one finger is *exactly* what you do when removing a wax/polish trace that you missed, or on a difficult to remove product. If you are going to use the towel that way, you should test it that way.
 
DFTowel said:
I also picked up a small panel from the local body shop that they were throwing away from a wreck. I use that as a more accurate test.
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This is a great idea. More accurate than a CD and don't have to use your car as a test bed.
 
Patrick, all I'm saying is don't assume a towel will scratch your car just because it scratches a CD. Use it as an indicator if you want but I wouldn't not use a towel just because it failed the CD test.



If it passes the CD test it's an almost sure thing it won't scratch paint. I have yet to find one that has passed the CD test though.
 
stevet said:
Patrick, all I'm saying is don't assume a towel will scratch your car just because it scratches a CD. Use it as an indicator if you want but I wouldn't not use a towel just because it failed the CD test.



If it passes the CD test it's an almost sure thing it won't scratch paint. I have yet to find one that has passed the CD test though.
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Hehe, exactly, thats what im implying! Im stating the flip side steve, if it scratches the CD, just excercise caution! I think we can both agree we're just trying to be careful here....
 
Let's get this straight.



stevet, what kind of towels are you using that you have it ready scratch a CD. The CD scratch test is an accurate gage on the scratchability of a microfiber towel. Why? Because there are many objects on our cars that readily scratch. Let's name a few: interior wood grain, head unit faces, monitors, speedometer and guage plastic, plastic coated chrome.



So you guys are all telling me that that stuff isn't important? I don't know about you, but when I look at my speedometer on a bright sunny day, but I don't want to see anything.



So back on to the CD test. Any test that shows towels that clearly scratch versus towels that don't make that surface an accurate substrate for measurement. A car panel will never make a good substrate because in general I would have to say that the polymers in microfiber towels are not harder than clearcoat.
 
YoSteve said:
Let's get this straight.



stevet, what kind of towels are you using that you have it ready scratch a CD. The CD scratch test is an accurate gage on the scratchability of a microfiber towel. Why? Because there are many objects on our cars that readily scratch. Let's name a few: interior wood grain, head unit faces, monitors, speedometer and guage plastic, plastic coated chrome.



So you guys are all telling me that that stuff isn't important? I don't know about you, but when I look at my speedometer on a bright sunny day, but I don't want to see anything.



So back on to the CD test. Any test that shows towels that clearly scratch versus towels that don't make that surface an accurate substrate for measurement. A car panel will never make a good substrate because in general I would have to say that the polymers in microfiber towels are not harder than clearcoat.
Click to expand...



So looking back on this thread I noticed that no one really answered.



The last time i checked (which was 2 seconds ago) if I take my flat finger and rub the CD pretty good (bending the CD) it caused no scratching.



So you tell me if 60,70,80, or 90% of the towels on the market scratch CD's but a smaller population doesn't. Which are you gonna buy? I have plastic on my car and there isn't any way i'm using a walmart or bj's microfiber towel (that's isn't in a sealed package anyway, so it picks up everything around it).



Those who claim they have never seen a towel that doesn't scratch a CD, had better try some better towel, cause you are missing out.
 
Yeah, Hi Steve, nice to see you posting here. Heh heh, I've never tried them on a CD, but *your* MF towels never scratch anything that I use 'em on :xyxthumbs
 
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