Do you use a QD when drying?

I do better with high-quality MF drying towels than I do with most cotton ones. I suggest that anybody using cotton CD-test it regularly.



I'm generally sticking with the best/softest WWMFs I can get, though I do use CBTs now and then.



On the QD thing, I use QDs ever time I dry my carnauba'ed cars, and quite often when drying me sealed ones too.
 
"Personally, I don't even like the way mircofiber towels feel on the skin of my hands, let alone use them on the painted surfaces of my clients cars." - mirrorfinishman



We have some MF towels that we use around the house for dusting and various things. My wife makes me launder them, because she said she hates the way they feel (one of those "nails on a chalk board" kind of things for her).



I guess it depends on the car, and the finish, but right now I am having to wash with QEW and ONR because of water restrictions. I use MF towels to dry, but I always make sure the plusher (is that a word?) side of the towel is what touches the car. I pull out my hallogens and shop light every few washes and inspect, and I don't notice any marring/scratching/swirling.



When restrictions are lifted, and I am able to normal washing, I may give 100% cotton towels another shot (based off of your recommendation from your experiences). You say you just use the Sam's Club towels? Prior to the water restrictions, I washed the car, dried it with a leaf blower, then sprayed it down with a quality QD, and dried with MF.
 
Just another personal opinion, observation and thought provoking question ... how are the micro fiber towels being washed? What quality micro fiber towels are they (ounce/lushness/density)? Then take the same questions and substitute 'cotton' for 'micro fiber'.

Here's the opinion part: I have seen brushed cotton towels from Persia that rival Chinchilla Fur for softness and suppleness, but for price I can't justify buying them for my personal bath towel let alone my car. Same applies to micro fiber towels. I have several, some are outstanding, literally luxurious, which are ONLY used for paintwork, and some that are good, but nothing like the plush ones and I also picked up a pack of "Micro Fiber" towels at a wholesale club. They work great detailing the inside of the car, dash, leather conditioning and on the windows, sliding shower doors and granite counter tops in the house. Although they 'say' micro fiber, they're far from being satiny and would certainly mar paintwork.

One day I picked up one of the micro fiber towels used in the house, and it felt horrible, almost tacky on my skin. Looking at it I could see lint imbedded into the fibers, yet it was just pulled from the clean rag bin in the pantry. Seems my better half had been washing the house-hold pack of micro fiber towels with the rest of the 'towels'. As she looked at me staring into the towel, she told me they were horrible as they’re now leaving lint all over the countertops … something I told her wouldn’t happen with them. I've always known to wash micro fiber by themselves, yet somehow never told her this little factoid. A simple comparison of my detailing micro fiber towels (washed separately) to her house-hold micro fiber towels (washed with the rest of the cotton towels) was all it took to convince her of doing them separately. (Note: we ended up throwing out the bad towels, they never returned to normal and always left lint behind.)

Alas this long story leaves us with the question: What grade towels, both cotton & micro fiber, and how they were cared for. I think these questions will reveal quite a lot about how well the paintwork finish will/did turn out after only a few wipe downs.

This was an expensive lesson for me, and I hope it helps enlighten you to the variables of quality, regardless of the name it’s identified by.

Hope this helps.
 
I think it boils down to quality....MFs from walmart or sams are good enough to clean wheels, apply interior protectant, glass, and things of that manner...but as far as paintwork goes they should be of the utmost quality. Poorer quality have tough edges that swirl paint...try to find some that have silk edges, I prefer Chemical Guy's higher end MF because they are extremely soft and swirl free...how hard was she pressing down? that could be an indicator as well...cobra makes a great MF too, i know it sucks to spend money and then not get what you want but try to buy like 2 higher end MFs and then be the judge after you have polished to a swirl free finish....PS in my experience it is typical to see swirls appearing in a black car randomly, they could have come from her wash techniques, or just some grit that got caught on her mitt.....I was a convert frm cotton to MF and i will never return to cotton, but to each his own...but i really like how you explained everything and stood behind your opinion..good stuff..keep on truckin
 
Saintlysins- Also, there's the useful-service-life issue. Some of my softest cotton towels, both garage and househould) lost that softness over time. And yeah, I'm very careful about how they get washed. I've always suspected it's my terrible water or my washing machines, but sometimes they just get stiff and nothing I do ever makes them soft again :nixweiss



With MF it's more simple: they wear thin/loose fibers, or get stained, or get contaminated with something that I'm not gonna pick out, or my WWs just quit adsorbing water the way they used to. But I never get that now-stiff-forever effect that plagues my cottons ones.
 
Accumulator really hammers home another point ... 'useful-service-life'. It's somehow hard to admit when it's time to retire a useful towel, tool, wash-mit, etc. Hard as it is to cut down some old towels into rags meant to be thrown out once filled with gunk, wheel well sludge and engine degreaser slop, it’s the most honorable funeral they could get.

As for the water issues, this is Jersey, we have water hard enough to walk on and enough scale and minerals to start a crystal company. I've invested in a pretty expensive water filtration system for the whole house, and an extra smaller one on the back of the dishwasher & washing machine. It's such a problem here, I begged my other half for the Spotless Water System until she broke down and got it for my B'Day (free advice; awesome system, but don’t get the small one if you wash often). I think these investments have been quite worthy in how much better our clothes feel and certainly how well the Micro Fiber towels hold up ... and of course I never need to worry about trapped water leaving marks on the car when I drive off.
 
Accumulator said:
Saintlysins- Also, there's the useful-service-life issue. Some of my softest cotton towels, both garage and househould) lost that softness over time. And yeah, I'm very careful about how they get washed. I've always suspected it's my terrible water or my washing machines, but sometimes they just get stiff and nothing I do ever makes them soft again :nixweiss



With MF it's more simple: they wear thin/loose fibers, or get stained, or get contaminated with something that I'm not gonna pick out, or my WWs just quit adsorbing water the way they used to. But I never get that now-stiff-forever effect that plagues my cottons ones.
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Have you tried the balls you put in the drier which are used in lieu of a fabric softener? I'd bet they'll soften up those cotton towels.
 
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