Late to the party... pfm first impressions

DetailZeus

New member
Finally grabbed a pair of what seems to be the drying towel benchmark - Griot`s pfms. I chose the 16x16" because I much prefer to use multiple small towels rather than one large one.

After taking them out of the bag I was surprised at how thin they were for a 860 gsm towel; they`re a bit thinner than my 600 gsm chinchillas. I was happy with this, they seemed very manageable and folded easily into quarters. They didn`t have that super-soft plushly feel you get with open-end weave microfibers, but they definitively didn`t feel rough.

Test subject was a lease that was bought in the dead of winter so it had zero lsp and had been driven in the midwest for about a month. The goal was to just get it cleaned up and get some sealant on to make it to spring.

After a presoak, pressure rinse, and 2 bucket wash I chose my "carnauba" rinseless wash in detail spray concentration as my drying aid. I skipped my usual first pass with a damp-towel to see how the pfm would fair on its own dry. I primed the towel on the windshield then started drying the paint. I`m happy to report that the little pfm did well in these "worst-case" conditions. One side of the towel would soak up the bulk of the water from a panel, then flipping the towel and quick second pass would take care of tiny streaks. I made it through 2/3 of the crossover before I needed to switch to the second towel (quite impressive).

I didn`t notice any marring but I didn`t scrutinize it extensively since it came from the dealer and I haven`t had a chance to look for dealer-installed swirls or polish it myself. That will come in the Spring.

No pics since it was still chilly and I just wanted to get this done, but overall I had a good first impression with these towels. They`re very manageable, hold a great amount of water for their size, and dried well on cold, unprotected paint. I don`t think I could have dried it any faster with my usual two-pass method with a damp and dry towel. Definitively more testing to come!
 
I have both the Large PFM and two smaller ones.

The Big one does the whole car, the smaller ones are for the nooks and crannies.

These are ALL I use now. Very impressed with how well they work.
 
All I use now also. I want to purchase some of the TRC Twistress towels to see how close they came to the PFMs
 
I have the Adam`s version and its one of my prized possessions now. I will not buy another kind of towel unless they can somehow make it better.
 
Have the Blue PFM`s for windows. Works terrific on cars and elsewhere.

My go to for after I hand wash my glasses. NO streaks.

Not as thick as the car drying PFM`s but ideal for the task.
 
JHL88 said:
I have the Adam`s version and its one of my prized possessions now....

Huh, another something that slipped under my radar. Eh, I tend to knee-jerk against Adams stuff over his one "how to wash" video that I, uhm...had issues with. That might be silly of me (might *not* be either..) and perhaps I shouldn`t automatically discount the product line over it...


I have the pfm and the rag company equal. Both amazing. Pfm slightly thicker but both work very well.
Ah, good comparison/contrast! Which TRC one is that?
 
I have some of the smaller PFMs, and like `em just fine. That said, I still tend to reach for my older WW from TRC. Just habit, I guess.


... Eh, I tend to knee-jerk against Adams stuff over his one "how to wash" video that I, uhm...had issues with. That might be silly of me (might *not* be either..) and perhaps I shouldn`t automatically discount the product line over it...

Same here. But for a different video that I can`t recall. Anyway, I had seen some pretty good reviews for their "blue" car wash shampoo. I managed to get a sample of it, and am hoping to try it out soon. Just got to schedule that job. And I used to be that way about Griot`s. Not anymore, after trying out some of their stuff. hehe. So yeah, maybe we shouldn`t be so dismissive?

Back on topic. I used a single PFM, small size, to dry my wee little Yaris after a rinseless wash. Honestly, though, I should have used a 2nd one.
 
Twistress

Huh, another something that slipped under my radar. Eh, I tend to knee-jerk against Adams stuff over his one "how to wash" video that I, uhm...had issues with. That might be silly of me (might *not* be either..) and perhaps I shouldn`t automatically discount the product line over it...



Ah, good comparison/contrast! Which TRC one is that?
 
Thought I`d bump my own thread here, as I`ve had plenty of time to test these. Again, I`m not someone to jump up and down about towels but I`m pretty happy with how these are working.

Pros:
-No marring thus far. Much of this due to me being disciplined with my wash procedure, and pulling out the pressure washer for every wash. However with these towels you can dry with a very light touch, more so than with most other kinds of weaves I think. You could probably forego a drying aid if you`re bold enough.
-The light grey color makes it fairly easy to see if you accidentally pick up dirt. A yellow or white color would be even better. We`ve talked about this before on here. On a daily driver I`m occasionally gonna pick something up around the wiper blades, body seams, etc. This is my beef with the Twistress, why would you make that towel only in black?
-Two 16x16 towels is plenty to dry a small crossover. I don`t sheet rinse or anything so there`s always a lot of water to soak up after I pressure rinse.
-They`re washing up nicely. I don`t baby my towels, they get washed on hot and dried on low with the rest. To be honest, I`ve never had problems with washing microfiber.
-Zero lint


Cons:
-They`re a bear to wring out. You`re probably asking why I`m trying to wring one out when I said two was more than enough to dry a car. Well I`m still working my way through a gallon of H2O guard and gloss, and the application requires spreading with a damp towel and buffing with a dry one. So you need to wring out the damp towel as you go along. Easy fix is use any regular towel for the first pass and buff with the pfm. Just thought I`d try it, and not really a "con." Remember I`m using the 860 gsm version, I can only imagine what trying to wring the new 1120 gsm one is like.
-One of the little loops pulled out leaving a "string." Seriously not a big deal at all and I could clip it if I really cared. I feel like this is complaining that your wheel bucket got stained.

I`m satisfied, and I think the "twist-loop" construction is here to stay. Can you still dry a car using other types of microfiber? Sure, there was nothing wrong with my method of wiping with a damp, plush microfiber and buffing with a waffle weave. But for an idiot-proof drying towel that works in any situation, I wouldn`t hesitate to recommend these.
 
DetailZeus- Thanks for the update! I still can`t sell myself on the "twist-loop", but I *am* paying attention and you never know.
 
Twist loop works for me.:)

The Blue window towels and the larger Grey towels both utilize this technology.

Quite satisfied with their functionality.

Because they`re such a bear to wring out, I just do a rinse and spin cycle or just a spin cycle on the washer to help it start to dry.
 
I too *love* the PMFs for Glass, but they`re too small..way too small. And I generally like my MFs on the smaller side!

Wringing them out...I dunno if I`ve wrung out MF towels enough times to even have an opinion on the subject other than "why do that instead of getting out a dry one?" Some people have said that a damp MF works effectively, but IME they *always* leave a tiny amount of water on the surface that then evaporates, and I don`t want that. I mean...if I get the inspection conditions right I can *see* the tiny drops of water, and those aren`t left there if I use a dry MF. Heh heh, I fully accept that different people have different experiences, but I`ve simply never had a significantly damp drying medium get every last bit of water off any surface, not once in my life.
 
Umm.. Those instructions are meant for After you`ve dried the car, not for reusing the same towel.

That`s why I use a fresh medium size towel to touch up any spots the larger towel can`t get to.

My comments about them being a bear to wring out were related to DetailZeus`s experience.

Never wrung mine out, just used the prescribed method mentioned in my previous post.
 
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