Need microfiber tips

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P-nut

New member
New guy here. I've been using microfiber towels for detailing but I have several questions about them:



1. How do I get the darn stains out? The clothes washer gets most of the dirt out, but the faint stains stay forever. Any ideas to get them perfectly clean?



2. Is it okay to use them on my paint again even with these residual stains?



3. Someone just told me they should always be washed by themselves - never with clothes or other stuff in the same load. My MF towels have lots of lint in them - is this why?



4. What are the favorite MF towels that people are using, and where to get them? I've been using the ones I find at my LAPS but I think they might be cheap and low quality, because this weekend I found some really plush, soft ones (more expensive) at a detailing supply store. Are the more expensive ones worth it?
 
1. Stains are okay, no big deal

2. Yes

3. True and yes.

4. Sometime expensive is better, just depends. Sometimes expensive is bigger, but bigger is not necessarily better. A good texture test is to run the palm of your hand on the grade of the MF and if you feel the fibers in the MF stick/grab to the texture of your hand then it is a good quality.
 
really? if they stick or grab to your hand then its a good quality microfibre?

and here i thought... theres no way im gonna buy it cause its like grabbing my hand... what else if i put it on the paint?

costco's microfibres were like that..

and the ones i have now are kind of have a suede feeling... is that any good?
 
I don't use the suede kinds, I use the ones that grab the texture of your hand. Are you pleased with the suede kinds?



I have not had a problem with the MF messing up the paint on my vehicles.
 
I found that with the suede kind, there was little or not lint because it has no little "hairs" that can actually capture lint.

the downside is that because it has no "hairs", it tends to push dry wax or polish off and dust after lifting the cloth... and having a black car, it is tough to get rid of.



I will have to try the ones that actually grab your hand, i thought it would scratch like crazy
 
Not true with scratching, I use them on black, blue, and red cars all the time, works great. Just make sure they are tagless or you rip the tag off before you use them.
 
Good info here, thanks. My new wash mitt has the suede MF "worms". I haven't used it yet but I hope they're good.
 
autoprecise1 said:
... A good texture test is to run the palm of your hand on the grade of the MF and if you feel the fibers in the MF stick/grab to the texture of your hand then it is a good quality.
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That is not only totally false but very irresponsible to post such information. Cheapo Costco, Walmart, Target, etc. towels are very grabby but of very inferior and inconsistent quality.
 
DFTowel said:
That is not only totally false but very irresponsible to post such information. Cheapo Costco, Walmart, Target, etc. towels are very grabby but of very inferior and inconsistent quality.
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umm oki doke.
 
P-nut said:
Good info here, thanks. My new wash mitt has the suede MF "worms". I haven't used it yet but I hope they're good.
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i also have the wash mitt with suede MF worms lol... for a noob, I find that it does pretty good... and the only time i find i get swirl marks is when polishing with the microfiber towels
 
believe it or not Target currently holds the rights for a brand call Vroom, which makes outstanding products for their price. They have many different types of MF towels. Your really cant go wrong with their value MF towels, and their orange higer quality ones.
 
DFTowel said:
That is not only totally false but very irresponsible to post such information. Cheapo Costco, Walmart, Target, etc. towels are very grabby but of very inferior and inconsistent quality.
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Could you elaborate on the requirements for MF towels to qualify as good/better. Also what does one look for to separate the cheap ones from the good ones. I know price can be a false indicator but some brand names could be usefull ;) .
 
ActionPack said:
Could you elaborate on the requirements for MF towels to qualify as good/better. Also what does one look for to separate the cheap ones from the good ones. I know price can be a false indicator but some brand names could be usefull ;) .
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http://www.guidetodetailing.com/articles.php?articleId=44



Here's an article that will get you started. Since I've started getting into detailing as a hobby, I've purchased a ton of MF towels. Different weaves, low/med/high pile and from different online vendors, OTC and even Sam's Club. I've found that I like certain towels for certain uses. There are others to swear that Costco and Sam's Club MF are fine for paint, but I just used them for general purpose towels for cleaning the engine comparment and even around the house. I just have other towels that I use for paint and glass. Probably not what you wanted to hear, but like most things in detailing, you have to try and find out what works for YOU (and hope that you don't spend TOO much money, like I probably have :) ).



There are many online vendors that sell really good quality MF. I typically get my MF from Autopia, Pakshak and Excel. Can go wrong with the MF that they sell.
 
DFTowel said:
That is not only totally false but very irresponsible to post such information. Cheapo Costco, Walmart, Target, etc. towels are very grabby but of very inferior and inconsistent quality.
Click to expand...



The ones that I got from Sam's are VERY grabby. They seem to pick up anything and sometimes I need a tweezer to get stuff like a piece of dried leaf out. I do notice that my 80/20 blend towels feel more "grabby" than the 70/30 towels, but I wouldn't count on that fact to determine if I trust them on paint.
 
DFTowel said:
That is not only totally false but very irresponsible to post such information. Cheapo Costco, Walmart, Target, etc. towels are very grabby but of very inferior and inconsistent quality.
Click to expand...



You really need to take a look at targets in house brand Vroom again.
 
You need to do a CD test. Take the MF in question and rub a CD that you don't need. If it scratches, it doesn't go on paint. I still question some MF's even if they don't scratch and if it's questionable to me, it still doesn't go on paint. Grabby doesn't mean anything. There are many different type of MF, some grab, some don't. Some are smoother, some are not.

80/20, 70/30,75/25 blends behave differently. Plush, smooth, suede, WW,Alpine Fiber etc.

Sometimes the MF will not scratch but the edges will. Some have silk or MF edging, some have no edging at all, some have sewn edging, some just have garbage edging. It is split fiber or not? Lots and lots of variables. Do your research here and look for the brands that we ALL seem to love and use without any problems.
 
EMazda3S said:
You need to do a CD test. Take the MF in question and rub a CD that you don't need. If it scratches, it doesn't go on paint. I still question some MF's even if they don't scratch and if it's questionable to me, it still doesn't go on paint. Grabby doesn't mean anything. There are many different type of MF, some grab, some don't. Some are smoother, some are not.

80/20, 70/30,75/25 blends behave differently. Plush, smooth, suede, WW,Alpine Fiber etc.

Sometimes the MF will not scratch but the edges will. Some have silk or MF edging, some have no edging at all, some have sewn edging, some just have garbage edging. It is split fiber or not? Lots and lots of variables. Do your research here and look for the brands that we ALL seem to love and use without any problems.
Click to expand...



I also do a CD test on all my MF when trying out new ones and periodically on older ones after they've gone through some washes. I forgot to mention to wash your new MF before use. If you purchase from MicroPak, the towels with come with directions stating this, but I have noticed in a few MF's that they will leave scratches on a CD before washing for the first time and then nothing afterwards. I guess it picks up things in the factory or something else, I don't know. That's just my observation and along with MicroPak's recommendation of washing new MF's, I do it with ALL of my new MF's.
 
PakShak has very nice MF towels, and yes, consensus is to wash them alone for best results. Many find Woolite to be good for washing them--adding a little white vinegar to the final rinse.



As to grabbiness. That can depend on the oiliness or lack thereof on your hands? Wash your hands and pick up just about any MF and you'll experience that "stickiness".
 
I find removing stains is easiest with a pre-machine wash, hand wash. Just warm water with a bit of lanundry detergent, and a bit of elbow grease goes a long way!
 
BMWWW said:
I find removing stains is easiest with a pre-machine wash, hand wash. Just warm water with a bit of lanundry detergent, and a bit of elbow grease goes a long way!
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When you wash, make sure you DO NOT use fabric softener. This will render your microfibers useless.
 
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