New microfiber towels, where to get them from

C

chris03tl

New member
Apparently the paint on my new car is really REALLY soft, so I want to invest in some new high quality microfibers.



I need something to dry the car with, along with product removal (QD, sealant, wax, polish, etc).



My head spins when I try to look around for opinions....Chemical Guys, Detailed Image, PakShak, generic (stocktowelsnow.com), etc.



I know its a loaded question (and I know I can search, but again search results are making my head spin), I just wanted a good set of towels that I can take care of and use for a while. I have a bunch of towels now but I dont want to risk marring with them so they can become my door jamb/regular duty use towels.



Thanks in advance.



-Chris
 
I'd visit with Ranney at PakShak. I love his towels. They are by far the best I've used. (Though I haven't tried everything ;) )
 
I'm lacking in first hand experience... But I've gotta say... The 'Vroom' ones from Target are amazingly soft, especially considering the price. I'd check them out.
 
Heide264 said:
I'm lacking in first hand experience... But I've gotta say... The 'Vroom' ones from Target are amazingly soft, especially considering the price. I'd check them out.
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The eight pack was on sale at my Target.



Sent from my HTC Vision using Tapatalk
 
cptzippy said:
I'd visit with Ranney at PakShak. I love his towels. They are by far the best I've used.
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+1 for Ranney and PakShak. Never disappointed with either his towels or CS. I've tried other brands and PS towels are my favorites period.
 
....another vote for Pak Shak. I just received my latest order from them a few weeks ago. I added a dozen Ultra MF's, a few Edgeless and another small waffle weave to my existing ones I initially purchased a few months ago to try out. I've been very satisfied with their quality, relative gentleness and performance. Call me weird, but I’ve using my Edgeless towels for wiping down the glass. ….maybe it’s the flat weave, but they seem to work well (for me) for this task. In either case, none of them have had the linting issues I have experienced with other towels in recent memory which is a big plus in my book. I'll be placing another order for more of their towels in the next couple of weeks.



Whichever towels you decide to try, I would strongly suggest buying them in “sample quantities” first. In other words, test them out for yourself before committing to a larger purchase of a product that may not perform to your standards. ….nothing worse than buying a bunch of towels you discover can’t be used for their intended purpose.
 
Thanks for the info everyone. Looks like Ill be placing an order from PakShak.



I dont need *that* many towels, so Im not too uncomfortable ordering exactly what I need without a sample order....I figure Ranney has his QC under control (in fact, I emailed asking why the "Big Boy" towels arent back in stock yet, and he replied that they had some samples and didnt like them so they werent put up for sale and now they are waiting on the manufacturer to make better ones)



Ill probably get the ultra edgeless because of my uber-soft paint, some ultra plushes and some of the thicker waffle weaves (or plush drying towels)
 
D&D Auto Detail said:
Let me know how you like the ultra edgeless ones.
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Will do.



I noticed that my current "edgeless" towels will mar a blank cd (and presumably my paint) with their edges. The PakShak version looks truly edgeless in comparison.
 
chris01i30 said:
Will do.



I noticed that my current "edgeless" towels will mar a blank cd (and presumably my paint) with their edges. The PakShak version looks truly edgeless in comparison.
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They certainly appear edgeless to me but there are subtle ridges at two of the four ends. I would hesitant to call "hems" since I can't actually see or feel any thread creating those ridges (if that makes sense). Anyhow, I thought I would provide a couple of shots that show you what the edges look like up close....



....a shot of the corner:

2064549e.jpg




....I used a pencil to try and help point to where I can feel the ridges:

074c7bfb.jpg




....and a pic to simply help show the texture/weave of the towel:

36251f3f.jpg




Hope this helps.
 
Great pics, thanks!



Have you tried the CD test on them? Im assuming they pass.



What I was finding was that my "good" towels (purchased from Gtechniq along with C2, C5, etc) were really really bad when it came to the edges. Basically just the amount of pressure created by putting your hand in the center of the towel and buffing around (without folding the edges in) would mar the paint and the CD. Oddly enough, the Vroom towels from Target fared much better.....you actually had to create direct pressure on the edge of the towel to get the edges to mar the CD. So the Gtechniq towels will be relegated to interior use, Vroom towels to "hidden" paint use (door jambs, etc), and now I look on for some better "visible" paint towels.



Really wanted to try PakShaks Big Boy towels but Ranney is saying another 4-6 weeks before they get another batch and the wife wants her car detailed asap.
 
chris01i30 said:
Great pics, thanks!



Have you tried the CD test on them? Im assuming they pass.



What I was finding was that my "good" towels (purchased from Gtechniq along with C2, C5, etc) were really really bad when it came to the edges. Basically just the amount of pressure created by putting your hand in the center of the towel and buffing around (without folding the edges in) would mar the paint and the CD. Oddly enough, the Vroom towels from Target fared much better.....you actually had to create direct pressure on the edge of the towel to get the edges to mar the CD. So the Gtechniq towels will be relegated to interior use, Vroom towels to "hidden" paint use (door jambs, etc), and now I look on for some better "visible" paint towels.



Really wanted to try PakShaks Big Boy towels but Ranney is saying another 4-6 weeks before they get another batch and the wife wants her car detailed asap.
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I haven’t “CD tested” them but admittedly (and I know this is un-Autopian), but I have never done it before with other towels either. However, I didn’t buy these for paint use so that wasn’t a concern for me. I really prefer something with nap for product removal which is why I’m using the Ultra’s for that purpose. I’m also planning to buy some Ultra Plush towels for QD/QW applications. FWIW, the Edgeless *feel* soft and the edges (other than the ridges I mentioned) feel no different than the rest of the towel material-wise.



I’m slowly replacing my aging “good towels” with the ones from Pak Shak. I’ve been experimenting with the Edgeless on the windows but whether I will stick with those is up in the air. I also have a couple of their window WW towels that work well.



….btw, I have a couple dozen of the orange Vroom towels I purchased some time back for general use. Unfortunately, I found they all had shedding/linting issues regardless of how many times they were washed. The thinner white and grey towels on the other hand (the real “cheapies”) I found worked great for wiping down dirty windows (I clean the outside of my DD daily during the week). ….but that didn’t last long when I found the next batch I bought had changed (had a little more nap) and had the same linting issues as the others. They’ve all been relegated to dirty jobs since. …..can’t even use them on interiors, jambs, some wheels, etc. because of the lint they leave.
 
I know I'm going to get flamed to hell for this but I have never had anything but good luck with the Costco yellow towels as far as marring goes. I have over a hundred of them and after a few washes and they look like that are getting worn I delegate them down to lower level details I do for customers.



I have a vinyl overlay on my roof and hood that is softer than any clear and I have yet to mar it using normal pressure to remove sealants. Let alone mar my clear ,.. and I have an Acura which is soft.



They do lint a bit but not where its noticable removing a sealant , the only place the lint can be an issue is windows and I don't use them there.



For door edges and dashes etc I use a cheap blue/white towel misted with the Woolite solution so no linting there.



I don't hold any faith at all in the CD test as not all CDs are the same and I have had towels marr them but not the vinyl, and if it doesn't mar the vinyl it sure as hell isn't going to mar the paint. .. And if your going to use the CD test .. test it like your going to be using it ... apply your LSP to it then use the M/F. Then remove it using the same pressure as you would removing it from your paint.



This was done withthe Costco towels



IMG_5614.jpg




IMG_5616.jpg




IMG_5619.jpg




And do you think I'd risk marring on an expensive paint job like this?
 
Jesstzn said:
I know I'm going to get flamed to hell for this but I have never had anything but good luck with the Costco yellow towels as far as marring goes. I have over a hundred of them and after a few washes and they look like that are getting worn I delegate them down to lower level details I do for customers.



I have a vinyl overlay on my roof and hood that is softer than any clear and I have yet to mar it using normal pressure to remove sealants. Let alone mar my clear ,.. and I have an Acura which is soft.



They do lint a bit but not where its noticable removing a sealant , the only place the lint can be an issue is windows and I don't use them there.



For door edges and dashes etc I use a cheap blue/white towel misted with the Woolite solution so no linting there.



I don't hold any faith at all in the CD test as not all CDs are the same and I have had towels marr them but not the vinyl, and if it doesn't mar the vinyl it sure as hell isn't going to mar the paint. .. And if your going to use the CD test .. test it like your going to be using it ... apply your LSP to it then use the M/F. Then remove it using the same pressure as you would removing it from your paint.



This was done withthe Costco towels



And do you think I'd risk marring on an expensive paint job like this?
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I'm not surprised. I recently picked up a pack of costco mf towels, I'm from BC too and the ones my local carry seem pretty good quality initially(comes with half yellow half dark blue). Although some other costco's carry different different ones. I use to use the blue/white packs from canadiantire and have never had any scratching issues. I do admit I handpick them since I notice recently some of the qualities vary significantly, probably switching up manufacturers? I bring my current packs and look for the matching blue dye colour which I have found to fade the least.



As for the cd test, various results could be due to different coatings being used by manufacturers. I have tested some discs and only managed to get swirls like crazy for this one set of towels I picked up in Asia. All other mf towels I used never scratched, but some definitely lint more or faster.



My favourite towels have to be Rannys pakshak ultra plush and ultra smooth, great quality and colours are sweet. Not a fan of edgeless because they are white. CG (same as stocktowelnow) are a slight step down from pakshak but can be had for good pricing. They are still very good towels, I recommend the 16x16 or 16x24 yellow/black trim, blue/black trim, blue/red trim, green/red trim for lsp removal.
 
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