The Magic of Microfiber pt I

ch br · Oct 29, 2013

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The Magic of Microfiber pt. I â€“ Construction & Types

How would you respond if a new technology promised to revolutionize most all of the tried and true processes youâ€™ve completed countless times over the years? More than likely, you might harbor a healthy skepticism or write it off as a marketing ploy. Thatâ€™s a natural response, given the current age of cure all pills and endless infomercials about all-in-one miracle products. However there is one product that, since its introduction over a decade ago, has completely reshaped the landscape of almost every process for all detailers; from professionals to weekend warriors alike. Seemingly no methodology in the car care industry has escaped its influence; everything from paint correction to interior cleaning to how enthusiasts baby their vehicles has been transformed by the magical cloth that is Microfiber.

This first installment regarding microfiber will cover the basics of the technology and composition of the material in regards to its most popular uses in the automotive car care industry.
The history of Microfiber technology has a few varying stories of origin from the late 1980â€™s or early 90â€™s (with development of man made micro fibers even dating back up to 100 years prior), however what is for certain, is that Microfiber [in the auto industry] is a synthetic fiber composed of a blend of Polyester and Polyamide. These fibers are 1/100th the diameter of a human hair and 1/20th the diameter of a single strand of silk. This allows them to be extremely soft while simultaneously adding much more surface area for trapping dirt or debris when cleaning. In addition, since these weaves are loosely constructed, millions of spaces exist within the fibers to allow for the further trapping of particles during use. These are the two revolutionary aspects of Microfiber that grant it its â€˜Magical Properties.â€™

Construction: Polyester is, by far, the most abundant and inexpensive of the two materials used. This fiber lends to the towelâ€™s overall strength under use, â€˜scrubbingâ€™ characteristics, and durability over time. Polyamide grants microfiber its absorbency characteristics and is the more costly fiber to manufacture. Most basic towels found on the market are a 80/20 blend of Polyester to Polyamide. While these are good at all around cleaning, they do not maximize a Microfiber towelâ€™s true absorbency potential. A towel constructed of 70/30 is one that is capable of absorbing 7 or more times its weight in liquid. Also, note that those towels that are of a 70/30 construction, generally tend to be of a higher craftsmanship.

GSM: [grams per square meter] is a measure of the density of how many fibers are in a given weave composition. GSM is a highly touted statistic in the car care industry because many believe GSM to be the overall governing factor for determining Microfiber quality. This is not the case at all, however that doesnâ€™t slow the myth from being perpetuated. For car care purposes the minimum GSM for maintaining paint without scratching is 300-350 GSM. Although many individuals will claim blasphemy for using anything under 500 GSM on paint, that is simply not the case. GSM must be combined with other characteristics of a towel to gauge its overall quality. Using GSM to single handedly judge a cloths quality would be analogous to judging a carâ€™s driving capabilities, based solely on straight line speed, but more on that ahead.

Pile: the term used to describe each visible strand of a microfiber cloth. Each pile is constructed of thousands upon thousands of individual microfiber strands.There are Four GENERAL pile types: ultra-low[no pile] pile, low pile, medium pile and high pile. There are variations on these, however for clarityâ€™s sake these are the main types widely sold in the market. Generally, the longer the pile the softer the towel will feel. This is not always the case, but it is partial truth because the more piles that come in contact with and conform to your hand (or any surface), the softer the towel will feel. Below are the four general pile types and their characteristics:

Ultra low [no pile] are the cloths you receive when you buy new glasses or sunglasses. They are suited for trapping and removing human oils and tiny particles without smearing. These are almost utterly useless for any other sorts of tasks.
Targeted uses: Glass cleaning, navigation/electronics console cleaning.

Low pile is best suited for the removal of compounds, polishes, and waxes. Since the pile is short is has no give (movement away from) in regards to the surface itâ€™s in contact with, it cannot shift and is forced into action, trapping up whatever is on top of the contacted surface. That is why it is considered â€˜grabbyâ€™ and is the best sort of â€˜scrubbingâ€™ microfiber pile.
Targeted uses: Removal of compounds, polishes, waxes. Stubborn spot removal on hard surfaces

Medium pile [combination low/med pile shown - medium pile pictured near arrow ] is the versatile tool in the microfiber toolbox. While it can remove wax [no as well as a low pile] to an adequate level, it is great for general cleaning and can be considered the base level of absorbency, when using a Microfiber for drying purposes. You could theoretically use a towel with a lower pile to soak up liquid, however it would fail to meet expectations miserably. Often medium pile MF cloths are manufactured with a low pile side and a medium pile side, allowing for versatility of usage. It should be noted that these are especially versatile for interior cleaning with the two different pile types they can tackle most any task inside a vehicle.
Targeted uses: general cleaning, interior cleaning, light drying

High pile is best for ultra-absorbency and trapping of the most debris. Both of these are due to the fact that a longer pile allows for more surface area of the cloth.

[ pictured above: (dark blue - typical high dense pile) (light blue - extra high shaggy pile)
Targeted uses: drying, waterless washing, quick detailer.

Waffle weave: while this is not per-say a pile type, it is a commonly used, and discussed weave type. The name alludes to the weaveâ€™s shape, which is similar to Belgian waffles. This low profile â€œpileâ€� is utilized mostly for its cleaning [particularly glass] and absorbency properties.
Targeted uses: drying & glass cleaning.

Microfiber Purchasing:

The main attributes for choosing a microfiber towel for your intended purpose involve balancing: towel size, [The most common sizes are 16â€�x16â€� and 16â€�x24â€�], construction ratio of Polyester to Polyamide, GSM, and pile height. Size is relevant because it conforms to intended usage. Commonly a larger towel is preferred for drying for ease of use, whereas a smaller towel would be preferred for interior window cleaning.
Another note for Microfiber purchasing is the lint factor. Different pile and quality types have different levels of linting: the amount of lint they leave behind when used on a surface. Obviously when removing a polish or doing a final IPA wipe down no lint is desired. However for other tasks, such as miscellaneous cleaning of door jambs, wheels, interior scrubbing, etc. lint would not prove as much a point of emphasis. Remember to always wash your cloths before first use to remove any lint from the factory or particles that may be collected during handling. Of course any tagging will be removed before the wash as this is the only component of a quality microfiber that can damage paint.

While there are other attributes of Microfiber makeup that could be discussed here such as; fiber edge construction, towel border edging, and origin of production, this first installment about Microfiber is meant as a general overview for the every-man, not as the definitive article.
Stay tuned for Pt. II:

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David Fermani · Oct 30, 2013

Great article Chris! Extremely informative. Thanks for sharing and I'm looking forward to more articles from you!

I remember using microfibers back in the early 90's. They were smaller towels and very thin. As I washed them they really tended to shrink most because we most likely put them in the dryer as nobody warned us not to back then.

I heard a rumor that CMA Classic Motor Accessories / PAC Proper Auto Care was the 1st to import Microfiber into the US for automotive use? I personally have a hard time believing this so I wanted to pose the question to you. Can you confirm not only the distributor of origin, but also from what country were they imported from?

ch br · Nov 2, 2013

Unfortunately there is no substantiated proof of either ACTUAL origin of MIcrofiber's development or country. One camp says its purely Japanese while another says its Swedish , while yet another claims that Dupont was working on it in the late 80's and it stemmed from two different innovations.

I looked and looked and its extremely difficult to know whos correct.

AS far as importing exclusively for automotive usage, i dont know. Im sure the first was just tasked for car care but sold under another guise.

bunkeroo26 · Nov 7, 2013

Great article, I loved the info on MF.

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The Magic of Microfiber pt I

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