Guys talking Towels - Bulk or One Off - Good Bad or Ugly

cardaddy

cardaddy

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As of late, we had a VERY productive discussion pertaining to (of all things) Microfiber Towels. ;)

Although it was brought to my attention that our knowledgeable, open, and VERY HELPFUL discussion, that had beem going on for weeks..... is no more. :dunno:

Obviously what is the Army acronym? "SNAFU"

Yeah snafu thats it. Situation Normal All Farkled Up.

Gentleman, (and you too Kitty er: Monica) ;) the one thing we cannot survive without is a quality selection of microfiber towels.

With that, we share our experience and knowledge about all things detailing. Including manufacturers, brand names,
and sources where we find all our goodies.

Beyond that; reviews and independent reliable input are the heart and soul of what makes a detailing community work.

Remove the politics, stray away from (direct) pricing, ANY outside website links and all other discussion (up until recently it seems) has been welcome.

So with that.
What ARE your favorite towels?
Why? What works and what doesn't?
What do you compare them to?
Would you recommend them to your friends or customers? (Because of cost or because of performance? )

More importantly:

Are they affordable?

Where can they be found?

How did you end up finding them?


Having that reference point is exactly why we are all here. Without it, we've learned nothing. And quite possibly end up spending hard earned dollars on towels that we never should have bought.

Just kicking ideas out there. What's yours? :)


Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using AG Online
 
I've fallen in love with the purple ones here. Supreme I think they are. They are super soft and they have two different nap lengths. They are the only towels that touch my paint. I use the longer side for qd and sprays and the shorter side for removal of product. I have some if the 530s but just don't feel the same to me.

My go to wash mitt is the CG dread style (lime green). I bought one to try a few months back and have recently ordered 2 more. Super soft and the old one, other than a ever so slight color change, feels still just as soft.

The inside gets a wide variety of towels but still all mf. I have the golds and some generic Cobra ones that came in a box package. I think yellow, green, and a weird blue one. The yellow I use on plastic, green on glass, and golds on nav screen and gauge cluster. Stuff that might scratch but I don't want scratched.

Those weird blue ones puzzle me. Only one side is usable. The edges are rolled under and no backing or anything and no nap on the back. I never had a good chore for them so I relegated then to wheel duty. Mainly the final wipes and removal of excess dressings.

Drying is a head scratcher for me. I have the Cobra weave ones. They work fine but just don't feel soft like I would expect. They honestly feel almost like my old megs drying towel. I use the Cobra because it's new. I started using a leaf blower some but don't always dry out all in time without spots. I mainly blow the crevices and wipe the rest.

My friends get to use my old supreme shines and megs mitts when I do there cars. They are still fine but I think I've graduated. Really prefer the feel of my others.

I have some really old (5 year) mothers towels that are strictly for exterior plastic and tire dressing wiping. As these age I plan for the golds to move into that spot.
 
I really like these towels when touching my paint with a mf towel.

Shine & Buff Waterless Wash Towel

towel1.JPG


or these

Edgeless Microfiber Quick Detail Towel

towels_2.JPG
 
My favorite towels are CARPRO BOA towels. Best towel I have ever used by far. I use them for paintwork only.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using AG Online
 
I have a lot of different towels from a lot of different vendors. Without getting into towels not sold at AG, I honestly think the best ALL AROUND paint towel is the purple 600gsm Cobra sold at AG.

It doesn't scratch or lint. I have some that have been washed many many times and they hold up very well. You can use them to buff anything off paint - and they have MF edges. You can use them for waterless or rinseless washes. Even the color holds up well after many washings.

If someone was looking for one towel to do everything on paint - I would get these. They aren't cheap , but they are good.
 
hernandez.art13 said:
I really like these towels when touching my paint with a mf towel.

Shine & Buff Waterless Wash Towel

towel1.JPG


or these

Edgeless Microfiber Quick Detail Towel

towels_2.JPG
Click to expand...

Ahhhh I agree with you Art, both of those are nice very nice. The first ones (that AG doesn't mention the GSM are 700's) they can be had from a vendor really close to you in fact. Blue/gray, blue/blue, gray/gray.

I recently got 40-ish and LOVE them!

The gray edgeless, aren't those the really flexible cloth, split fiber with open ends (instead of loops) that are ultrasonicly trimmed?

I'm thinking they are Korean 470 edgeless. Again, same vendor that is right near you. (Not in a retail store however.) I ended up with 51 of those recently and CarMomma LOVES them! Best ordering mistake I've ever been on the wrong side of actually! :)

Lets just say that both of your favorites can be had for A LOT LESS than 3/19.99! A whole lot less. Great towels indeed however.

Disclaimer: When I say "near you" thats all relative as they are in San Diego and I'm in Ga, so yeah.... near you. ;)


Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using AG Online
 
I am a proponent of segregating towels for specific uses, and am always on the hunt for new and different towels. Will focus on just a few.

Polish removal: My favorite here are the AG purple 600's, with the AG grey 530's a close second. Solid towels, middle range price, which is about $5-7 in my book. On AG for 3/$20, better with 15 or 20% off. I haven't used these for anything else, but given the quality they would likely work well for wax removal or QD.

Wax/sealant removal - MM crazy pile are far and away the best. And priced like it. Premium price - $11 each.

Sacrificial towels (wheels, engine, degreasing). Non-paint. Everyone should have some of the Costo golds. Super cheap price category. My marketing slogan for these would be "the best towels that you won't care about trashing." Great for waterless midweek wheel touchup.

As I was typing this, the doorbell rang and the mailwoman handed me a package from MF Tech with some Korean 470's, the dual colored blue/grey 700's (China), and some of their 360's (China). Almost like Christmas over here. Will update this later after playing with them.

The friend/girl told me I should go to MF anonymous or some sort of support group. I guess that's what you all are for. My name is Ryan, and I am an addict. Where's the free coffee and donuts.
 
My favorites are 500 GSM Korean edgeless and 800 & 1100 GSM Korean Everest towels. Between those towels, you can pretty much do anything, but for glass I only use Adam's, but I know they can be bought elsewhere for much cheaper, I just haven't yet.
 
dad07 said:
By far the best bang for the buck here is these

Super Soft Deluxe Blue Microfiber Towels, microfiber detailing towels, buffing towels, micro fiber towel, detail cloth

these are a great all around paint towel at a decent price.
last count I have around 10-11 dozen of these and I absolutely love them.

I/m a 16x16 guy and I really don't like large towels, so these fit for me.


I have many others here from ag and from some other venders....but I always reach for my rolled edge towels.
Click to expand...

I'm with you buddy, nothing beats a 16x16. Recently (in a thread that seems to have disappeared for no apparent reason) someone mentioned The Rag Co had some towels they liked, but they are 14x14 and imo USELESS. :dunno:

Tim, Were you ever able to verify the GSM weight of those rolled edge units? I know that you can get them * in the same colors* from another supplier. Theirs are 360's and VERY affordable (before FedEx shipping gets involved from San Diego.) :eek: Yet still over 30% less expensive (on 12 pack pricing. Were I to have to guess, if you invested in that 10/11 dozen figure you mentioned I'd bet good money you could save as much as 50%, shopping carefully of course. ;D (Please no hate mail or asking for price sheets because I don't have one, current or with those towels on it.)

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using AG Online
 
cardaddy said:
I'm with you buddy, nothing beats a 16x16. Recently (in a thread that seems to have disappeared for no apparent reason) someone mentioned The Rag Co had some towels they liked, but they are 14x14 and imo USELESS. :dunno:

Tim, Were you ever able to verify the GSM weight of those rolled edge units? I know that you can get them * in the same colors* from another supplier. Theirs are 360's and VERY affordable (before FedEx shipping gets involved from San Diego.) :eek: Yet still over 30% less expensive (on 12 pack pricing. Were I to have to guess, if you invested in that 10/11 dozen figure you mentioned I'd bet good money you could save as much as 50%, shopping carefully of course. ;D (Please no hate mail or asking for price sheets because I don't have one, current or with those towels on it.)

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using AG Online
Click to expand...

Tony they are 350"s here at ag but at another site they are 360 I have some from both and they are within a few pennies of each other if I catch a sale here.

can"t tell the difference between the two they are constructed the same and work and feel the same.......like I said when AG has a good sale I always pick up some here.
 
I haven't gotten many towels that I absolutely love yet (I don't have that many, compared to you guys at least), but I want to warn you guys about the RED 300 GSM Eurows (I got them from Amazon). I got interested in them because I thought they were the ones that Larry@AMMO uses.
While they aren't horrible, the edges are crappy and curl like crazy. And my biggest gripe about the red is.. ALL of my other towels and even polishing pads have turned red/pink from the dye just from sitting in a bucket with OPC together.
I put them them through multiple washes by themselves before I used them and they still stain my other towels/pads. :(
 
:mad: BOY did I just make BIG booboo.........

just pulled a load of gp towels out of the dryer.......evidently I put some towels that where dropped in a pile of sawdust in the hamper(thought I tossed them) anyways I have about 50-75 towels that will be hitting the trash.

well guess I'll be scrambling up some new ones.
 
My favorite is easily MM crazy pile. Expensive, but the best I have used. Is there an equivalent that is cheaper?
 
dad07 said:
:mad: BOY did I just make BIG booboo.........

just pulled a load of gp towels out of the dryer.......evidently I put some towels that where dropped in a pile of sawdust in the hamper(thought I tossed them) anyways I have about 50-75 towels that will be hitting the trash.

well guess I'll be scrambling up some new ones.
Click to expand...

Dude, that sucks. Condolences. Hopefully this thread will pique your interest in some options to replace those.
 
I like the 460 Aqua Blue MF towels made in Korea and the waffle weave towels made in Korea. I gave away ALL of my Chinese made MF towels and that is including the MF yellow and all others. The Korean made MF towels (most of them) are better than any "Chinese made Korean product supplied" MF towels.

Rather than pre-bash me regarding what I just wrote. Try them. They are quite a bit less too than some popular site that we use quite a bit. I will not mention any names as I do not want to cause a ruckuss. Again, I get only Korean made MF towels any color or GSM...PERIOD
 
No bashing. Totally agree. I've pretty much decided to stop buying Chinese MF. I believe certain towels at AG, for example gold plush, are Korean MF assembled in China, which reduces manufacturing costs. Comparing the gold plush jr. to other Chinese MF in the same 350/360 gsm range really shows the difference. There is a cost factor to consider, the AG towels are solidly in the mid price range at $12.99 for 3, better during a 15% or more off sale, as compared with 360 Chinese towels available at another vendor alluded to earlier in this forum, which run at about half that price. I like using the gold plush jr. on paint for QD and spray wax applications, and I would not use the Chinese 360's on paint. Others may feel differently, but for my money the gold plush are a better value even at a higher price point, a great towel for the money when you need a thinner towel that is easier to maneuver than a heavier weight towel.

Some members of my household prefer the blue side/grey side 700 gsm's though. These are Chinese MF, but feel like a quality towel.

IMG_09071.jpg
 
Rmd said:
No bashing. Totally agree. I've pretty much decided to stop buying Chinese MF. I believe certain towels at AG, for example gold plush, are Korean MF assembled in China, which reduces manufacturing costs. Comparing the gold plush jr. to other Chinese MF in the same 350/360 gsm range really shows the difference. There is a cost factor to consider, the AG towels are solidly in the mid price range at $12.99 for 3, better during a 15% or more off sale, as compared with 360 Chinese towels available at another vendor alluded to earlier in this forum, which run at about half that price. I like using the gold plush jr. on paint for QD and spray wax applications, and I would not use the Chinese 360's on paint. Others may feel differently, but for my money the gold plush are a better value even at a higher price point, a great towel for the money when you need a thinner towel that is easier to maneuver than a heavier weight towel.

Some members of my household prefer the blue side/grey side 700 gsm's though. These are Chinese MF, but feel like a quality towel.

IMG_09071.jpg
Click to expand...


LOL Great pic!! I do have the AGO Gold Plush MF towels and I think they are decent MF towels. They are ranked 4th in my detail polishing MF towel arsenal. Other than that I stick with Korean made. Thank you for the reply and have an awesome day!!
:xyxthumbs:
 
Yup, dog rocks the blond "soul patch" under his chin. And likes MF. Cat prefers the CG Sasquatch as a bed liner. I don't use those for much else.
 
Kamakaz1961 said:
I like the 460 Aqua Blue MF towels made in Korea and the waffle weave towels made in Korea. I gave away ALL of my Chinese made MF towels and that is including the MF yellow and all others. The Korean made MF towels (most of them) are better than any "Chinese made Korean product supplied" MF towels.

Rather than pre-bash me regarding what I just wrote. Try them. They are quite a bit less too than some popular site that we use quite a bit. I will not mention any names as I do not want to cause a ruckuss. Again, I get only Korean made MF towels any color or GSM...PERIOD
Click to expand...



Anyone using BOAs for wax removal on dark cars?

Are they linting like crazy? Mine do. While I like the towels, they lint terribly every time I use them with any oily type wax. So much for Korean MF. I'll take the AG Cobra 600s every time for the no-lint option.
 
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