Microfiber Towels

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Ordered a dozen MFT 530 and 360 towels. I've been using the Cobra Supreme 530 for a while, but the prices are no longer agreeable to me. Hope the MFT 530 will be a good substitute.
 
roguegeek said:
Ordered a dozen MFT 530 and 360 towels. I've been using the Cobra Supreme 530 for a while, but the prices are no longer agreeable to me. Hope the MFT 530 will be a good substitute.
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I have a dozen of both of those as well. You will not be disappointed. I ordered a dozen of the 600 GSM waterless wash towels over the weekend. Pretty sure they're the same as the Chinchilla towel.
 
Im sorry but Germany produces the finest towels hands down followed by Korea IMO. Are all mine from Germany no but one can wish.
 
Well all power to you have fun paying $10-15 per 16x16 towel. MFTs towels are made on German machines. Yea they're made in China but a lot of their towels are 70/30 ratio towels and I have both MFT 360
GSM and Korean made TRC 360 GSM towels and I think the MFT are actually a bit better and cheaper.
 
I use the 800gsm to apply PNS. So much easier than the sonax applicator, better/more even application and no scratches.
 
tenblade2001 said:
I use the 800gsm to apply PNS. So much easier than the sonax applicator, better/more even application and no scratches.
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I've next found a reason for that heavy of a towel. I don't even use a 600 GSM towel anymore. The only large GSM towel I use is my Dry Me Crazy towel.

More threads doesn't reduce scratches after a certain point. Higher GSM towels are just too annoying to handle.

For waterless washes I use MFT Korean towels.

For rinseless washes I use MFT 360 GSM towels.

For polishing, QD, and everything listed above I've also used MFT 530 GSM towels.

The best towels are made from (insert country) is ridiculous. Yeah, Microfiber Madness is better than MFT, but have any of my MFT towels scratched? Nope. So why would I spend more to get the SAME RESULTS?

Yeah, my Korean towels lint a bit, but I'm perfectly happy to deal with a little lint instead of spending over $10 a towel for a Crazy Pile that doesn't lint.
 
I can't comment on the MFT towels, but I do like Gold Plush towels from AG. I do like the Microfiber Madness towels I have too. Definitely some of the best I have purchased.

Not worried about the cost of towels as they hold up really well if taken care of.
 
roguegeek said:
Ordered a dozen MFT 530 and 360 towels. I've been using the Cobra Supreme 530 for a while, but the prices are no longer agreeable to me. Hope the MFT 530 will be a good substitute.
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IMO... the MFT 530 is a bit softer than the Cobra (albeit a bit thinner). The loops are not as long, but seem to be a bit more dense.

DogRescuer said:
Im sorry but Germany produces the finest towels hands down followed by Korea IMO. Are all mine from Germany no but one can wish.
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Nothing is expensive if you want it. You just have to quantify your level of 'want'.

I used to tell people that all the time when I was designing Home Theaters for them. The wife would want cheap electronics and expensive furniture and fabrics, where the husband would want expensive electronics and could care less about fancy curtains.

conman1395 said:
I've next found a reason for that heavy of a towel. I don't even use a 600 GSM towel anymore. The only large GSM towel I use is my Dry Me Crazy towel.

More threads doesn't reduce scratches after a certain point. Higher GSM towels are just too annoying to handle.

For waterless washes I use MFT Korean towels.

For rinseless washes I use MFT 360 GSM towels.

For polishing, QD, and everything listed above I've also used MFT 530 GSM towels.

The best towels are made from (insert country) is ridiculous. Yeah, Microfiber Madness is better than MFT, but have any of my MFT towels scratched? Nope. So why would I spend more to get the SAME RESULTS?

Yeah, my Korean towels lint a bit, but I'm perfectly happy to deal with a little lint instead of spending over $10 a towel for a Crazy Pile that doesn't lint.
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:dblthumb2::iagree::dblthumb2:

I've yet to see, feel, have, witness, or even THINK about any damage from something as lowly as the MFT 360's. (Which btw I still challenge anyone to find the Plush Jr's in a stack of them.) ;)

They (the 360's) are MASSIVELY better, thicker, softer, more plush than a 280gsm towel (or maybe they're 200~250) that you'll find coming in your buffer kit from Rupes. Yet Rupes recommends we work with those towels when wiping compound and polish. And fwiw... they are soft as well. Just not plush, far from it. There is no country of origin on them, and at the end of the day it really doesn't matter. What matters is simple.... Do your towels damage your paint?

Some of us have read the below text before. Which is one of the things that comes into play when, (for instance) you're comparing the Cobra 530's to the MFT 530's. Both are stated to be the same 'weight' but they are drastically different in hand.

First of all, there are many other factors that effect the quality of a microfiber fabric, and there are many factors that effect the performance for a particular task. There can be huge quality differences between two similarly constructed fabrics (yarn quality, construction quality, quality control), and there can be huge differences in performance (for a particular task) between two quality fabrics.

Second, most microfiber fabrics are labeled incorrectly. The truth is that the U.S. Government requires that companies label their imported products with the country of origin and the content of the product (in our case the ratio of polyester to polyamide). They don't require that these content declarations be 100% accurate. In fact for a given product on a given production run, there will be a +/- 2% difference in fiber content, and no perceivable difference for the user. On top of that, a manufacturer will label the towels in what ever manner (within reason) the buyer requests.

You may be thinking, "That sure is deceptive.", but it really is just a matter of semantics. For the most part, all microfiber yarns start out as a blend of 70% polyester and 30% polyamide. For most microfiber products (not waffle weave) the microfiber yarn is woven through a polyester backing (ground), at this point the composition of the product is closer to 80% polyester and 20% polyamide, because you have to add in the 100% polyester backing. Some factories will call this fabric 70/30 and some 80/20.

Most microfiber towels are made in Korea or China, with some now made in Pakistan, Indonesia, and Vietnam. A decade ago Korea was pretty much the only place where microfiber was manufactured (along with some in Japan), only a small amount was made in China, but the quality was very poor. In the last few years many Chinese factories have made leaps and bounds in manufacturing processes and quality control. The bottom line is that now-a-days there are high and low quality products coming out of both Korea and China. Often times, as is the case with many of our products, the fabrics are made in Korea, then sent to China to be cut and sewn, where the labor is less expensive, and labeled "Made in China".

So there you have it!

The bottom line is that you should not judge a microfiber product by its label. The labels are often incorrect or misleading, and you should not base your buying decisions on the information on the label. There are other more important factors that go into the quality of a product, or the appropriateness of the product for a particular cleaning task.
 
I judge a MF towel by how it feels on my hands: many (most) cheaper rags tend to "Velcro" to my skin when they're dry and clean, which I find highly irritating. I relegate these rags to my "utility" collection. The better towels, whether German, Korean, Chinese or a collaboration -- without fail -- pass the "Velcro" check with flying colors. My favorites all-around are royal blue or orange, open pile plush edgeless towels from a place that's not this place.
 
DogRescuer said:
Im sorry but Germany produces the finest towels hands down followed by Korea IMO. Are all mine from Germany no but one can wish.
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Which are "made" in Germany? MM had their towels made in Korea When they first started selling in US. Are all of their offerings now exclusively from Germany? Or better question, is there another seller who has German towels that aren't $10+ apiece?

I love the summit 800's for rinseless, and would like to have more, but $15 is brutal for one.
 
Costco ones aren't bad when new but after a few cycles through the washer and dryer they become quite stiff and the edges become quite hard and probably not paint safe. I use them on paint when new and maybe a few washes but after that they become wheel/tire/engine bay towels then trash towels.
 
SameGuy said:
I judge a MF towel by how it feels on my hands: many (most) cheaper rags tend to "Velcro" to my skin when they're dry and clean, which I find highly irritating. I relegate these rags to my "utility" collection. The better towels, whether German, Korean, Chinese or a collaboration -- without fail -- pass the "Velcro" check with flying colors. My favorites all-around are royal blue or orange, open pile plush edgeless towels from a place that's not this place.
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I'm not sure that's the fairest way to judge a towel. What you're feeling is just a few fibers that have frayed off from the rest of the loops and catching on your callouses. Some people don't have that many callouses so they wouldn't feel anything.
 
The only reason a towel 'grabs' on your hands is because of the construction of the PILE. It has nothing at all to do with the country of origin. Junkman tried that approach years ago.... because he didn't know any better. ;)

When you are talking about a closed loop design, no matter how thick or thin the thread, it's still closed loop, and if you have rough skin on your hands, they will ALL drag. Doesn't matter if it's made in Korea, China, Germany, of inside the Pearly Gates of Heaven from the wings of Angels, touched only by babies less than 30 days old.

Where when you have split pile construction, without closed loops... they don't drag.

CarMomma complains to no end about microfiber towels because she handles files all day, she is a title manager and literally hates to deal with microfiber towels. If I wash a load of towels and leave them in the dryer, she'll leave them for a WEEK before she'll wash clothes. She's just not touching them! Doesn't matter if they are all Korean, German, or a mix of everything.

I have softer hands (not as cut up on the surface) because I'm retired, old, and watch a lot of TV... ;) and towels tend not to 'drag' on my hands no matter what the construction type.

Case in point. Take a towel that drags on your palm, then slide it across the back of your hand, then the inside of your forearm. Doesn't drag there. The towel didn't change... only the skin. ;)


YIKES... Costco Kirkland Gold towels for rinseless. :eek:
Must be some crazy hard paint. Then again... Mike Phillips would be the first to say that hard paint swirls easy as well. (Just that it's harder to correct.) ;)


I keep a solid supply of the Kirkland towels on hand, but can't bring myself to putting them on exterior paint (at least not on a swirl free finish).

Last 360's I bought I ended up with like a buck-teens-ish (after shipping) in them which before shipping wasn't even twice what the Costco towels run. I'll use them on paint anywhere, anytime. Of course that was 180 of them, and I don't expect to be running low anytime soon. (Even after selling a bunch!) ;)
 
pheerix said:
Costco ones aren't bad when new but after a few cycles through the washer and dryer they become quite stiff and the edges become quite hard and probably not paint safe. I use them on paint when new and maybe a few washes but after that they become wheel/tire/engine bay towels then trash towels.
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I can see where that might be true^
1 thing I like about rinseless is that they stay soaked in the bucket and are pretty wet when used on the paint. The D114 saturates the towels and makes them glide across the surface for easy cleaning.

I think the rinseless solution is just as important if not more than what kind of towels are used. As long as the towels are decent, I really don't see how anything could go wrong.
 
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