How to correctly fold and use a Microfiber Towel

silverfox said:
I've also adopted the simple rule to never wipe a dry MF towel on the paint, whether its wiping off wax, drying after a wash, or applying a spray wax or detail spray.

I always spray something on the clean, dry MF towel (usually detail spray or waterless wash) before wiping...just in case the clean MF towel picked up something that could scratch the paint. Small particles of dust or dirt are not always visible.

In other words I want some type of lubrication between the dry MF towel and the paint.
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The issues I see with this is you're introducing a new substance to a freshly treated surface (treated with something). I'm not sure that it's a big deal to introduce water to a wax, sealant or coating but some of the instructions for these products say don't let the surface get wet for a certain period of time after product removal. Not sure how much difference there would be introducing water to the product at removal.


But hey... if your technique works for you Jim I say stick with it.


I personally use completely dry microfiber towels to wipe off everything and have had nothing but stellar results all these years.

For example, every microfiber towel I used to wipe this very rare car was dry...


Christmas Detail - Ferrari P4 - Move over Rudolf


Ferrari_P4_Detailed_by_Mike_Phillips_006.jpg




:props:
 
For those of you who have been detailing for several years, before there were microfiber towels available, what did you use to wipe off polish, or just do general cleaning and drying, without reintroducing swirls and scratches? Was it more common and accepted to see marks in the paint? With so much emphasis put on using the correct microfiber towel, and the correct technique, I wondered what you used to do in the "olden days".
 
Kappy said:
For those of you who have been detailing for several years, before there were microfiber towels available, what did you use to wipe off polish, or just do general cleaning and drying, without reintroducing swirls and scratches? Was it more common and accepted to see marks in the paint? With so much emphasis put on using the correct microfiber towel, and the correct technique, I wondered what you used to do in the "olden days".
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I used hand-selected 100% cotton terry cloth towels and had no problems turning out swirl-free, scratch free finishes.

I had huge collections of towels and I would "hand-select" the softest towels and save these for all the finishing step.

That's the roots from where I wrote this article,


The 4 minimum categories of wiping cloths



:D
 
Just read this, and being VERY new to detailing, I can say that even on the last wash I did on my car, I most definitely used the wrong method of laying the MF flat on the surface.

Thank you for making something that should be common sense to any detailer, common sense to me, as a very new and inexperienced detailer.

I will definitely be employing this when I get around to actually polishing and detailing my car next week.
 
Very nice reading Mike! Seems basic but when you read carefully you always find something you could be doing better. Thanks for sharing the knowledge.
 
tersplat said:
Just read this, and being VERY new to detailing, I can say that even on the last wash I did on my car, I most definitely used the wrong method of laying the MF flat on the surface.

Thank you for making something that should be common sense to any detailer, common sense to me, as a very new and inexperienced detailer.

I will definitely be employing this when I get around to actually polishing and detailing my car next week.
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We all start out knowing nothing and the best way to help others is to share what you've already learned to help others move furhter up the road.



Rod said:
Very nice reading Mike! Seems basic but when you read carefully you always find something you could be doing better. Thanks for sharing the knowledge.
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I know it's a real simple technique but sometimes the little things are the big things...



PreludeVTEC01 said:
Very nice read. Good to know!! Thanks for sharing Mike!
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Best of all it's a true story...


:dblthumb2:
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
Ferrari_P4_Detailed_by_Mike_Phillips_006.jpg




:props:
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First off, the paint on this car.....WOW....

Ok, I know I'm bringing up an old thread but there is too much good info in it that I learned and I feel that this would be the best place to ask the question for future people that might want to know. This article seemed to address everything except one thing I was looking for, which was the "pressure" you "should" put on a properly folded towel.

I just finished doing a huge ass correction and polish to my car and definitely want to keep it as nice as it is now for a long time, so is there a proper pressure you should or shouldn't have on a microfiber cloth on paint? I'm assuming that you could scratch paint with any towel if you used enough pressure, I'm more speaking in general terms, should you always strive for "light as a feather" or is it ok to bear down a bit, what is the "proper" technique when it comes to this?
 
Use only enough pressure to get the job done

There is no up side to using more pressure with a MF towel
 
Thank you, I was wiping with flat towel. Should I use back and forth straight motion or circular motion to remove wax? I have been using back and forth motion.
 
Billbogey said:
Thank you, I was wiping with flat towel. Should I use back and forth straight motion or circular motion to remove wax? I have been using back and forth motion.
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When removing compound and polish especially, I move my towel in one, straight motion. Not back and forth. For wax/sealant I just wipe with my plush towel, either worka fine.
 
One additional thing I do is wear dishwashing gloves whenever I touch a product to the car. Before I started this practice, I would notice streaks from my oily sweat, smearing the glass. Nothing heavy, just unable to get the glass streak free. If the glass is streaked, the paint must be as well. We all have skin oils. Many thanks to Mike & all the members here, who readily share their knowledge, so that everybody can benefit.
 
Really informative! However, one thing I like to do is after folding it in half initially, the second fold would be into 3's. So I'll have 9 sides of clean cloth.
 
Just Wondering... Some Towels have a longer nap on one side of the towel than it does on the other side. Which side of the towel is the best side to use?
 
Cheetoh said:
Just Wondering... Some Towels have a longer nap on one side of the towel than it does on the other side. Which side of the towel is the best side to use?
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The short nap side is good for removing polish and waxes. It will bite and not just smear the product around. Use the longer nap side for a final wipe.
 
Wow, just noticed that you've been a member for over eleven years and this is your first post.
 
Cheetoh said:
Just Wondering... Some Towels have a longer nap on one side of the towel than it does on the other side. Which side of the towel is the best side to use?
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All of the towels I own are dual pile and primarily edgeless. As a general rule, the plus nap side of the towel is what is best used with liquids (detail spray, waterless, spray wax) and the shorter nap side (terry weave) is better at removing polish, wax, and anything where more bite is needed. Most polishes, waxes, sealants, etc. are so easy to remove now days that I've been using shorter terry weave nap less and less.

For glass cleaning, I use the terry weave side more for it's extra bit, then flip it to the longer nap side to buff off any leftover streaks or residue.
 
Rsurfer, sorry I didn't see your post until after mine. I just realized that even though we said basically the exact same thing, you were able to do it in far less words. I envy you
 
Mike Phillips pointed out a great technique for using dual-pile towels with spray waxes. The technique alone makes spray waxes work so much better because it will actually leave a layer of wax on the surface that you will see haze up before buffing off. I couldn't make this happen with my old technique, or lack thereof. So I'm sure durability is increased with his technique. Check out the article here:

https://www.autogeekonline.net/foru...048-review-how-wolfgang-fuzion-spray-wax.html
 
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