Micrfiber Towel lint left on car after removing wax or drying. WHY?

J

jhkunkel

New member
Joined
Feb 21, 2012
Messages
44
Reaction score
0
I use Microfiber cloths to detail my car, and I've noticed, for example, after drying off my windows with a microfiber cloth, I see a zillion little lint specs.
I also see the same problem on the car finish; either drying, wax removal, detail spray, etc. I actually have to go back with a cotton towel to remove the lint!!

Before I get a lot of questions, here is what I use to wash.
1. I wash them by themselves, so they should not be attracting lint from other non micro fiber cloths.
2. I dry them on low heat, or sometimes I just air dry them.
3. I have used regular Tide when washing and lately I have used Simple Green.
4. I always double rinse, and have evn gone so far as to rewash in plain water.
5. I have many different brands of towels, from Meguiar's, to Arnolds, etc, etc.

Any suggestions on how to deal with this frustrating problem?1?

Thanks All,

Jim
 
not sure I have the answer, but mind telling us exactly what type of MF towels we're talking about?

in my experience, some towels just seem more prone to this than others. probably a reflection of the build quality. I have some cheaper towels bought from CG that for whatever reason now, seem to lint no matter what I do in the wash process. On the flipside of that, I also have some more pricey towels direct from CG, that were very high quality and do not lint at all
 
mine do that too and mine are all Cobra towels...it's very annoying
 
I have a bunch of the Meguiar's Microfiber towels, and some of the super waffle type for windows, and i have some that I'm not sure about. I have about 60 towels in all different sizes and degree of plushness. I cut the tags off them when I get them, so not sure of some of the brands.
I just waxed the hood of my car yesterday, and removed the wax with a nice plush towel and still noticed the fuzz, or dust bunnies, or whatever you want to call them.

Over this past weekend I ordered some of the Cobra Microfiber towels from AG, and I certainly don't want to have the same problems with them, as I am now having.

Jim
 
I have noticed the lint too from MF towels on glass and windshields, so I now use cotton towels and the lint is gone. Maybe glass cleaners tear down MF material. I certainly wont give up MF towels for the paint, even if there is a little lint.
 
Every cobra towel I have ever owned either linted from the time I got it, or started linting after just a couple uses. I tried everything to get them to stop linting, and nothing worked.

I had to move on to other brands of towels. The white sonus towels with red satin edges might be the best towels out there. The are super soft, never lint, and don't mar either. I would give those a try.
 
Well, so far the news is not all that encouraging. Microfiber has been all the rage to replace cotton, but it simply appears that cotton is superior in some cases.
I wonder why this concern has not been expressed by more folks in the past.
Is there a secret club out there on how to get this towels to stop spreading lint/fuzz/dust bunnies/lint lines/bits of microfiber/and oh yeah....dirt???
 
Don't get discouraged about MF towels. There are brands out there that don't lint, or at least only very little. Sorry can't mention them here. PM me if you want.
 
Almost all MF towels leave lint on glass. I think part of it is, at least on the inside, you don't have any sealant and it's a high-friction wipe-dry that pulls the fibers out of the towel. You might try to modify your technique to leave the window wet on your last drying pass and see if that help (by reducing friction)--no promises on that though.

I try to use WW's for the inside of windows, and I recently got some of the Griot's disposable glass towels (recommended by someone on another forum), but have only used one so far (seemed OK). Other people swear by the Huck surgical towels or similar, which are cotton towels.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Almost all MF towels leave lint on glass. I think part of it is, at least on the inside, you don't have any sealant and it's a high-friction wipe-dry that pulls the fibers out of the towel. You might try to modify your technique to leave the window wet on your last drying pass and see if that help (by reducing friction)--no promises on that though.

I try to use WW's for the inside of windows, and I recently got some of the Griot's disposable glass towels (recommended by someone on another forum), but have only used one so far (seemed OK). Other people swear by the Huck surgical towels or similar, which are cotton towels.
Click to expand...


Sorry, what is a "WW"?
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Almost all MF towels leave lint on glass. I think part of it is, at least on the inside, you don't have any sealant and it's a high-friction wipe-dry that pulls the fibers out of the towel. You might try to modify your technique to leave the window wet on your last drying pass and see if that help (by reducing friction)--no promises on that though.

I try to use WW's for the inside of windows, and I recently got some of the Griot's disposable glass towels (recommended by someone on another forum), but have only used one so far (seemed OK). Other people swear by the Huck surgical towels or similar, which are cotton towels.
Click to expand...

Agreed! I HATE all MF towels on glass! Huck is the way to go for glass IMO.


I've had a lot of different MF towels over the years and they all seem to start linting eventually, some sooner than others though. Would be great is someone could figure out why or what the cause is. :)

I have a batch of "Great White" towels which I use for removing polish or wax and I have been very careful with them and only air dry with no heat. They are on wash 6 right now and still working great with no linting. Washing on warm with Tide and/or Micro Restore with extra rinse. :props:
 
The lint doesn't bother me work wise but bothers me health wise, I've got to be breathing it in as i'm working Imo
 
I'm having same problems with towels. We have two daily
drivers in black and my black Harley w/super soft paint.

I'm getting desperate. Sure could use help in selecting;

polish removal towel;
wax removal towel;
waterless wash towel;
detailer towel for polymer spray wipe down;

Feed back please
 
Don't buy throw out the towels until you have tried boiling them.

Often washing them is not enough to remove all the residue. In a pot of boiling water add a capful of vinegar (optional), then boil one towel at a time for 1 to 2 minutes. Let them cool a little and run them through a normal wash.
 
keywestwillie said:
I'm having same problems with towels. We have two daily
drivers in black and my black Harley w/super soft paint.

I'm getting desperate. Sure could use help in selecting;

polish removal towel;
wax removal towel;
waterless wash towel;
detailer towel for polymer spray wipe down;

Feed back please
Click to expand...
Almost identical problems. I also have a Black metalic bike and it is a royal pain in the a** to get it looking right. First I got rid of the swirls, and now I have mico lint all over it.

Hope to get some experts to comment.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top