Micro fiber or 100% cotton?

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grampi

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Please tell me which is your favorite and why. After that, please tell me your favorite brand. Thanks.
 
The types of weaves, that each of these
fabrics may have, can also be factors
in the determining of my favorite
towel(s) for the task-at-hand.


Bob
 
Cotton never touches anything exterior wise but my tires and engines on rare occasions. If doing the Leatherique system on a particularly bad car, I prefer cotton towels in my hot bucket to wipe off the Pristine Clean.

Why? Cotton itself MAY not scratch your paint, but I find cotton holds onto dirt even more than microfiber and never cleans as well in the machine.

Back in the day they used "baby diapers" because it was the softest cloths, but now microfiber is available and preferred.
 
FUNX650 said:
The types of weaves, that each of these
fabrics may have, can also be factors
in the determining of my favorite
towel(s) for the task-at-hand.


Bob
Click to expand...

And your preference and brand is?...
 
conman1395 said:
Cotton never touches anything exterior wise but my tires and engines on rare occasions. If doing the Leatherique system on a particularly bad car, I prefer cotton towels in my hot bucket to wipe off the Pristine Clean.

Why? Cotton itself MAY not scratch your paint, but I find cotton holds onto dirt even more than microfiber and never cleans as well in the machine.

Back in the day they used "baby diapers" because it was the softest cloths, but now microfiber is available and preferred.
Click to expand...

So what do you use?
 
grampi said:
So what do you use?
Click to expand...
Microfibertech mostly, but also Microfiber Madness and Eurow for exterior. For interiors I like the 36 packs from Costco.

I have towels ranging from 300 GSM - 1200 GSM. Some towels have a similar weight but completely different weave amd therefore different purpose.

530 GSM plush towel for waterless washing

530 Waffle weave for drying (though I use my Dry Me Crazy towel from Microfiber Madness instead)
 
I just ordered 8 of the edgeless Korean MFs from the Rag Company...
 
grampi said:
I just ordered 8 of the edgeless Korean MFs from the Rag Company...
Click to expand...

The 470 (actually they are 513 GSM) units from Microfiber Tech are better towels. Ian still calls them 470's on the site because his first ever shipment met that specification. Since then they have been substantially improved.

grampi said:
Cleaning and polishing my motorcycle...
Click to expand...

They'll work for that.


On the chrome, I'd get the Costco Kirkland gold towels. They are 350 or so GSM, and really tough towels. I'd NOT use them on paint however!

For general duty on the bike, get the 360 or 530 gsm towels from Microfiber Tech.

As for "brand" don't fall into that trap. When you start putting a brand name on them they get really REALLY expensive in a hurry. Comparing for instance 3 "Plush Jr's" @ $15.95 vs the same towel from MFT for a fraction of the cost.

You'll get no argument from me that Korean (split weave) towels are a bit more soft in the hand, and by design may actually feel more plush. But that IN NO WAY mean's that you should stay away from Chinese made/sourced towels. Given the same construction technique, the country of origin really doesn't matter. It just happens that Chinese towels, (by and large) are either dual-plush or dual weave. Where one side is short, the other is long and both are looped weave construction -OR- both sides are long and plush, just that they are still looped weave. I have found (as others) that the ones that are really thick (both sides plush) like the 600 and 700 gsm units tend to shed. They may make good rinseless towels, and you can even dust with them... but you'll want something like the 360, 530, ultra-fine 400 or 500 or even the Korean 500's to do your final wipe with.
 
OK sorry to hijack your thread, but reading it brought lots of questions, and it seemed silly to start yet another microfiber thread.

I have purchased a few cheap microfiber towels from Pepboys on a whim, and have checked out the towels at Costco. I also got a few in some kits. The only difference I can tell is the cheapos from Pepboys and the Costco towels have a strange, scratchy feel to them, like they are grabbing your finger prints as you move your hands over them. They feel oddly rough. The others (included in Meguir kits) feel completely smooth.

Is this the big difference between Chinese and Korean? Does the 'feel' of the towel translate into roughness on the car? Is the basic rule to not use rough feeling towels on the exterior?

If I get those big plush towels from RagCompany, are they soft and smooth, or grabby?

Thanks
 
roguerobot said:
OK sorry to hijack your thread, but reading it brought lots of questions, and it seemed silly to start yet another microfiber thread.

I have purchased a few cheap microfiber towels from Pepboys on a whim, and have checked out the towels at Costco. I also got a few in some kits. The only difference I can tell is the cheapos from Pepboys and the Costco towels have a strange, scratchy feel to them, like they are grabbing your finger prints as you move your hands over them. They feel oddly rough. The others (included in Meguir kits) feel completely smooth.

Is this the big difference between Chinese and Korean? Does the 'feel' of the towel translate into roughness on the car? Is the basic rule to not use rough feeling towels on the exterior?

If I get those big plush towels from RagCompany, are they soft and smooth, or grabby?

Thanks
Click to expand...

The reason some 'grab' and others don't is in the construction, and has NOTHING to do with the country of origin. If you take a closed loop towel it'll 'grab' like that no matter if the thread comes from St. Peter at the golden gates and is ferried to earth on the wings of angels.

The Korean towels tend to be split pile which don't catch on your fingers like the loop pile does. FWIW, CarMomma is an office manager and has millions of tiny paper cuts and literally HATES all but the Korean split weave towels. ;)

For removing compound, polish, sealant, and even coatings however I much prefer closed loop towels. I'll use split weave for final wipe with spray waxes, QD sprays and such, although I often start with a closed loop towel to spread the product and use the split weave as the last/final wipe.
 
So daddy,

Which towels do you use for removing compound, polish, sealant, waxes?
 
Mike Honcho said:
So daddy,

Which towels do you use for removing compound, polish, sealant, waxes?
Click to expand...

I'll usually go for the 360 gsm, either that or the 530's. The 530's are more absorbent though and make pretty darned decent drying towels. :) We're talking about the MFT units of course (as I feel the Cobra 530 isn't near as soft as the MFT unit). Overall, it's a bit thicker I think, but it's just not as soft.

That doesn't preclude using the Korean 500's, or the Duragloss towels for final wipe though. ;)

I've learned to like the white versions of the Korean towels though! The Artic White's are nice (albeit expensive) for a light weight towel (I'd say around a 420 gsm tops). Where the White Whale's are 850 gsm, are very nice and cost less. ;) Don't have but a couple of each though... just don't use them that much.

I've yet to have the 360's scratch anything when doing compound/polish wipes to where I needed to move to something 'exotic'. The abrasives in the (liquid) product(s) have a greater chance of scratching than the towels ever would.:xyxthumbs:
 
So what is wrong with Costco towels? Certainly they are in expensive, perhaps even cheap. Do they scratch, making them worse than other options? Or does their price worry that they might not be good?

I bought a bunch because they are cheaper than paper towels, and seem to work well for window cleaning, tires, etc. don't see why they could not be used to remove cut/compound for example, but given all the disrespect for then I have avoided any other paint use.

What's up with them? They are China made, 70/30.
 
Microfiber. I really like the quality of towels from the Rag Company.
 
roguerobot said:
So what is wrong with Costco towels? Certainly they are in expensive, perhaps even cheap. Do they scratch, making them worse than other options? Or does their price worry that they might not be good?

I bought a bunch because they are cheaper than paper towels, and seem to work well for window cleaning, tires, etc. don't see why they could not be used to remove cut/compound for example, but given all the disrespect for then I have avoided any other paint use.

What's up with them? They are China made, 70/30.
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The Costco ones aren't bad at all for stuff like door jambs, engine bays, interior surfaces & the like. I just wouldn't use them on my paint, but you'll see plenty of people that do anyway.

While I know the Costco ones are Chinese made, I reeeaaaaally doubt they're 70/30. I'm positive that they're 80/20.

There's nothing wrong with Chinese towels if you get ones that were made by a factory that was operating to a standard, not a price.

It just so happens that's very, very rare haha.
 
roguerobot said:
So what is wrong with Costco towels? Certainly they are in expensive, perhaps even cheap. Do they scratch, making them worse than other options? Or does their price worry that they might not be good?

I bought a bunch because they are cheaper than paper towels, and seem to work well for window cleaning, tires, etc. don't see why they could not be used to remove cut/compound for example, but given all the disrespect for then I have avoided any other paint use.

What's up with them? They are China made, 70/30.
Click to expand...

The edges are what's wrong with the Costco towels. They start off very soft and probably will be ok for paint for a few washes but my batch that I've been using for a few months have become very stiff and rough, the edges especially. They are very durable however and are perfect for wheels, door jambs and household use. The edges also tend to grab the towel making them a pain in the butt to fold into quarters properly. Also sewn in tags.
 
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