Microfiber sorting, washing, and workflow

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SwedishRider

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Hello to everyone here at AutoGeek. I'm new here, and still trying to take it all in and learn detailing and machine polishing concepts. I bought Mike Phillips' book and DVD, and they have been a HUGE help in understanding both detailing and machine polishing. I am having trouble understanding Mike's method of microfiber management. I'm hoping to poll the wisdom of the forum, and maybe get Mike's thoughts directly on my understanding of his method.

On page 100-101 of "The Complete Guide to A Show Car Shine", Mike goes over his Microfiber (and Cotton Terry) towel strategy. He outlines 3 bins that should be used for dirty towels:

Bin 1: Water-soluble residues- compounds, polishes, glazes, and paint cleaners
Bin 2: Waxes, paints sealants
Bin 3: Everything Else - Don't use these to wipe polished paint.

So I took three empty 5 gallon pails, and labeled them as such.



Then, Mike goes on to write that there should be a minimum of 4 categories of wiping towels:

-Good Microfiber Towels
-Tatty Microfiber Towels
-Good Cotton Towels
-Tatty Cotton Towels

So I re-purposed 4 storage tubs and labeled them as such.



For the purposes of this thread, let's assume that the washing procedures are followed as described in the book. They are pretty straightforward, and I have specific, quality microfiber wash that I currently use.

Here's where I don't follow Mike's method... how does this all fit into a detailing "workflow"?

Let's take an example detail job. If I wash my vehicle, then I'll have a microfiber wash mitt that goes into the water-soluble dirty bucket. Then I'll dry the car, and I'd put the waffle weave MF towel into the water-soluble dirty bucket as well. Then I'll clay the car using a detailing spray as a clay lube. That would go into the dirty waxes and paint sealants bucket. Then I'd compound and polish, yielding more for the WS (water-soluble) bucket. Then waxing the car makes another wax towel. If I were to do the engine, undercarriage, tires, interior, etc, they would all go into the "everything else" bucket.

So far, so good (I think).

But then I'd go to launder the towels. I'd run the water-soluble load first. Once washed and dried properly, I'd inspect them to determine which of the 4 categories each towel would fit into. The same would happen with the dirty wax and dirty "everything else" buckets. Once washed and dried, the towels would be inspected and put back into whichever of the 4 categories it belongs.

But the next detail that I perform, the towels in my "good microfiber" category could very easily be from any of the steps in the last detail. I could take a towel from that "good" category that was previously used to wipe wax and use it for wiping polish in the next detail (or vice versa). Is the assumption that the good towels are thoroughly clean and therefore good for all tasks? If that is the case, then what is the point of separating the towels for laundering, as they all end up in either the good or tatty categories, regardless of purpose.

I very well may be missing something, but I'm trying to understand Mike's system before I implement it, and I'm clearly missing something. Can anyone elaborate on how this system is supposed to work? Thanks in advance for your help!
 
Maybe I am doing it all wrong, but the only rule I follow regarding washing is to wash microfiber by itself only, with no other material (ie. cotton). Using laundry soap cleans the MF, including those that had wax in them. Remember, simple dish soap will strip most wax from a car's surface, same goes for laundry detergent. I also don't fool with special soap, I just use regular laundry detergent (without fabric softener).

When they come out, I sort them based on condition: those with still visible stains go in the 'not for painted surface' pile, all others are ready for another round.

That all being said, I am not doing this for a living, nor am I doing this on $200k exotics either, so YMMV.
 
SwedishRider you're overthinking this. Unless dropped or laundered with cotton, it takes a very long time for a towel to become tatty.

Figure out how many towels you can afford for each step in the correction process and go from there.

Remember what I said over on Autopia about the importance of understanding gsm vs color alone:

IMHO, the color of a towel matters far less then it's weight in grams per square meter g/m² (gsm) /what application it was designed for. Once you understand gsm's, Mike's 3 bin approach will make more sense, why it's good advise to follow. And it will allow you to use mf's from any company regardless of color.

I will say if your only washing a minimum number of towels you can get away with separating your dirty MF's into two wash/ storage categories: paint and then everything else ( ie: engine, wheels, exhaust tips, tires etc). Never ever mix the two. Using a dedicated MF detergent is also very good idea and does make a difference in maintaining the softness of your mf's.

If you only have a few glass cleaning towels, toss them in the washer with your paint safe towels. As long as you use hot water and an extra rinse cycle you should be fine. Depending on the size of the load, you can add up to a cup of distilled white vinegar to the rinse cycle. The vinegar will help soften and break down any remaining residue. Towels with extra build up can be pre-treat in a bucket of water mixed up with an ounce or two of your microfiber soap. Let the towels soak for a minimum of an hour to overnight before washing.

Just remember to:

Wash new towels before using them
Never use bleach, fabric softener, or dryer sheets
Never dry on high heat
Never Iron
Never wash with non-microfiber textiles
​

As your supply of microfibers grows then you can get more selective on how to wash them. But until then, make your life easier and don't stress over it.

You're off to a great start by getting Mike's books to supplement the great information found here...
 
I have a bunch of milk creates I keep on shelves. The lower they are on the shelves, the more beat up they are.
 
Angus said:
SwedishRider you're overthinking this.
Click to expand...

Yeah... I have a tendency to do that... :)

You are right... keep it simple. I'll keep two categories of Microfiber for now- Paint Safe, and Everything Else. I'll wash them separately, and throw in any glass cleaning towels into the Paint Safe load.

Here's my reconfigured system:



I think I'll take one of those other bins and use it for polishing pad and terry cloth storage (terry cloth used for pad cleaning on the fly). If my needs expand to need more categories, I can always add as necessary, but this gets me up and running, and it a huge improvement over what I had done before with my microfibers (essentially nothing).

Thank you for the advice Angus! :thankyousign:
 
SwedishRider said:
Yeah... I have a tendency to do that... :)

You are right... keep it simple. I'll keep two categories of Microfiber for now- Paint Safe, and Everything Else. I'll wash them separately, and throw in any glass cleaning towels into the Paint Safe load.

Here's my reconfigured system:



I think I'll take one of those other bins and use it for polishing pad and terry cloth storage (terry cloth used for pad cleaning on the fly). If my needs expand to need more categories, I can always add as necessary, but this gets me up and running, and it a huge improvement over what I had done before with my microfibers (essentially nothing).

Thank you for the advice Angus! :thankyousign:
Click to expand...

Perfect! Expand your storage solution as you need to. And trust me, before you know you'll have a small fortune invested in microfibers alone. I sure do!

Have you bought the MT300 yet?
 
No, haven't placed the order yet. I am going to though. I've been too busy fixated on my microfiber system. :D

Next up is buying and learning the MT300! :dblthumb2:
 
Angus, I did have one other question that popped into my head about microfiber sorting. My MF wash mitt will be thrown into the dirty "Everything Else" bucket as it's pretty dirty with grit, and I don't want to get that grit into the paint safe MF cloths (though it'll go back into the "Paint Safe" bin once laundered). And engine, undercarriage, tire, rim, etc., MF towels go into the "everything else" bin as well.

But what about interior MF towels? I would think the dirty "everything else" bin, correct? Just want to make sure before I foul something up. :)
 
Think of the everything else bin as the place to put towels wash mitts that have come into contact with abrasive particles/ grease/ general nasty stuff that may not wash out. And if so you don't want that sort of junk coming into contact with delicate surfaces ie paint and most of your interior (except for the floor mats, trunk liners, etc). So as long as your using your interior towels for general interior cleaning purposes (wiping down your dash with a cleaner, lightly buffing trim dressings, cleaning leather seats, etc) , they're not going to get that dirty and will be fine to wash in the same load as your paint safe towels.

Just use your common sense - if a towel looks nasty after using it, denote it. Easy peasy.
 
I have "paint," "interior" and "wheels/undercarriage/everything else." It probably doesn't matter, but I don't want to mix my towels that I use on leather with the ones that have tons of nasty grime from the wheels, tires and undercarriage.
 
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