Quality of a Microfiber Towel, How do you tell ?

SupraTurbo94

SupraTurbo94

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I been randomly going to some places and I am always seeing some type MF towel for sale. Seems MF is being used for everything and in between. I just saw a MF being sold to claim that it will help your cloths be wrinkle free. All you had to do is damp it and throw it in the dryer with your cloths...This was at bed bath and beyond.. It was just one plain old MF towel for only $7 .lol

I also went to Ross and saw a pack of 6 Super Absorbent Microfiber towel (pretty good size). The MF was thick and super soft. It really felt and looked like a good MF towel that I could use for my car. All for $3.99, but I did not buy it.

I just would like some input on how does everyone can tell they are buying a quality MF? I wouldn't mind going back to Ross and picking me up a couple packs of those MF.

Feed back please
 
If you didn't mind people thinking you were truly insane you could go in with blank CDs and a Swirlfinder light and then test em, lol!
 
I've bought 2 of those $5 packs at Walmart. They work great for drying wheels and getting smudges off trim/chrome, but that's all I use them for. I don't even like using them on my windows as they're too flimsy and thin for my taste. They're not even really that great for an emergency QD kit. For paint and glass I'll only ever use quality MFs from AG or the like. Actually, I do have some orange OTC Armor All MFs I bought in a 3 pack, they work well for my emergency kit and glass.

EDIT: The thinness of the cheapo MFs might also be good for engine detailing, for getting into tiny crevices. And when I say they're thin, I mean I can usually feel product on my hands that is seeping through the towel. And that's using a good folding pattern ala Mike P's suggestions.
 
There is a difference between MF towels. I rejuvinated two cars this weekend with plenty of time to think. Mike P made a comment in a post last week about indigo MF towels being the only ones he really needed which got me thinking.

The edgeless Indigo and Artic White cobra are pretty awesome towels for removing polishes and waxes. They don't have edges to scratch and remain very soft. The labels pull off so they can't scratch the paint. They also don't shed like the thick plush towels and seem as soft or softer in some ways. I worked with several towels over 3 days and kept going back to the Indigos on the paint. They fold better and stay folded better when wiping, unlike a towel with an edge. They seem to hold their static cling better too. They just seem safer. I will buy more Indigos for those reasons. Just a warning, their dye bleeds which made the artic white towels a glacier blue color.

Some cheaper MFs seem to streak dressings as the loops/threads are not as fine. I bought some inexpensive MFs for cleaning/wiping down dashes and door panels which seem fine. I could not use them with some dressings on flat black interior trim as the surface would have lines in it. You also have to remove labels which can still leave rough edges after cutting them off.

For plush towels, I have mainly Cobra towels. I like Cobra 530s more than the Plush Deluxe Jrs, which shed on me. The black banded gold cobra's aren't bad either. I have a couple of Titan plush towels that are ok. I probably won't buy another Mequiars yellow MF which I got in their clay kit. I really like a gray Terry World MF towel that I was given earlier this year. It has the right balance of thickness in the hand and smoothness, that just feels right. It's not really a thick plush towel like the 530 or Plush Deluxe, but has more substance than the Titan or Megs towels. I have not tried the Griot's Garage towels.

I will continue to use WW MFs for drying and window cleaning, and own several brands.

I'm just not willing to use cheap MFs on black paint that I just spent 10 hours restoring to near perfect condition. I think that edgeless Indigos offer some great benefits over other towels, and not having labels on Cobra towels is a huge bonus.

My 2 cents...
 
Nice post Kurt.

I'm one of those people who can't say that I have been completely satisfied with a MF towel as almost all of them seem to have one issue or another.

I do like the indigos that I just got recently though.

Even some of the vroom MF towels at Target aren't too bad.

And there is a certain other vendor in Hawaii that gets very high marks for their MF towels.
 
Rob T said:
Nice post Kurt.

I'm one of those people who can't say that I have been completely satisfied with a MF towel as almost all of them seem to have one issue or another.

I do like the indigos that I just got recently though.

Even some of the vroom MF towels at Target aren't too bad.

And there is a certain other vendor in Hawaii that gets very high marks for their MF towels.
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Thanks Rob. I'm not sure that there is a perfect MF towel either. The Indigos are just a nice MF towel. I have not yet ordered from the the vendor in Hawaii but I've heard his towels are da kind.

I have a couple of gray target vroom towels that I now use for wheels and grungies. I use a couple of their blue and white striped towels to clean my BBQ exterior and the floors with vinegar and water. They aren't too bad compared to some of the skippy stuff out there.
 
The quality of Microfiber towels seems as broad as the ocean. I have little use for the thin ones except under the hood or in the nooks and crannies of wheels and door jambs.

Cobra makes some decent towels but read the description. I bought one of those towel kits and most of it was the thin ones. If I had read the description of its content I would have realized this and selected something different.

The Cobra deluxe 600 and Gold Plush lines are very nice and worth a hard look.

PakShak is another source of Microfiber towels and I've been very pleased with the quality and performance of these.

Microfiber towels are available just about everywhere but buyer beware, you get what you pay for.....
 
I like the 70/30 (which Indigo is) much better than the 80/20 blends. I really noticed the difference on my black European paint. But in the end a breeze blows and puts scratches in it so I just grimace and seal it hahahaha.

One of the worst I had was the Meg's Pro Ultimate wipe, the WalMart pack worked better.
 
The cd test is a great way to see if a towel will scratch. Over time it "seems" like you can feel better towels and pick them out. Ones that stay soft and plush over time versus falling apart are a big plus.
 
BobbyG said:
PakShak is another source of Microfiber towels and I've been very pleased with the quality and performance of these.

Microfiber towels are available just about everywhere but buyer beware, you get what you pay for.....
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Couldn't agree more. Trying to cut corners and get a good MF towel cheap has not worked out for me at all. You do get what you pay for.

killrwheels@autogeek said:
The cd test is a great way to see if a towel will scratch. Over time it "seems" like you can feel better towels and pick them out. Ones that stay soft and plush over time versus falling apart are a big plus.
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I don't really care for the CD scratch test much. Why? Because every single MF towel that I have ever tested will scratch the CD if you are rubbing it with one finger on the towel and CD.

I even tried comparing MF towels to regular terry cloth towels using the CD test, and there wasn't much difference in how much they scratched the CD (the terry cloth towels may have showed just a bit more scratching of the CD but not much).
 
I agree with the notion that the el cheapo multi-pac towels should only be used for under hood/interior wiping or drying. My experience has been that the less expensive stuff is bound with material of unknown origin (i.e. not micro fiber) and that is what causes most of the scratches. I only use the more expensive and better quality Cobra on my paint work. You do get what you pay for in this case.

Dry softly in straight lines help also.
 
I guess the way you can tell the quality of micro fiber is that if you don't hide them from the rest of your family, they aren't good...
 
Awesome feed back everyone !! I will definitely check out the MF that were recommend! I'll keep the cheap ones for wheels, engine etc.. and leave the high quality ones for the paint !
 
SupraTurbo94 said:
Awesome feed back everyone !! I will definitely check out the MF that were recommend! I'll keep the cheap ones for wheels, engine etc.. and leave the high quality ones for the paint !
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Nice ride:xyxthumbs:
 
I like the gold plush ones I got from AG on a BOGO and the cobra WW's are great. I got decent towels from stocktowelsnow that someone recommended. And I love the towels from pakshak but haven't had them long enough yet to know how they hold up. They feel fantastic though.

I even bought a huge dog drying towel from Petco LOL. It's like four feet by three, microfiber, and is great for taking off wax. One towel for the whole car. :)
 
Silverstone said:
I even bought a huge dog drying towel from Petco LOL. It's like four feet by three, microfiber, and is great for taking off wax. One towel for the whole car. :)
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I would get tangled up in that thing and get lost. :hide:
 
i have both expensive and inexpensive microfiber, and in most cases, neither scratch a cd.

-the ability to wipe a surface without LINTING imo, is the #1 sign of a quality microfiber.
 
rfinkle2 said:
i have both expensive and inexpensive microfiber, and in most cases, neither scratch a cd.

-the ability to wipe a surface without LINTING imo, is the #1 sign of a quality microfiber.
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i hear you about linting, as that is SO annoying, but i've got these orange, dark blue and light blue advance auto towels, about 20 of them, that i bought many years ago and use for anything but refined finishes - glass, jambs, interior, etc. they don't lint whatsoever, never have. the only time they come in touch with exterior paint is if i am wiping down before i fix a spot and the spot will be refined anyway, or if i'm wiping wetsanding areas.

in fact, the only towels that DO lint for me is a batch of cobra indigos i bought about two years ago. horrible. but i'm sure it was a bad batch or a bad towel that has polluted the rest in the wash. i still have them sitting in the bottom of my "to be washed" box, no use for them yet.

my plush supremes and older purple cobras that are just like supremes lint a little bit but they are SOoo versatile with the super plush side and less plush other side that i can deal with the tiny bit of linting - it never really shows even if i wipe a window. just barely. but it's there so i count that as linting.

features of a nice towel - tagless, soft sewn soft edges, no linting and unfortuntely higher cost ; )
 
Kurt_s said:
The edgeless Indigo and Artic White cobra are pretty awesome towels for removing polishes and waxes. They don't have edges to scratch and remain very soft. The labels pull off so they can't scratch the paint. They also don't shed like the thick plush towels and seem as soft or softer in some ways. I worked with several towels over 3 days and kept going back to the Indigos on the paint. They fold better and stay folded better when wiping, unlike a towel with an edge. They seem to hold their static cling better too. They just seem safer. I will buy more Indigos for those reasons. Just a warning, their dye bleeds which made the artic white towels a glacier blue color.
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From what I read on the comparison chart, there is no difference between the Indigo and the Artic White cobra's other than color. Is that how you see it also? I have had great results with the Indigo and a finish buff with the thick and fluffy Purple Cobra's.

Cliff
 
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