Question on Costco MF Towels

ken tuep said:
What are you going to be doing with the towels? Wax removal, quick detailer, Rinseless washes, etc.

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I only intend to use them to remove bugs and bird droppings in between car washes. I have the ONR and mix it in with water as a solution. Other than that I wouldn't be using the towels for anything else. I take it to the car wash every couple of weeks.
 
anonymoususer said:
My opinion and experience with Costco towels on super soft black Porsche paint.

Costco towels surprisingly soft and plush compared to other entry level MF towels. They are PERFECTLY FINE for paint as long as there is some sort of coating, wax, or lubrication. The only time i wouldn't recommend them is during polishing where there is no lubrication or protection. Be sure to remove the tag.

Waterless wash - ok
Buffing off wax - ok
Interior cleaning - ok
Quick Detail - ok
GDWM Rinseless Wash - ok

Buffing polish residue - not ok
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To add to my point...

One of the benefits to Costco towels are they are so cheap i consider them disposable. Rather than having an expensive $5-7 towel and picking out debris that's been accumulated, i just throw mine away once i deem them to be compromised and start with a fresh towel.

In my opinion a Costco towel can indeed be much safer than a premium microfiber towel.
 
They aren't that bad. They don't drag on the paint the few times they have been used on paint. Having said that, I still only use them for windows, interior, and wheels.
 
My two cents: Love to detail my car. It's a DD. Also run my own business. I also keep on eye on expenses. My limited experience is that you get what you pay for. I have made an investment in quality MF towels. I also have "generic" Home Depot, Target and EBay MF towels. The generics are for non-paint applications. My feeling is: Why pay for top-quality waxes, QDs, etc.. and then skimp on the towels? Besides the fact that I love my car and the way it looks after I put in the time to effort to detail it. I have a Slovenian mother so I'm into saving money. There are so many deals all the time on AG that I have a great collection bought through BOGO, Cyber Busters etc... So I hope my opinion is worth at least a cent.
 
tommygee said:
My two cents: Love to detail my car. It's a DD. Also run my own business. I also keep on eye on expenses. My limited experience is that you get what you pay for. I have made an investment in quality MF towels. I also have "generic" Home Depot, Target and EBay MF towels. The generics are for non-paint applications. My feeling is: Why pay for top-quality waxes, QDs, etc.. and then skimp on the towels? Besides the fact that I love my car and the way it looks after I put in the time to effort to detail it. I have a Slovenian mother so I'm into saving money. There are so many deals all the time on AG that I have a great collection bought through BOGO, Cyber Busters etc... So I hope my opinion is worth at least a cent.
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Have you tried Costco MF towels? They are much closer to high end towels than low end generics.
 
fastfurious23 said:
Great comments, thanks all.

Whatever I decide to use the Costco towels on, I've been wondering which side of the towel I should use. I noticed both sides do not feel the same. Should I use the side that has the tag on it? Or the tagless side?
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Neither!

lyodbraun said:
Make sure to remove tags ...
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THIS :iagree: WITH! :D

Seriously, once they are washed, perhaps twice, tags removed, THEN you use them. ;)

When removing the tags get your finger inside the loop first. Then grab one side at a time and give it a sharp snap in one direction, not enough to totally remove it, just snap it good. Then give it another snap in the other direction and usually that side of the tag will pop right off.

Once one end of it is off, just repeat on the other end. Snap one direction, then SNAP in the other an it'll come off.

If you try to remove it all at once, or before it's been washed for that matter, you'll rip the sewn edge right off the sucker! :(

I have my wife pick up a pack at least 3~4 times a year. Use them for whatever, grade them as they are used to what bin you throw them in. Then after washing I'll grade them again. About half end up good enough to be used on paint again. Not bad at all for a towel that doesn't run but 39¢.

To put it in comparison, the closest towel that you'll find in GSM weight is a lot more expensive, but not constructed the same. The Kirkland's have a thicker backing with shorter nap, where the ones on detailing sites will have a thinner backing and longer nap. They may be a little more 'flexible', but the nap is where it's at! :props: The 360 to 400 dual nap built like that are pretty decent towels. There is a difference! :)

For instance, a 360gsm from Microfiber Tech, buying by the CASE, 180 to a case runs more than 2.3 times that. But you've got to want 180 of them. Buy anything from any website, 3, 6, 10 at a time and you'll pay $2.50 ~ $3.50 each for them! Buy direct from China and you'll pay a fraction of that but you'll have to buy not hundreds, not thousands, but TENS of thousands! (I received a 400 sample back in the Summer that I really like, but they are not on the site.)

Now there is yet another version of a 360/400-ish towel with long shaggy pile on both sides. I don't have any yet, (waiting on bulk pricing) but they may be a total game changer in the under 600gsm category! (Some here do, perhaps they'll chime in.) I have some old 600's that are 'shaggy' split pile and they shed like CRAZY! OK for rinseless washes (sort of) but horrible for any wipe down during paint correction or LSP duties. :eek: I just HATE the freaking 'micro-lint' with a passion!
 
I use them on my wheels, interior, door jams. I have a bunch of other expensive towels for removing wax etc.
 
@cardaddy: Thanks for posting. I'm still trying to understand the gsm thing. I asked which side to use because the Costco MF towels feel different on each side.

Are the Mango Breeze MF towels much better quality than the Costco? I'm thinking I can afford the Mango towels if that's the case.

Costco, 36 towels = $20
Mango, 12 towels = $20
 
I generally use the more plush side on paint, and the less plush side for everything else. I don't like using them on glass, as they do often leave micro lint.

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fastfurious23 said:
@cardaddy: Thanks for posting. I'm still trying to understand the gsm thing. I asked which side to use because the Costco MF towels feel different on each side.

Are the Mango Breeze MF towels much better quality than the Costco? I'm thinking I can afford the Mango towels if that's the case.

Costco, 36 towels = $20
Mango, 12 towels = $20
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Mango Breeze towels are terrible. If they are your only 2 options - stick to Costco.
 
swanicyouth said:
Mango Breeze towels are terrible. If they are your only 2 options - stick to Costco.
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How do these compare to both Costco and Mango?

Super Soft Deluxe Green Microfiber Towels with Rolled Edges, 6 Pack

Super Soft, 6 towels, = $20

I would consider Super Soft, but it would really be pushing my budget. I have no intention of washing the towels, just disposing of them as they get dirty.
 
fastfurious23 said:
How do these compare to both Costco and Mango?

Super Soft Deluxe Green Microfiber Towels with Rolled Edges, 6 Pack

Super Soft, 6 towels, = $20

I would consider Super Soft, but it would really be pushing my budget. I have no intention of washing the towels, just disposing of them as they get dirty.
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If your tight on money, why would you throw them away. Soap and water is pretty cheap. I must admit, I do trash my Costco Towels, but I'm not on a budget.
 
fastfurious23 said:
How do these compare to both Costco and Mango?

Super Soft Deluxe Green Microfiber Towels with Rolled Edges, 6 Pack

Super Soft, 6 towels, = $20

I would consider Super Soft, but it would really be pushing my budget. I have no intention of washing the towels, just disposing of them as they get dirty.
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They are really nice! They get even nicer when cared for properly with a microfiber detergent and a washing machine. I couldn't imagine throwing MF towels in the trash!?
 
Rsurfer said:
If your tight on money, why would you throw them away. Soap and water is pretty cheap. I must admit, I do trash my Costco Towels, but I'm not on a budget.
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I guess I don't want to go through the hassle.

spiralout462 said:
They are really nice! They get even nicer when cared for properly with a microfiber detergent and a washing machine. I couldn't imagine throwing MF towels in the trash!?
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So are you saying the Super Soft are a huge step up in terms of quality over the Costco and Mango?


I would also want to make clear that I would not be using the towels for anything other than removing evident nasty stuff on the paint in between car washes (bugs/bird droppings, etc). I've been using Mike's technique where you dampen the towel and let it sit on the nasty stuff and then gently lift off the towel. From my perspective, I find it hard to justify spending money on a nice towel if this is all I'm using them for. I'm not wiping or using it on the entire car, only on areas as needed that have the nasty stuff.

Thoughts?
 
fastfurious23 said:
I would also want to make clear that I would not be using the towels for anything other than removing evident nasty stuff on the paint in between car washes (bugs/bird droppings, etc). I've been using Mike's technique where you dampen the towel and let it sit on the nasty stuff and then gently lift off the towel. From my perspective, I find it hard to justify spending money on a nice towel if this is all I'm using them for. I'm not wiping or using it on the entire car, only on areas as needed that have the nasty stuff.

Thoughts?
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Costco Towels.
 
fastfurious23 said:
@cardaddy: Thanks for posting. I'm still trying to understand the gsm thing. I asked which side to use because the Costco MF towels feel different on each side.

Are the Mango Breeze MF towels much better quality than the Costco? I'm thinking I can afford the Mango towels if that's the case.

Costco, 36 towels = $20
Mango, 12 towels = $20
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First, the Costco towels are more like $14 for 36. (At least here they are.)

Mango's are 220 gsm and are junk compared to the Costco towels! Stick with the Costcos. :xyxthumbs:

You'll want to use the longer side on most everything that could be scratched, IE paint. Glass the short side will work, as will hard plastics. Actually removing compound can be done with the short side of some towels too.

What you can do is stock up on the Costco towels for most of your work, then buy say a dozen nice towels. At LEAST half a dozen. Right now I think the 530's are still on BOGO, not exactly cheap, @ 19.99 for SIX but decent towels. (Last time I bought any of those they were like $14.99 (I think) and were on BOGO.) There are MUCH better ones though, (for less).

Search for "530gsm microfiber" (just as it's quoted... quotes removed) and probably the first one on the list you need to check out. They are 10/$29.90 and are very similar to the Cobra 530's. ;) Great, durable, hard working towels. Not the softest on the planet, but a nice towel to have around.

Better yet, while you're there on that site, search for "shaggy", "600gsm", "700gsm" and "blue whale". The 600/700's are in 3 packs but not that expensive. The Blue Whale is 1100gsm and are 3/$19.95, which goes to show you why the Cobra's are not a good deal. (You'll find them on some other sites as well.... AG gave me 2 last year during a promotion and I think they WERE valued at $9.99 each. Never saw them on the site after that though.)
 
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