Towels, where to start?

steelwindmachine

steelwindmachine

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I'm essentially starting over with my methodology on car care for my personal vehicles. I'm trying to figure out what types and sets of towels makes sense to get together?

I realize one should use separate towels for different purposes, like wheel towels are only used for wheels, paint for paint, etc.

Are there general guidelines on what types of towels are optimum for each vehicle surface?

Also, does anyone anywhere sell a complete vehicle towel package?
 
Wow!

That's a hell of a list. Appropriate and all, but damn! I'm not a business, so I'm trying to drill down to the non-pro essentials. I think I figured it out thanks to Autopia's towel info:

1. general purpose
2. glass
3. drying
4. final buffing

So, I'll either go with their specific recommendations or fill in the blanks for each primary use from alternate suppliers.

I've said this in other posts, but it's mind blowing how much variety there is with these products. With so much variety comes what seems like so much confusion about what to select when you're just trying to take better care of the family cars every so often and not spend a fortune.
 
Need a good set for rinseless wash only.
 
yes, i guess once I get to a point where I can be doing rinseless washes, that would make sense.

At this point, just need to get the vehicles (3) of them pro-detailed to bring them all up to their best short of maybe color correction and then I can maintain from there.
 
steelwindmachine said:
Wow!

That's a hell of a list. Appropriate and all, but damn! I'm not a business, so I'm trying to drill down to the non-pro essentials. I think I figured it out thanks to Autopia's towel info:

1. general purpose
2. glass
3. drying
4. final buffing

So, I'll either go with their specific recommendations or fill in the blanks for each primary use from alternate suppliers.

I've said this in other posts, but it's mind blowing how much variety there is with these products. With so much variety comes what seems like so much confusion about what to select when you're just trying to take better care of the family cars every so often and not spend a fortune.
Click to expand...

I'll stick to products PBMG carries because forum rules:

1. Gold plush Jr or Supreme 530
2-4. Griots PFM Terry towel
 
don't get caught up thinking you need a zillion towels for everything. buy a few dozen of the gold cobra jr's and get a few packs of the yellow kirkland bulk microfibers from costco for interior, wheels, door jams, engines, etc,. while you're at it, you can also pick up a microfiber detergent (i've had good luck with them) as well - there are plenty of great ones that are sold here at AG...

Gold Plush Jr. Microfiber Towels 12 Pack
gold-plush-jr-microfiber-towels-12-pack-1.gif


on BOGO right now...
Pinnacle Micro Rejuvenator Microfiber Detergent Concentrate
 
Definitely get some waffle weave towels for the glass. At least one for washing and one for drying.
 
VISITOR said:
don't get caught up thinking you need a zillion towels for everything. buy a few dozen of the gold cobra jr's and get a few packs of the yellow kirkland bulk microfibers from costco for interior, wheels, door jams, engines, etc,. while you're at it, you can also pick up a microfiber detergent (i've had good luck with them) as well - there are plenty of great ones that are sold here at AG...

Gold Plush Jr. Microfiber Towels 12 Pack
gold-plush-jr-microfiber-towels-12-pack-1.gif


on BOGO right now...
Pinnacle Micro Rejuvenator Microfiber Detergent Concentrate
Click to expand...

Yes. The Gold Plush towels are terrific. I also love the chinchilla towels.
Both of these will not break the bank either.
 
In the words of the good man Mike Phillips....."Keep it super simple."

You basically need 5 towels categories to serve these functions:

- Drying - Waffle weaves, keep 3 to 4
- Paint only towels - 350GSM dual pile is a great towel honestly and can do anything. Don't complicate it. The gold plush as shown above or my fave...CarPro Boas are excellent towels. These would be for: Quick Detail spray, wax/sealant removal or application and removal for spray types, compound/polish removal, waterless wash, etc.
- Crap towels in 2 colors - One color (i do black) for wheels, tires, wells, jambs. Another color (I like bright color to see dirt transfer) for interior detailing
- Glass towels
- And lastly - Cotton terry towels for scrubbing carpet and drying tires

I literally follow this exact practice, except for coating specific towels as well and life is simple man.
 
Like the guys said, the Cobra Gold Plush Jr. is one of the best all around, bang for your buck towel.
You would be hard pressed finding something of this quality at this price(12 for $40) They go on sale every now and again.

Cobra green guzzler waffle weave is an excellent drying towel for the money. The Big Blues or the Griots PFMs sound like keepers too.

Glass, interior and wheels are for my kirkland yellows.
 
I started with a guzzler combo kit, and several miracle towels that came in kits I bought on AG. Over the past year, I've built up to this:

4 cobra guzzlers for drying (2 20x40, 2 16x24)
10 miracle towels for removing wax (may upgrade to gold plush and demote these)
6 shine and buff for quick waterless touch up on cold days
Costco microfibers for door jambs, wheels, etc where I know I won't keep the towels long
Costco terry for polishing aluminum on my toolbox and exhaust tips. Again, I don't care about keeping them.
 
CarolinasFinestDetailing said:
In the words of the good man Mike Phillips....."Keep it super simple."

You basically need 5 towels categories to serve these functions:

- Drying - Waffle weaves, keep 3 to 4
- Paint only towels - 350GSM dual pile is a great towel honestly and can do anything. Don't complicate it. The gold plush as shown above or my fave...CarPro Boas are excellent towels. These would be for: Quick Detail spray, wax/sealant removal or application and removal for spray types, compound/polish removal, waterless wash, etc.
- Crap towels in 2 colors - One color (i do black) for wheels, tires, wells, jambs. Another color (I like bright color to see dirt transfer) for interior detailing
- Glass towels
- And lastly - Cotton terry towels for scrubbing carpet and drying tires

I literally follow this exact practice, except for coating specific towels as well and life is simple man.
Click to expand...

CarolinasFinestDetailing nailed it. Really good advice!

If you know that professional detailing is in your 5 years plan, I have simplified my microfiber towel arsenal down to 3 separate classes and because I buy them wholesale, my cost per towel ranges from .50-$1.50 for towels that can be washed over and over without degrading unlike the kirkland microfiber towels, while costing only pennies more.

All of the microfiber towels I own and use are chinese made edgeless towels. I know that some korean made towels are able to last 100's of washes without degrading, but as a business owner, quality chinese microfiber is the best option for me because it doesn't scratch, it's cheap, and once it's been used and washed 30-40 times and starts to look stained and dirty (even if the performance is unaffected) I will replace it and use the old one for dirty jobs like wheels/tires/engine bays.

The 3 towels are:
245gsm edgeless: glass, all interior cleaning, door jambs, trim cleaning, compound removal
365gsm edgeless: compound, polish, and wax removal
420gsm edgeless: waterless, rinseless, drying, spray wax, wax removal, LCD screens, gauge clusters and instrument panels

While there is some overlap I have found these 3 towels to be the perfect combination for someone who's trying to run a profitable detailing business.

I also have some kirklands left that I only use for tires, wheels, metal polishing, sticky nasty interior cleaning. Basically anything that is gross enough that I'd rather use a disposable towel. Although because I'm cheap even if it's gross I'll typically soak the towels in degreaser for a few hours to get most of the crap out and go ahead and wash them.
 
spazzz said:
Like the guys said, the Cobra Gold Plush Jr. is one of the best all around, bang for your buck towel.
You would be hard pressed finding something of this quality at this price(12 for $40) They go on sale every now and again.
Click to expand...

right now would be the best time to buy them at 25% off and free shipping which would make them $29.99 for a dozen, they won't get any cheaper...
 
pilotpip said:
I started with a guzzler combo kit, and several miracle towels that came in kits I bought on AG. Over the past year, I've built up to this:

4 cobra guzzlers for drying (2 20x40, 2 16x24)
10 miracle towels for removing wax (may upgrade to gold plush and demote these)
6 shine and buff for quick waterless touch up on cold days
Costco microfibers for door jambs, wheels, etc where I know I won't keep the towels long
Costco terry for polishing aluminum on my toolbox and exhaust tips. Again, I don't care about keeping them.
Click to expand...

I received one of the miracle towels with my December order. It seems to be really a nice towel and about the only one here that is made in Korea.

The size isn't my favorite but still a great towel, dare I say a step above the Gold Plush.
 
steelwindmachine said:
I'm essentially starting over with my methodology on car care for my personal vehicles. I'm trying to figure out what types and sets of towels makes sense to get together?

I realize one should use separate towels for different purposes, like wheel towels are only used for wheels, paint for paint, etc.

Are there general guidelines on what types of towels are optimum for each vehicle surface?

Also, does anyone anywhere sell a complete vehicle towel package?
Click to expand...

i have some from target that i use for all purpose and some gold, grey, pink plush cobras for paint. i actually have a ton of other towels as i bought a lot of different ones when i was building my collection but those are the main ones i use plus some polyester soft polishing cloths and waffle weave drying towels. i also have three pfm detailing towels that are pretty good
 
Thank you for all of the in-depth advice!

I'm looking to keep this as simple as possible, so for now I'll start accumulating towels: general purpose 350GSM or equivalent for cleaning (broken up in stuff for paint, wheels, engine, jambs), glass (clean - 350gsm/dry - waffle), and drying (350GSM or equivalent, broken up in stuff for paint, wheels, engine, jambs).

I might try some Eurow towels since I believe these might be the brand that packages for Kirkland/Costco. I want to keep cost down, but not sacrifice too much in quality especially when it comes to the towels for the paint.
 
I just got a bunch of 80/20 microfiber towels, I saw in a few forums people said not to use this blend. Is this true, why?
 
Make sure you get some of the Big Blues without a doubt!!
 
mwoywod said:
I also have some kirklands left that I only use for tires, wheels, metal polishing, sticky nasty interior cleaning. Basically anything that is gross enough that I'd rather use a disposable towel. Although because I'm cheap even if it's gross I'll typically soak the towels in degreaser for a few hours to get most of the crap out and go ahead and wash them.
Click to expand...

The Kirklands starting to get up there in price. I remember the 36 bundle selling for $17.99 (lowest I paid was $14.99). Now they're mid-high $20's depending on location.

I like the 245gsm for glass as well. Price did jumped up a bit for them, too. lol
 
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