Microfiber towels for polish, wax & sealant removal.

Imcrazy · August 5, 2015

Hey guys, I'm a newb to detailing vehicles the right way! I picked up a porter cable DA and polished the truck with meguiars ultimate compound followed up with meguiars ultimate wax. The wax worked awesome, I was not as pleased with the polish as I still have some swirls and scratches, mostly on the be sides oddly enough and I felt like the working time with the compound was too short...

W/ that said I picked up Adam's new 6" pad combo deal and their two step paint correction polish system to hopefully get the truck perfect and to do the same with my wife's 2014 Mazda 6.

My question is what MF towels should I use? Last time I used some from autozone that were supposed to be for wax / polish removal and they seemed quite soft to me but, could I be re-introducing scratches? I know I could get a six pack of Adam's single soft towels but, after all I've sunk into the detailing budget in the last couple months my wife is on the brink of taking my credit card away LOL! and the Adam's stuff is very high end & the price matches.

Do I need that kind of quality to remove polish and wax residue? I don't want to go to all the trouble of getting the truck in perfect shape just to re-scratch with inferior towels... I did manage to get my hood scratch and swirl free with a second application of the ultimate compound the first time and the MF's I used didn't re-introduce any scratches FWIW and I've been using them to wipe down my detailing spray after washes and still I don't see any swirls or scratches on the hood.

Thx for reading!

ember1205 · August 5, 2015

You want a quality towel, made in USA, from USA sourced materials. No stitching around the edges (called borderless) as the stitching material can cause scratches. Towels should also always be 100% clean when you use them. That includes changing out towels if they pick up something during use.

AdamsPolishes · August 5, 2015

You want a quality towel, made in USA, from USA sourced materials. No stitching around the edges (called borderless) as the stitching material can cause scratches. Towels should also always be 100% clean when you use them. That includes changing out towels if they pick up something during use.

Honestly, there isn't anyone stateside making microfiber. Korea and China are the main suppliers of all microfiber sold, Korea being the better option in most cases. A few smaller operations selling short weave towels are popping up in India and Germany, but for paint care the best option currently is still Korea for all plush towels.

Hey guys, I'm a newb to detailing vehicles the right way! I picked up a porter cable DA and polished the truck with meguiars ultimate compound followed up with meguiars ultimate wax. The wax worked awesome, I was not as pleased with the polish as I still have some swirls and scratches, mostly on the be sides oddly enough and I felt like the working time with the compound was too short...

W/ that said I picked up Adam's new 6" pad combo deal and their two step paint correction polish system to hopefully get the truck perfect and to do the same with my wife's 2014 Mazda 6.

My question is what MF towels should I use? Last time I used some from autozone that were supposed to be for wax / polish removal and they seemed quite soft to me but, could I be re-introducing scratches? I know I could get a six pack of Adam's single soft towels but, after all I've sunk into the detailing budget in the last couple months my wife is on the brink of taking my credit card away LOL! and the Adam's stuff is very high end & the price matches.

Do I need that kind of quality to remove polish and wax residue? I don't want to go to all the trouble of getting the truck in perfect shape just to re-scratch with inferior towels... I did manage to get my hood scratch and swirl free with a second application of the ultimate compound the first time and the MF's I used didn't re-introduce any scratches FWIW and I've been using them to wipe down my detailing spray after washes and still I don't see any swirls or scratches on the hood.

Thx for reading!

Thanks for your business and Im confident you'll like the results you get with those pads and our correcting polish on your PC.

As far as the towels, generally the stuff from Autozone isn't of the best quality. The towels are generally low weight (sub 300gsm in most cases) and cheap 80/20 blend towels. To learn more about the ins and outs of microfiber check out this article on our forums:

http://www.adamsforums.com/topic/27969-faq-how-do-i-take-care-of-my-microfiber-towels/

We currently have 3 options for polish/wax removal that are all much better than your autozone towels. (Those are fine for interior use, cleaning non delicate surfaces, but keep them off your paint)

Single Soft - this is a 500gsm undyed white microfiber. They are super plush and perfect for polish and wax removal. Currently they're on sale in a 6 pack and you can take another 15% off with the code AUG15

http://adamspolishes.com/shop/specials/sub-category-2/adam-s-single-soft-6-pack.html

Double Soft - these are our most popular towel simply because they're over the top thickness! This is literally 2 heavy weight towels sewn back to back for a total of 1400gsm. I promise you have never felt a more luxurious towel, ever. They're pricey, but if you want the absolute best these are it - http://adamspolishes.com/shop/accessories/microfiber-towels/adam-s-double-soft-1-pack.html

Borderless Gray - these are the type of towel mentioned above by ember (everything except the USA part). Its completely borderless so you get full microfiber from edge to edge. They're about the same weight and plushness of the single soft, just a different color and edge design. I like these for rinseless washing and applying our H2O Guard & Gloss Sealant, but they can be used for any task where a delicate touch is needed. http://adamspolishes.com/shop/accessories/microfiber-towels/adam-s-borderless-gray-towel.html

Let me know if you have any other questions. I will be traveling tomorrow thru Sunday for CamaroFest in Kentucky, but will be avaialbe via email: [email protected] or [email protected]

ember1205 · August 5, 2015

Honestly, there isn't anyone stateside making microfiber. Korea and China are the main suppliers of all microfiber sold, Korea being the better option in most cases. A few smaller operations selling short weave towels are popping up in India and Germany, but for paint care the best option currently is still Korea for all plush towels.

There are products being advertised as USA made from USA-sourced materials along with some imported materials. I realize that what's allowed to be stated in Marketing / Advertising is not as strict as we would like to believe it to be, but there do appear to be products that -are- largely US-made from predominantly US-sourced raw materials.

AdamsPolishes · August 5, 2015

Interesting. Have a link? Would love to look into it.

Imcrazy · August 5, 2015

@adam's Thanks for the feedback. I emailed to see if I could add a couple of the single soft towels to give 'em a shot. I do have a couple of better meguiars towels at home now that I think about it so I'm thinking four good towels should get me through the process hopefully!

Imcrazy · August 9, 2015

Well the truck turned out awesome. I'm very pleased with the results. The single soft towels are awesome, total night and day vs the stuff I had from autozone or even the meguiars stuff I had. I am glad I got the combo pack of pads I wound up using the MF cutting pad as the clear coat on my truck must be pretty hard and my scratches (idiot marks from bad washing technique) were many... I got most of the scratches out and as far as I can tell all of the swirls, I just have a few stubborn scratches left but, this truck isn't going to have a garage queen life so I don't think I'll dig any deeper in search of perfection. The truck clarity and luster is way beyond what any new truck would be I just wish I didn't have so many damn rock chips in the paint!

Imcrazy · September 11, 2015

I love the adams towels but, I found another towel I like and it seems to be just as soft. The Junkman on youtube recommended them

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IDN72WK?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00

Not quite as plush as the adams towels but, seems as soft to me.

Chadwilliam1 · September 12, 2015

It is good to see Adams is apart of this forum.

Here are the towels I like for exterior work.

http://www.stocktowelsnow.com/Edgeless-Fleece-Microfiber-Towel-FLE550BR.htm

I also use these.

http://www.stocktowelsnow.com/Large-Plush-Towel-PLU440YBRGL.htm

AdamsPolishes · September 12, 2015

It is good to see Adams is apart of this forum.

Here are the towels I like for exterior work.

http://www.stocktowelsnow.com/Edgeless-Fleece-Microfiber-Towel-FLE550BR.htm

I also use these.

http://www.stocktowelsnow.com/Large-Plush-Towel-PLU440YBRGL.htm

Thank You.....It's good to be here!

Potts · September 24, 2015

All meguairs products are high quality. I only use their microfiber towels and foam applicator pads for my wax jobs.

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Chadwilliam1 · September 24, 2015

Some meguairs products are high quality. I only use their microfiber towels and foam applicator pads for my wax jobs.

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Fixed

Potts · September 25, 2015

Fixed

What meguairs products have you had an issue with? I love their quick detailer, gold class car wash, back to black, foam applicators, micro fiber towels, wash mit, swirl remover, carnauba wax, and a few others of which I've always had great results. Their micro fiber towels are the absolute best I've found, and I don't know what I would do without their quick detailer. The gold class car wash is incredible as well, and their products are reasonably priced.

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ember1205 · September 25, 2015

I don't see the ability for any product that can sell competitively in a box store to be truly of higher quality than what it's competing against. Compound that with all of the advertising they do on television directly and via the "car shows" and it seems that their products would be very middle-of-the-road in terms of quality.

It's just my opinion as that's how I see things. Decades of experience have shown me that products that sit side-by-side on shelves in a store and sell for similar prices are very similar in quality. Or, they're MUCH worse (remember Dura Shine?) and will eventually no longer be sold next to those other products.

ArjanRDC · September 25, 2015

I actually just finished writing a quick blog post about why MF matters i'll paste it here instead of linking to my Blog.

There are three ways microfiber towels differ from each other: pile, GSM, and blend ratio. Different aspects of detailing require a different combination of those three.

For pile – you can either have short pile or high pile, or both. Most microfibers offer both short and high pile sides. GSM means grams per square meter. High GSM usually is more plush, thick and soft. And lastly blend ratio is the fraction of polyamide to polyester. There is always more polyester than polyamide, but the fraction matters.

What about GSM:

GSM is one of the biggest aspects that matter when it comes to choosing the perfect microfiber for the job. GSM determines how thick the microfiber is. Higher GSM – the more plush and soft it would be. Lower GSM typically is lower quality and is much more rough to the touch. Lower GSM (200GSM or so) towels are typically used for rims exhaust tips and engine bays (these are typically the GSM of towels at big box stores). Higher GSM towels are used for removing wax and using with waterless wash. There is a fine line with GSM – too high and the towel becomes too soft to really use, too low and you have the chance of marring and scratching the painted surface. My truck is stocked with basically every towel imaginable but typically I prefer a towel with no more than 400 GSM – my go to towel is 380GSM and is perfect for almost all aspects of detailing.

Blend?

Microfiber towels are usually manufactured with blend 80/20 all the way through 70/30. The first number refers to polyester and the second number is the fraction of polyamide. Polyester is attributed to the picking up power of a towel, higher fraction of polyester, higher ability to remove wax and polish. Polyamide is the amount of absorption a towel has. Waffle weave towels are typically 70/30 since they offer higher absorption than typical microfiber. Any microfiber blend between 80/20 and 70/30 will work fine for most detailing uses.

Why does pile matter:

Pile refers to the overall height of the fabric and is broken down into low and high. Low pile towels with low GSM are used for areas of the vehicle that don’t need much of a delicate touch. Typically on glass (if not using waffle weave), doorjambs, engine bay, exhaust tips, undercarriage etc. Low pile and low GSM isn’t exactly recommended for removal of wax simply because it has the chance of marring. However, low pile with a high GSM reduced the chance of marring and is typically suitable for use on delicate paint. High pile towels are reserved for the more delicate jobs that don’t need much as much grabbing ability. Using a high pile towel to remove wax and polish is the best way to reduce the chance of marring the freshly waxed or polished paint. High pile towels are also perfect of using with waterless solutions such as Royal Detail Club Xipp/Meguiars nxt/Adams Detail Spray etc . The fibers are extremely long and are able to hold much more liquid all while gliding over the paint reducing the chance of scratches and swirls.

There’s my very basic, very quick overview of microfiber towels. I personally recommend a towel that has around 380GSM 80/20 blend and has both a high and low pile side. But trying out different towels is the best way to find out what towels works best for you.

In my personal and professional experience - using "ultra plush" and other incredibly soft towels do not work well for removal of wax. They work with spray wax, but become hard to use when you fold into fours. I highly suggest buying one of a handful of towels to see what works best for you and what is easiest to use.