saw one at target today. looked pretty cool. i have been using the towels with success for a while. what do you think about a sponge? good or bad? could it trap too much dirt and increase swirls or something?? opinions please!

 

I share your concern. MF is so grabby I don't feel confident that I can really rinse all the dirt out in a clean water bucket. So I just stay with sheepskin mitts. I like the thick nap and seems that most of the dirt really does come out with a quick rinse - my mitt always looks close to brand new when I'm done washing the car.

 

Microfibers are great for finishing, and I'm sure they would do a great job catching the dirt, I just don't know how good they would be at keeping it away from the surface. Just an opinion though, since I have no experinece using them

 

Curious is this a sponge covered with MF material?

I use two different MF Wash Mitts, a Synthetic that is cut material and the DF Wash Mitt. This is one place you want a cut fiber versus a loop.
A good MF towel, will be looped, and cheap ones are cut(squared ends on the fibers).
Sometimes it is tough to tell, but the looped should look like spaghetti all curled up and cut has flat ends and looks more like hair.

The looped material will have a tendency to pull in the dirt away from the paint and trap it inside the loops, this is good..... You want this for detail spray, polish removal and drying.
However trapping it in the loops also holds on to it, so when you go to rinse it, you are not getting rid of all the material you just pulled off the surface - This is bad.

A cut MF should be very thick. The cut, thick MF will pull in the material off the paint, and when you drop it in your rinse, it will let go offit, so you are clean and ready to move on to the next section.

The exception to the above are the DF Mitts, which are looped, but the material is thinner than a standard MF towel and will release the dirt on the rinse dip.

I have had manufacturers send me Synthetic looped Wash Mitts, to try out and sell, and I passed on the opportunities. They just wouldn't release the dirt on a rinse dip, nor did I feel the dirt was down deep enough into the nap to prevent swirls on the next section. In fact I used them once and tossed them all. They don't even make it to my free towel bucket I have a shows( All the samples I get sent to try and fail, end up in a bucket with the explicit understanding I won't sell them because of a flaw, so use at your own risk More fail, than ever pass ). They seemed to really hold onto the little sticks and twigs one picks on rear of the wheel wells, and I could not get them out, except by hand.

IMO I would be leary, but when I get a chance I will check them out. If I find they are decent will report back.

 

thanks for the info! if you go to target they are bright orange. one side is a smooth cloth and the other side is covered with little fingers that look like dread locks. you cant miss em

 

Ok, there is a Target on my way home from work. I will see if I can find them.