Use the blue MF towels from Adam's to remove wax on all 3 cars including the black Mercedes. It is the fourth and last black car I've owned in 48 years of car ownership. Great towels.

 

Don't use anything with polyester. Only cotton

 

I have had excellent results using Micro Restore to wash the towels. Put 2 oz. in a four to five gallon bucket. Let soak over night and since I'm single can dump the whole works in the washing machine. Add some liquid detergent and wash. Towels come out soft and clean even those used on wheels are reasonably clean. I understand microfiber after awhile gets somewhat stiff in the nap. A five minute soak in boiling water will soften the nap. Hope this helps. PS I haven't tried to boil them yet as my towels have not gotten stiff to date.

 

[QUOTE=radstoy;1565390902]I'm single can dump the whole works in the washing machine. QUOTE]

Great point funny but true....You have a big advantage over us married guys. The "It's easier to get forgiveness than permission" rule applies when I use my wifes washing machine for car stuff.

 

I have a VR Vette and have the same results using Adams.

 

[QUOTE=Blue Lightening;1565391206]But then again, he also said his towels haven't gotten stiff lately either.

 

 

I have the yellow Costco MFT and do not see this problem. How are you washing and drying them ??


DH

 

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the blue edgeless microfiber towels that AutoGeek sells. All microfiber is not the same, nor are they all made in the same country. Anything out of the big auto supply stores (AutoZone, Pep Boys, O'Reilly's, Advance, etc...) is most likely gonna scratch, especially if you wipe hard. Anything with an edge on it has the potential to scratch your car. Also, any microfiber with a tag on it is asking for scratches. The blue edgeless microfiber clothes are not only edgeless, but the tag is one that peels off. These are high quality rags and I have never had one cause any scratches. Click the picture for more details.

 

I recently, and for the first time used MF towels.
I used some from both the geek and Steve at ultramicrofiber.com, and was impressed with both of their products.
I have used Z and cotton since new, and I will stick with these MF towels from now on.
Quality towels get from me.

 

"who wants to look like a $50,000 major appliance driving down the road." redzone that is sooooo funny! And I absolutely love white vettes!!!! Of course my all time favorite is Black but I was lucky enough to get Dark Gray!

No opinion on towels but it does make sense to foam the car down like Junkman demonstrated before touching the car with anything!

 

Micro fibre:
Micro fibre by definition (very small; involving minute quantities or variations) is not a fabric; but a yarn, that’s spun into thread, which is then used to weave a terry fabric. These ultra-fine yarns (2X as fine as silk and 100X finer than a human hair) are made form various sources, they can be made from many different materials, such as a 70% Polyester 30% Polyamide or a natural material such as cellulose, a plant carbohydrate.

There are currently two countries that manufacture and export Micro fibre towels, Korea and China, the quality of these products is dependant upon the quality assurance (if any) programs employed. More so than many car care products - you'll (usually) get the quality you pay for. Purchasing them from a reliable vendor is the safest bet

Micofiber Chart - http://www.autogeek.net/mfchart.html

Its scratch resistance has a lot to do with the way the fibres are processed and spun, there are too many factors to be able to say conclusively that natural fibres will not cause scratches and artificial fibres will.

In my opinion, however, natural fibres are far less likely to scratch, flannel or cotton flannel is a very tight weave and it could scratch as it mats down easily, always try to stay with a terrycloth weave.

The first material used to produce Micro fibre was a combination of two DuPont fibres, polyester and polyamide, which is used as the core and polyester as the outer fibre, No matter how soft it feels polyester, being a plastic will scratch a paint surface on a microscopic level, which show up as towelling marks, which are longer scratches than the usual small swirl marks or micro marring, to check for polyester content see burn test

Keep in mind that the nature of this yarn is that it is an adsorbent; the reason polyester appears to absorb liquids is the many thousands of micro-fibres that collectively are encapsulating a lot of water. Once they become coated with detergent, polish or fabric softener, etc they loose there ability to be an absorbent.
The smaller the diameter of the yarn, the softer the fabric will feel, however this does not mean that its non-abrasive and will not cause scratches (this softness can also be chemically induced)

Most Micro fibre that originates from Asia and the Far East is fabricated from polyester or nylon by-products. Because the label says Micro fibre is no assurance that the material is safe to use or that it is non-abrasive.The most important criteria for any fabric used on a vehicle surface is its quality and scratch resistance.

Regardless of material type or quality, a dirty micro fibre, or a 100% Cotton towel will scratch, Micro fibre has attractant properties, that is dirt, dust, and various other substances cling to it, which is one of the reasons that it works so well, but it is also a reason why you need to be extra careful when using towels on your paint

To ensure your towels and buffing clothes provide long-term use, wash them frequently in a liquid soap (Micro Restore) in hot (120oF<) water, add a teaspoon per towel distilled white vinegar, the vinegar doesn't coat the fibres but instead works to eliminate detergent residue and finally a thorough cold rinse. Always wash micro fibre separately and only with other micro fibre fabrics

A couple of ‘non-scientific tests’ you could use to assimilate wither or not a towel will cause scratches, they are not at all scientific nor 100% accurate, they are only indicative of what the towel may do to your paint surface, but then which is preferable to scratch a CD or your paint surface? Ensure the towels have been washed before carrying out these ‘tests’. If the towel does scratch the CD’s surface that doesn’t necessarily mean that it will scratch the vehicles paint, a CD has a much softer surface than automobile paint so use caution, initially trying an inconspicuous area

1) CD Scratch Test- with a micro fibre cloth, using medium to heavy pressure rub the data surface of a CD. If no scratching is evident then it probably won’t scratch the vehicles paint surface, be aware that the bindings can also cause scratching. On first use of a towel use it on an inconspicuous area first.

2) Burn Test- to test a material for polyester content, light a thread, if it emits a black wisp of smoke and then shrivels up into a black hard ball, its polyester and will probably scratch your paint.

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Automotive Detailing Inside & Out, A Knowledge Base for the Perfectionist– by Jon Miller