Fall Detail Day: Proper towel care
10-16-2005, 08:54 AM
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Fall Detail Day: Proper towel care
Heheh, some of the towels that showed up to the detail day were appalling! 
So I figured I'd post up a little info about proper care of them. There's no point executing perfect claying and buffing technique, and bringing your paint up to an amazing level, if you then buff the polish off with some horrible swirl-inducing towel.
The first tip I have is never use a new towel. You always want to wash any new towels you buy before you use them. They come from factories, are packed in boxes, and sit on shelves in stores and warehouses before getting to you. They are NOT clean. Some towels also have chemicals on them (not unlike fabric softeners) that will make them feel artificially soft in the store when you handle them. That stuff will interfere with the towel's ability to work.
I wash my microfibers together, and never wash them with anything else. I do include my DF Towels in with this, even though they are a natural material. I wash them on HOT, with regular laundry detergent. I also add white vinegar to the rinse cycle. If your towels are getting sort of stiff or losing their softness, you might be surprised by how much of a difference vinegar can make. It helps to rinse any excess soap and hard water minerals out of the towels. DO NOT USE FABRIC SOFTENERS.
You can then hang dry, or very carefully machine dry them. Make sure to use the lowest heat, and it's best to dry them until they are just barely damp. Because most microfibers are polyester, the fibers can melt from heat and will make the towel very scratch-prone. I prefer machine drying mainly because of the lint-extraction ability, which you don't get with hang-drying (though you can put them in on "fluff" or something). DO NOT USE DRYER SHEETS.
I tend to have different classes or grades of towels. I have some that are junkier than others. I won't use the same towel to wipe down a doorjamb or dry a wheel that I'll use to buff off my hood. This also means that when a higher-grade towel gets dirty or old enough that it needs to be replaced, you can just bump it down the ladder to become a junkier towel instead of pitching it.
Then this is the biggie. Towels are consumable items. They can last a long time, but when they are done, they are done. If the towel has a lot of permanent dirt staining, the nap has thinned, it has crud embedded in it, etc, it's time to move on. The towels will never be nicer than the first time you use them, and when they degrade enough, you need to literally throw in the towel and get another one. You can't perform quality work if you don't have quality tools.
As an aside, if you liked those Ultimate Wipe towels we used or if you grabbed a couple from me and want some more, I'm trying to find out if it's possible to get any. Meguiar's was selling them on eBay previously: http://cgi.ebay.com/Microfiber-Ultim...QQcmdZViewItem but has since closed that eBay store (it was for Katrina Relief).
The towels went for $5 a piece originally, or a 20-pack for $70. A price of $35 is, in my opinion, a incredible deal, as that's less than $2 a towel. Heck, the ones I gave away I bought at $40 for a 20-pack back when I had what I considered a significant discount on Meguiar's products through work. I'll let you know if I find out anything about buying them. Meguiar's dropped them from their product line, though, so who knows...
So I figured I'd post up a little info about proper care of them. There's no point executing perfect claying and buffing technique, and bringing your paint up to an amazing level, if you then buff the polish off with some horrible swirl-inducing towel.
The first tip I have is never use a new towel. You always want to wash any new towels you buy before you use them. They come from factories, are packed in boxes, and sit on shelves in stores and warehouses before getting to you. They are NOT clean.
Some towels also have chemicals on them (not unlike fabric softeners) that will make them feel artificially soft in the store when you handle them. That stuff will interfere with the towel's ability to work.I wash my microfibers together, and never wash them with anything else. I do include my DF Towels in with this, even though they are a natural material. I wash them on HOT, with regular laundry detergent. I also add white vinegar to the rinse cycle. If your towels are getting sort of stiff or losing their softness, you might be surprised by how much of a difference vinegar can make. It helps to rinse any excess soap and hard water minerals out of the towels. DO NOT USE FABRIC SOFTENERS.
You can then hang dry, or very carefully machine dry them. Make sure to use the lowest heat, and it's best to dry them until they are just barely damp. Because most microfibers are polyester, the fibers can melt from heat and will make the towel very scratch-prone. I prefer machine drying mainly because of the lint-extraction ability, which you don't get with hang-drying (though you can put them in on "fluff" or something). DO NOT USE DRYER SHEETS.
I tend to have different classes or grades of towels. I have some that are junkier than others. I won't use the same towel to wipe down a doorjamb or dry a wheel that I'll use to buff off my hood. This also means that when a higher-grade towel gets dirty or old enough that it needs to be replaced, you can just bump it down the ladder to become a junkier towel instead of pitching it.
Then this is the biggie. Towels are consumable items. They can last a long time, but when they are done, they are done. If the towel has a lot of permanent dirt staining, the nap has thinned, it has crud embedded in it, etc, it's time to move on. The towels will never be nicer than the first time you use them, and when they degrade enough, you need to literally throw in the towel and get another one. You can't perform quality work if you don't have quality tools.
As an aside, if you liked those Ultimate Wipe towels we used or if you grabbed a couple from me and want some more, I'm trying to find out if it's possible to get any. Meguiar's was selling them on eBay previously: http://cgi.ebay.com/Microfiber-Ultim...QQcmdZViewItem but has since closed that eBay store (it was for Katrina Relief).
The towels went for $5 a piece originally, or a 20-pack for $70. A price of $35 is, in my opinion, a incredible deal, as that's less than $2 a towel. Heck, the ones I gave away I bought at $40 for a 20-pack back when I had what I considered a significant discount on Meguiar's products through work. I'll let you know if I find out anything about buying them. Meguiar's dropped them from their product line, though, so who knows...
Last edited by Aurora40; 10-16-2005 at 08:56 AM.
10-16-2005, 12:11 PM
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LOL...... NO comments from this peanut gallery.Thanks for the tip. I have washed mine, used low heat for drying and now have a stack of towels on the ready.
The Ultimate Wipes were real nice and if you can find a decent place to order a bunch, please let us know. I would be interested and I know a number of others would also.
Thanks again for the tips/education and I went right home last night a labeled those bottles I got to make sure I do not screw it up when applying later
--Brent
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