100% cotton towel to drying?
- Thread starter dumayou
- Start date
Do you use regular 100% cotton bath type towels? I have tried microfiber and I don't think they work very well. I bought the largest I could find and it takes so many to dry the car because they get soaked so fast. I am thinking there must be a better way to dry and keep the microfiber for polishing.
2 cents-
I went to Bed, Bath & Beyond and selected towels from appx 8 different companies,
The quality difference is HUGE -
You do pay a little more for the good soft ones,
Good hand towels appx $15 ea
Good bath towels appx $20 ea
You will notice the stiff-scratchy towels are (bingo!) the cheapest.
Go Quality.
I went to Bed, Bath & Beyond and selected towels from appx 8 different companies,
The quality difference is HUGE -
You do pay a little more for the good soft ones,
Good hand towels appx $15 ea
Good bath towels appx $20 ea
You will notice the stiff-scratchy towels are (bingo!) the cheapest.
Go Quality.
I was using chamois for drying up until yesterday. The California Water Blade that I ordered arrived yesterday and as soon as I got it, I washed the car. I like the blade more than chamois, it takes all of the water off and does it really fast without any water spots. I still use chamois in hard to reach places. The only bad thing about the blade, is that when one place dries before you got to it, you will get water spots that can't be taken off with the blade. In order to fix this, I wash the one part of the car, blade it then I wash another part and blade it. The key here is going from top to bottom. After I was finished the car turned out to be so shiny and clean that my neighbor thought I just waxed it. I think I'm going to wash the car even more often.
Cotton Paranoia
I have been paranoid about using cotton ever since it was explained to me why I should not use it. The idea is that anything that has wood fibers in it has the potential to scratch. Even "really soft" cotton towels. My theory is that if you do it once, you won't see that scratches buit over time, they will build up and one day you will wonder why your car looks like hell. So you should only trust synthetic non-cotton fabrics such as chamois, silk, sponge and others. Just something to consider- I hate getting too crazy about this stuff but once I hear it, the stuff sits in the back of my mind. Sorry to do this to you. If anyone can scientifically dispute this one, be my guest - I would love to switch back to cotton. Later.
I have been paranoid about using cotton ever since it was explained to me why I should not use it. The idea is that anything that has wood fibers in it has the potential to scratch. Even "really soft" cotton towels. My theory is that if you do it once, you won't see that scratches buit over time, they will build up and one day you will wonder why your car looks like hell. So you should only trust synthetic non-cotton fabrics such as chamois, silk, sponge and others. Just something to consider- I hate getting too crazy about this stuff but once I hear it, the stuff sits in the back of my mind. Sorry to do this to you. If anyone can scientifically dispute this one, be my guest - I would love to switch back to cotton. Later.
Chamios is very hard on a cars finish, worse than cotton. I have been using the California Water Balde (since its invention) and cotton towels (since I bought my cars) and they all three look great. Check the gallery and see if they pass inspection. The 318is has 130k on her, the 750iL 90k and the M roadster 45k. Zymol products, Cali. Water Blade and 100% cotton towels from Costco.
I guess I am going to have to rethink my detailing approach. I will review Vlad's detailing guide and throw away my chamois. The chamois has been a tradition in my family - I guess you are saying that the tradition will have to die with my generation.
I will try to locate the California water blade (I will probably have to find one on the web - local auto stores are terrible here).
I will try to locate the California water blade (I will probably have to find one on the web - local auto stores are terrible here).
![[thumb]](/images/smilies/icon_smile_thumb.gif "Thumbs Up [thumb]"){kind=icon}
it's the best. You will love it. I now have 2, one for the car and one for the outside windows on my house.Drying your car
Would you try a new carwash product that eliminates hand drying all together? No towels, no animal skins, no blades. No spots. No more swirl marks. I'll send you a kit free. Send me an e-mail with mailing instructions. I don't work for the company selling these and I won't mention the product name because I don't want people to scream at me for commercialism.
Would you try a new carwash product that eliminates hand drying all together? No towels, no animal skins, no blades. No spots. No more swirl marks. I'll send you a kit free. Send me an e-mail with mailing instructions. I don't work for the company selling these and I won't mention the product name because I don't want people to scream at me for commercialism.
Phil-
WAS that you on the sites I mentioned?
Still curious about scratches with blade guys. I used to use dead animals to dry car (The fur kept getting caught in tight spaces) I like them fresh,on the grill better! Now I use a synthetic -seems to absorb more water!
Keep me posted on blade please.
-Mel
WAS that you on the sites I mentioned?
Still curious about scratches with blade guys. I used to use dead animals to dry car (The fur kept getting caught in tight spaces) I like them fresh,on the grill better! Now I use a synthetic -seems to absorb more water!
Keep me posted on blade please.
-Mel