100% white cotton towels

[precurser]

Hey all where can i get the above? Have been advised to only use 100% white cotton towels to wash and dry the car..

 

[Puny]

Hi precurser,

I would presume that the towels referred to are Micro-fibre towels..
You can find them at any DIY/car accessory shop.

They look like normal cotton towels, but they're surposed to be safer on the paintwork. They *are not* very absorbant, so they're better used when the car is relatively dryer; use a good quality natural chamois for absorbing most of the water first, then finish off with the micro-fibre cloth, they really get the car streak free.

 

[precurser]

I've been recommended by zaino to use 100% cotton towels, not micro fibre and they also don't advise using chamois.

Maybe i should go source out from major departmental stores.

 

[emiffy]

precurser,

recommend you look for cotton towels made in the USA. I think it's because it really is 100% cotton. Avoid China-made "100%" towels, I have some pictures of the damage it can do

You can get the towels from Robinsons.

Or like what others have suggested, just use microfiber.

 

[precurser]

I just bought 1 pair of 100% cotton towels from the supermarket at paragon, but it doesn't state where it's made from. Brand is called Terry Palmer.

 

[__iceman__]

Autobacs got many of these. Mostly jap brands, got normal 100% cotton towels, and also micro fibre ones.

 

[precurser]

http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=TOWELS&Store_Code=Z

 

[Puny]

Hi precursor,

Think I've ever read about this and there're some very good online stores that sell them in bulk. Not very cheap however. I reckon the cotton towels from departmental stores may vary though..

Perhaps you can try the "CD test". Grab an unused CD, rub the cloth into the surface and see if there's marring. -> http://autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?threadid=49748 (Interesting read)

For chamois, there's a great margin between synthetic and good quality natural ones which are contrastingly soft. When drying, I reckon it's safest not to wipe though.. just lay out the cloth and tap..

I find it helps to apply very light pressure when wiping dry, then finish off the residual water streaks with a terry cloth (MF/Cotton being a preference).

Some online stores, but they sell almost entirely MF cloths though. The "cotton" towels being referred to, are usually available in Walmart over in the states.
http://www.dftowel.com/
http://www.waynestowels.com/
http://www.pakshak.com/

Have fun!
Alvin.

 

[precurser]

Apparently i've tried to use an old cotton t-shirt and it absorbs water very well. And the surface is smooth so the chances of scratching the paintwork and leaving 'hair' is very much less.

 

[Puny]

Apparently i've tried to use an old cotton t-shirt and it absorbs water very well. And the surface is smooth so the chances of scratching the paintwork and leaving 'hair' is very much less.

Hi precursor,

There's actually a good reason for most of the car detailing cloths to have woven thread surfaces. These threads will pick up any micro dirt and actually reduces the possibility of scratching. It may sound contradictory, that a cloth that traps dirt actually helps to minimise scratching but that's the intended function (unless the cloth is reasonably dirty!). So the best protection is still ensuring the car is free of dirt before wiping.

Cheers.

 

[Puny]

Did a more thorough search and found a rather comprehensive article about Microfibre!

MICROFIBER: THE MYTHS, TRUTH AND TECHNOLOGY
[url]http://www.bettercarcare.com/articles.php?articleId=44[/url]

Apparently, the weaving techniques of the cloth determines the forgivingness of the cloth to scratch, as well as absorbancy and softness.

Disclaimer: Puny does not sell microfibre; although he looks like he's endorsing it quite heavily. Any profits/commisions to him are purely coincidental and he does not work for any detailing company (including Zaino(tm) or any of it's competitors)