[Cresterk]

Microfibers have become extremely popular in the automotive detailing industry and even with the DIY fellow who likes to wash his car at home. I'm betting pretty much everyone here has at least heard about it, even if they do not understand the differences between them or how to use them properly.

I hadn't really looked too deep into microfibers until I got my car ceramic coated and started washing it myself and as always, I went too deep with the research.

Here are most of the ones I purchased and experimented with over the last year :


All of them have a different purpose and are of varying price points. Don't get too carried away with GSM and brands and wanting the most expensive one. After a certain point, they don't matter as much as you think and while durability varies, they are not meant to last forever. It's better to buy 2-3 cheap ones over one very expensive one. Some of the expensive dual pile ones can do 2 tasks but there is no such thing as a great all purpose microfiber that you can use for everything.

Pile

Pile is the term used to describe the long strands of microfiber that you can see. Each of these piles is made up of thousands of individual microfiber threads. The type of pile is what determines the purpose of the microfiber cloth.

Let's start with the most common one

Ultra low pile or No pile



These cloths are what you get with the box when you purchase sunglasses or eyeglasses. They are excellent for trapping and removing human oil and very tiny particles without smearing. Very important for keeping your vision clear. They are also good for cleaning your laptop screens, phones, infotainment or any other glossy surfaces where you end up with fingerprints.

They are useless for anything else.

Low pile or medium pile


blue low pile microfiber

Running your hand just lightly over them should feel "scratchy" like it's soft velcro. That's because the microscopic hooks in the microfiber are grabbing onto the imperfections on your skin. It's very apparent if you have calluses.

You can use them for removing polish, compounding or waxing residue.


Yellow medium pile microfiber. Notice how the other side of the yellow has a low pile like the blue one. Most higher pile microfiber cloth will have one long pile and one shot pile side.

Dirt or large particles are grabbed very easily due to the velcro effect. However, these large particles are hard to remove once they grab and reusing it without proper cleaning will lead to scratches. Hence why detailers advice you to keep them aside if you drop it. I'm not a fan of throwing brand new towels away.

They are also good for when you need an extra "bite" when cleaning a dirty car that you won't get from the chenille wash mitts (noodley mitts)


Large, hard particles caught in the medium pile. They will cause scratches if used on paint. They cannot be easily removed with your hand without also ripping out some microfiber with it

I use medium pile for interior, mainly cleaning the dashboard, dusting and such.

High pile


Orange high ple towel with a blue low pile towel for comparison

They are very absorbent and can trap most debris safely inside the long strands. This is because they have quite a lot of surface area due to the longer pile.

High pile towels are the only ones you should use on paint for any sort of waterless washing like with quick detail sprays.
PS: Quick detail sprays are only meant for getting off light dust or any spots you missed while you did your normal wash and drying. Do not use it in place of a proper wash.


From top to bottom: medium pile, high pile, low pile

They are also very good for drying and there are special drying towels made out of plush high pile microfiber that can dry a panel completely with just a single swipe and leave no streaks.

However, you cannot use them on glasses like windshields etc or they will leave tiny fibers behind. Glass is a different type of surface and it can rip out tiny little threads of microfiber which will then be seen as lint. For that, we have dedicated glass microfibers.


Lint left behind on a mirror when wiped with a non-glass specific microfiber. If you accidentally end up with this kind of linting, just wipe with a no pile towel (listed at the top in this post) to remove them.

Waffle weave

These type of towels are purely for drying. This is not a type of pile but a unique surface pattern. This pattern looks like waffles and allows them to hold quite a lot of water inside the pockets. Once one side is soaked, you can flip them around and use the other side to mop up even more water.



They can also be used for drying glasses and will not leave any lint behind.

They are very cheap compared to plush towels and depending on the size, they can be used to dry almost an entire car without having to wring them out repeatedly!

However:

They are low pile towels. Which means it doesn't offer much protection if you use them on a car that isn't washed properly beforehand, you will leave micro scratches. Do not press down on the edges of this towel.


yellow waffleweave towel I have been using for the past year

They can get most of the water off, but they don't dry perfectly well in one swipe. They can leave small streaks of water behind compared to using an expensive hybrid towel.

Hybrid drying towels:



You can see that this particular towel has alternating columns of low pile and high pile. It can get every bit of water off paint and leave it perfectly dry in a single swipe. Just spread it out, pat it down and slowly pull it across. The high pile protects the car from most microscratches even if your washing wasn't perfect.

The other side of the towel has a diamond weave pattern (similar in properties to waffle weave) that can be used to dry glass and windshields.

However, it gets soaked pretty easily and you will be wringing it out a lot. Just drying the car's bonnet (hood) is enough to get it saturated with water and I have to wring it out. It is also expensive.
I personally prefer using a cheap waffle weave towel or an air blower to get the majority of the water off quickly in one go, and then using this towel as a follow up to get flat surfaces completely dry or on any spots I missed. Saves a lot of time spent on wringing.

If you want to get more in depth about Microfibers : https://www.ocdcarcare.com/auto-deta...ing-explained/

[Cresterk]

Now come the Wash mitts. Technically not a towel but they are microfiber in the form of a mitt that you can either wear over your hand or just hold them.
There are many different types


Note: this image was taken from the web

The only ones I will be covering will be the Chenille wash mitts (the noodle type one on the left) because they are the ones I have been using for the past year. I don't have experience with mitts of the other types.

Chenille Wash mitts

They are the easiest to use for beginners. They have these noodles sticking out of them that move around based on which direction you are swiping. This means a different side of the noodle is contacting the surface when you change directions. This allows you to be less careful of how you are swiping as well as cover a lot more area before having to return to the bucket to clean them. The best part about these mitts is that swishing them around in a bucket of water will remove most of the dirt trapped in them, letting you re-use them. Works even better if you have a grit guard.




They come in two types. One sided and double sided. I recommend getting the double sided ones because you can just flip your hand around and cover even more area before returning to the bucket to rinse off the dirt. They are anyway only marginally more expensive than the single sided ones. The cost will generally determine the amount of soap solution they hold or how many "noodles" they have.

It's good to buy 2 of them. Use one for the top 80% of the car, and another for the bottom 20% which has the most muck and grime.

Other mitts

The one I linked above have held up pretty well for me over the last year so I hadn't really bothered to try other ones. Recently decided to change it up and bought this from a random seller on amazon:



It was cheap compared to equivalent competitors but I'm not sure about the quality or if it is even real microfiber. I bought it because it looked similar to the rightmost one in the first picture. I will not be linking it since I'm not sure if it is legit. I will come back and write more about it after using it for a while.

As I get and try out more brands and varieties of mitts, I will update this section.

[Cresterk]

Washing Microfiber

Washing your microfiber properly is very important. You can't just keep reusing soiled, dirty microfibers without it being ineffective and leading to scratches.

Before we start, we must first look at how microfiber works :

Note: scientific images taken from the web




Microfiber consists of 2 parts, polyamide and polyester. They are fused together and shredded to form a 'star' like shape that is only visible under a microscope. This gives it a high surface area as well as crevices that allow it to collect a large amount of dirt. These tiny fibers are then twisted together to form threads which are then woven into a variety of towels, mitts etc.




This is how it behaves when wiping across dirt. As you can see, it's not some magical rag that transports dirt to the nether realm and it is possible to fill it up and requires to be cleaned every now and then.

On to the process:

This is the detailed and complicated way to do it: https://www.ocdcarcare.com/auto-deta...uto-detailing/

However, these are the general, lazy steps I follow:

Sort out your drying towels and towels that are just very lightly soiled and your heavily soiled towels.

You will generally be left with some PH neutral car shampoo in your bucket after washing your car. Instead of throwing them away, we can put them to some use by throwing your heavily dirty towels in them and swirling them around.
If you have a grit guard for your bucket, even better. Rub them on the grit guard to get them to release as much dirt as possible.



The colour of the water in the bucket should now be pretty dark. Transfer the towels into another bucket and throw the dirty shampoo water away.

Now add about 10ml of APC such as kochchemie greenstar into the empty bucket. Fill it up with water. It should foam up on it's own. Throw the towels and mitts into this bucket. Swirl it around and then let them stay soaked. Leave it overnight.

Next day, rinse out the towels and mitts. Check if they are clean.

Then, I throw them all into the washing machine. If they are mostly clean, I just let them run for a quick cycle with no detergent. Just to rinse and dry it (20 mins wash and spin dry)


If they are still somewhat soiled, then I run them for a longer 1 hour cycle with some liquid detergent added. Wash it on warm water (30-40C) if possible to help the microfiber release the dirt trapped in it.

Do not wash it in water hotter than that since it might melt the fibers. Do not dry it in a dryer which uses hot air for drying. Make sure not to use any fabric softener. It will clog up the microfiber and you will have to soak it in APC again to remove it.


This is the detergent I use, same as for my usual laundry. It's not ideal but it's priced in the middle and works okayish.
There are detergents made specifically for microfiber which will work better.
However they are very expensive and I can't bring myself to spend 3k on a detergent to wash about 1-2k worth of towels. The trick I mentioned above with soaking in APC will generally get it just as clean.

The towels and mitts are reasonably dry after the spin drying and wont drip. Just take them and hang them up in your drying rack till it dries up completely.



Make sure to dry indoors or in the shade. Direct sunlight can melt the tiny strands of microfiber.

Waxes, sealants, polishing materials etc can clog your microfiber towel and make them hydrophobic, just like your car. As you can imagine, a towel that doesn't absorb is useless. Soaking overnight in APC dissolves them. If you haven't gotten any of these on your towel, you can skip the APC soak and go directly to washing machine.

You can also use diluted APC to clean stubborn dirt from your car. If my car is filthy with a lot of road film, I spray diluted APC on the bottom panels and and then pressure washing will be much more effective.

If you are washing them in the washing machine, make sure to remove the detergent tray and wash out any fabric softener that might be remaining in the tray. You don't want them getting on the microfiber.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[prasanth DIYer]

Thanks for the detailed thread , very much informative.

like the way its scientifically explained but dumbing down for all to understand, keep going

[coolmel]

Great thread, thanks a lot for the details. I have a MUST DO suggestion: Pls replace the Surf with detergents from Born Good or Beco. They are less harsh and still do the job effectively. Have been using them for quite long now and have to say, the life of my microfibres has been prolonged solely due to them. BG even has a special detergent for dark coloured towels.

[AJ56]

Originally Posted by Cresterk

Microfibers have become extremely popular in the automotive detailing industry and even with the DIY fellow who likes to wash his car at home.

Good effort! Just wanted to add that with different blends of microfibres- polyester/polyamide ratios are very important when deciding on the type of towel.

The higher the polyamide percentage the softer and plusher a towel is, but there is a balance, too high a percentage will take away from the towels durability and shear resistance. Following are polyester-polyamide percentages and their uses.

90-10: cheap towels, often found in domestic/kitchen applications. Not for cars.

80-20: the majority of car towels are using an 80-20 blend, it’ll work but it’s not the softest out there. These are still on the budget side and are used in 99% of automotive applications.

70-30: the best/plushest type of towels, can get a little expensive but well worth it considering how expensive paintwork is on new cars.

Also, will suggest never use low pile towels anywhere near paint as they’re hard and scruffy and will scuff the finish. Stick to medium or high pile for levelling waxes/coatings.

Will also say, any thread about microfibres that doesn’t mention The Rag Company is like a thread on sports cars that doesn’t mention the 911

https://www.amazon.in/Rag-Company-Pr.../dp/B07C2HNMBM

[sudeepg]

Originally Posted by Cresterk

However, you cannot use them on glasses like windshields etc or they will leave tiny fibers behind. Glass is a different type of surface and it can rip out tiny little threads of microfiber which will then be seen as lint. For that, we have dedicated glass microfibers.

Very thankful to this post of yours for explaining it so clearly and effectively. This came in just when I am wondering which Microfiber cloths to purchase for my next detailing session. I always thought higher GSM is good for all parts of the car including interiors. This post really helped clarify which ones to use.

For glass, I use a glass cleaner with a hand held wiper and then clean it off with a micro fiber towel. It worked well so far, but the idea of not using thick fibers is surely a good one. Thanks much!

[amol4184]

Excellent thread! I learnt many things about this wonderful product and I must say I might have been using it wrong.

[krishnakumar]

This is superb information!! I love cleaning car and although I use microfibre cloth I just thought that only a high GSM mattered. Saving this thread for future reference.

Originally Posted by Cresterk

However, you cannot use them on glasses like windshields etc or they will leave tiny fibers behind. Glass is a different type of surface and it can rip out tiny little threads of microfiber which will then be seen as lint. For that, we have dedicated glass microfibers.

To confirm, are the dedicated glass microfibres same as the low pile/no pile type that you have shared at first? Or is this different?

I have often faced this problem of lint on the windshield and always thought it was because of poor quality cloth (I realize after reading your post that I only have medium and high pile cloths).

[Cresterk]

Thank you everyone for your responses. Looking forward to reading more of everyone's suggestions and recommendations

Originally Posted by coolmel

Great thread, thanks a lot for the details. I have a MUST DO suggestion: Pls replace the Surf with detergents from Born Good or Beco. They are less harsh and still do the job effectively. Have been using them for quite long now and have to say, the life of my microfibres has been prolonged solely due to them. BG even has a special detergent for dark coloured towels.

Are these the products?

https://amzn.to/3SEzmxE

https://amzn.to/4cesLRJ

They sound promising. I have added both to my cart and will give them a try soon. Are they also just as effective on normal clothes for the usual laundry?

Originally Posted by krishnakumar

This is superb information!! I love cleaning car and although I use microfibre cloth I just thought that only a high GSM mattered. Saving this thread for future reference.



To confirm, are the dedicated glass microfibres same as the low pile/no pile type that you have shared at first? Or is this different?

I have often faced this problem of lint on the windshield and always thought it was because of poor quality cloth (I realize after reading your post that I only have medium and high pile cloths).

No, the no-pile/low pile cannot absorb much water or clean dirty windshields. They can only be used to get rid of slight marks on an already clean and dry windshield such as fingerprints or lint left behind from using the wrong towel.

You need to use the waffle weave or diamond weave type microfiber for drying windshields. They will not leave any lint behind but it will also absorb all the water.

[Cresterk]

Originally Posted by AJ56

Good effort! Just wanted to add that with different blends of microfibres- polyester/polyamide ratios are very important when deciding on the type of towel.

The higher the polyamide percentage the softer and plusher a towel is, but there is a balance, too high a percentage will take away from the towels durability and shear resistance. Following are polyester-polyamide percentages and their uses.

90-10: cheap towels, often found in domestic/kitchen applications. Not for cars.

80-20: the majority of car towels are using an 80-20 blend, it’ll work but it’s not the softest out there. These are still on the budget side and are used in 99% of automotive applications.

70-30: the best/plushest type of towels, can get a little expensive but well worth it considering how expensive paintwork is on new cars.

I tried to stay away from numbers as much possible to avoid confusing people who might be new to this as well as to avoid exaggeration by resellers. I tried my best to stick to properties that anyone can see and feel for themselves.

I had linked a website that goes into detail and talks about numbers ; including the polyester/polyamide ratios for people who wanted to read more in depth about it in my first post.

I believe other than maybe the cheap sunglasses towel, everything I linked is either 80-20 blend or 70-30 blend

Will also say, any thread about microfibres that doesn’t mention The Rag Company is like a thread on sports cars that doesn’t mention the 911

https://www.amazon.in/Rag-Company-Pr.../dp/B07C2HNMBM

I have heard about the rag company but I didn't mention them for the same reason I don't mention Porsches to anyone buying their first car. They are just too expensive!
Those towels you linked are 4k INR. I think for about the same amount you could buy one each of everything I had posted.

https://theragcompany.com/products/e...cc3cc331&_ss=r

The 3 prack of Eagle edgeless 600 are being sold for 20 USD on their US store. Which should come out to around 1500-1600 inr. Which would be a reasonable price. But it doesn't make any sense to buy them when they are sold here at 4000 inr which is more than double!

Maybe if someone starts to bulk import them and sell them at a more reasonable price, I might consider them.

For example: Koch-Chemie Green Star is sold in Germany for 7.11 Euros. Which is around 650 Inr.
https://motodox.de/Koch-Chemie-Green...versal-Cleaner

It is being sold in India for the same price : https://themicrofibershop.com/produc...m_term=TeamBHP

If Green Star was being sold for some highly inflated 1500-2000rs instead, I never would have recommended it. I would have just searched for something more value for money.

Also, will suggest never use low pile towels anywhere near paint as they’re hard and scruffy and will scuff the finish. Stick to medium or high pile for levelling waxes/coatings.

I could not find a wax video so this will have to do. Hopefully compound residue is similar enough.

https://youtu.be/zJi_wI-jCUI?si=3d1RgpioQjFmPPvu&t=246

Check out this video from Rag company themselves from 4:00 mins.
They themselves rate high pile towels such as Eagle Edgeless 600 as being the hardest to remove residues. It is the best to not accidentally cause micro-scratches on softest clear coat though.

Their choice was the Edgeless 365
https://theragcompany.com/products/edgeless-365

Which is a low pile towel.

However, I understand why you recommended that Eagle towel. As a detailer, you have probably worked on thousands of cars and it's best to give out a safe recommendation to clients that won't accidentally cause scuffs no matter what the car or how badly they use the towel. No one wants to spend hours polishing the paint to perfection just to have the client ruin your hard work in a month because they couldn't figure out how to use a towel properly. It's idiot-proof but for easier results that won't leave your arm dead, I think it's best to stick to wiping off with a low/med pile towel.

[krishbvmk]

Originally Posted by Cresterk

I

Maybe if someone starts to bulk import them and sell them at a more reasonable price, I might consider them.

For example: Koch-Chemie Green Star is sold in Germany for 7.11 Euros. Which is around 650 Inr.
https://motodox.de/Koch-Chemie-Green...versal-Cleaner
.

Good piece of info sir. Thank you. Hope someone within India manufactures a better or at least something closer to green star so that import is avoided. Also, we need alternatives to expensive 3M and Formula 1 products, please advise

[coolmel]

Originally Posted by Cresterk

Thank you everyone for your responses. Looking forward to reading more of everyone's suggestions and recommendations



Are these the products?

https://amzn.to/3SEzmxE

https://amzn.to/4cesLRJ

They sound promising. I have added both to my cart and will give them a try soon. Are they also just as effective on normal clothes for the usual laundry?

Yes Sir. Or you can directly purchase from their sites. BG has recently come up with a detergent tablet variant. I find them effective. For greasy stains, the best way is to hand scrub. Try the Anti Microbial variant. It's my top fav. Beco is cost effective and almost as good as BG. The other worthwhile options are Pure Cult, Profab and Koparo.

[AJ56]

Originally Posted by Cresterk

I think for about the same amount you could buy one each of everything I had posted.

https://theragcompany.com/products/e...cc3cc331&_ss=r

The 3 prack of Eagle edgeless 600 are being sold for 20 USD on their US store. Which should come out to around 1500-1600 inr. Which would be a reasonable price. But it doesn't make any sense to buy them when they are sold here at 4000 inr which is more than double!

Maybe if someone starts to bulk import them and sell them at a more reasonable price, I might consider them.

For example: Koch-Chemie Green Star is sold in Germany for 7.11 Euros. Which is around 650 Inr.

It is being sold in India for the same price : https://themicrofibershop.com/produc...m_term=TeamBHP

If Green Star was being sold for some highly inflated 1500-2000rs instead, I never would have recommended it. I would have just searched for something more value for money.

Check out this video from Rag company themselves from 4:00 mins.
They themselves rate high pile towels such as Eagle Edgeless 600 as being the hardest to remove residues. It is the best to not accidentally cause micro-scratches on softest clear coat though.

Their choice was the Edgeless 365
https://theragcompany.com/products/edgeless-365

Which is a low pile towel.

However, I understand why you recommended that Eagle towel.

TRC isn’t cheap at 1300/piece but I’d rather use the best fibres and not save that 500 (compared to say a Nanolex at 800) as quality over quantity gets results (with safety). It’s personal preference but I follow the same advice with oil and tyres as well, if it’s interacting with something important, go the extra mile and buy the best.

As regards paying double in India, that’s a tale as old as time. Be it our phones, our cars or our detailing products we almost always end up paying nearly double of what it costs in other countries.

Also, don’t just look at cost of acquisition but cost of use as well, TRC lasts a really long time (years) in domestic applications, cheaper towels turn hard sooner and this reduces the cost delta between the two when overall cost is considered. I’d still use green star at those prices as it still won’t be overpriced considering how MultiX and other quality cleaners are priced.

TRC clips are mostly marketing with some useful info sprinkled in, there are much better channels out there that give genuine info without the marketing and product pushing. With that in mind, I’ll differentiate between towel gsm and pile, low pile higher gsm is perfectly safe and even on super soft paint. I only take exception to low pile + low gsm being used on soft paint, which I’d never advise anyone attempt, specially the super cheap light blue Amazon towels which fall under this category.

Fibre quality is also very important, the same 350gsm low pile towel from TRC is much softer than the a 350gsm cheap Amazon/softspun towel and as such is much safer than the latter.

Also, if you’re having trouble removing waxes/sealants or compounds with a 600gsm high pile towel, I’d say something is up with the wax (flash time exceeded for eg.) and not the towel.

Cheers.