Review: Griot's Garage PFM or Pure Freakin Magic Wax Removal Towel!

[Mike Phillips]

Review: Griot's Garage PFM or Pure Freakin Magic Wax Removal Towel!



I love these towels!


A few weeks ago I was testing out some new pads and Nick asked me I could also test out some new microfiber towels? Of course I said "yes". Then I asked him,

What kind of towel do you want me to test out?


Then Nick showed me this new small wax removal towel from Griot's Garage.


Griot's Garage PFM or Pure Freakin Magic Wax Removal Towel











Some people say I have large hands? I'd say they're at a minimum normal size. These PFM towels measure 9" x 9" and fit my hand perfectly.




My hand is actually behind the towel holding it in the below shot...





Zero lint premium microfiber

The ad copy on the package states these PFM towels are made from premium microfiber material and also they are zero linting. I know towels that leave lint behind drive me crazy as well ad drive some of you crazy too. So if they are in fact zero lint towels then that's a real bonus.

Here's a few pictures showing the nap of these PFM towels....





These are actually closed LOOPS of microfiber threads. Just like you would find in a quality 100% cotton terrycloth towel.





Here's my best effort at getting a SIDE shot of the nap of the PFM towels, here you can make out the loops of fiber.




The Stoutness Factor

The feel of the towels to my hand are soft but the loops offer a level of stoutness you simply don't find in microfiber towels. The word stout means thick and strong and that's the feature I like about the nap of these Griot's PFM towels. Sometimes you want a towel that's soft as silk but other times you want a towel that is stout.

When it comes to wiping off compounds I like a stout towel. In the past the only stout towels available were normal, household hand towels made out of cotton terrycloth. The stoutness these types of towels offer help you to wipe off compound residue faster and easier than if you were to use your finest and softest towel reserved for the final wipe after removing the majority of a coat of wax just applied to a car's finish. The issue with cotton terrycloth is it's not as gentle to delicate, scratch-sensitive surfaces like modern clearcoat paints. That's where this new Griot's PFM Towel really shines. It's stout enough to make wiping compounds and polishes off fast and easy without leaving toweling marks like old cotton towels.

As soon as I felt the stoutness of this new microfiber towel I instantly knew it was the towel I've been searching for all these years for use when restoring antique single stage paint using the #7 Rub Down Technique. More to come on this perfect match-up in the future.


The Wax Factor
So while I like this towel for the stoutness factor Griot's claims its intended use if for removing waxes, sealants, spray waxes and spray detailers. Towels for these steps need to be very soft so as not to induce any toweling scratches as these step are normally performed to perfect paint. While the towels have a heavier weight to them than most super plush microfiber towels you would normally associate with wiping off waxes these towels are microfiber and the characteristic about microfiber (as compared to what we used to use in the old day, terrycloth, teeshirts and diapers), is that it's strong but gentle to scratch-sensitive surfaces.



The Wipe-off Factor
Another benefit touted by Griot's for this new towel is the one-pass wipe-off ability it offers. That is, supposedly you can make one pass with one side and this one pass will have removed the majority of the wax so that you can simply flip the towel to the other side to make the final wipe leaving a residue free surface. I pretty much already trusted and believed this to be true about this towel without even using it BECAUSE that's the characteristic of a true nap. The word nap means tiny loop of material. Again in the old days it meant cotton terrycloth. Just look closely at a bath towel or a beach towel sometime and you'll see the surface is made up of tiny loops of cotton. These new Griot's towels offers a true nap, that is tiny loops of microfiber with both stoutness and softness at the same time.


What can tiny loops of microfiber do for you?

I know some of you are reading this and wondering,

What's the big deal about the nap or the tiny [closed] loops of microfiber?

Well here's the big deal..

The loops (unlike open ended fiber strands), with their stoutness, when pushed against a layer of wax or any film residue, will SLICE into the film breaking it up and making it easier (and safer) to wipe-off.


That's what the big deal is and the cool feature to these Griot's PFM towels. Of course, all of the above is just talk what's really important is the real deal and that means waxing a car and then removing the wax.


A few weeks ago I was testing some new pads. For testing new pads I need a LARGE vehicle, something with major real-estate so I really push the pads to their limit. The last thing I want is a Fiat 500. So my friend Billy let me borrow his old 2-door Chevy. After compounding and polishing the paint to perfection, (and testing the pads in the process), the next step would be to seal the paint by applying a coat of wax. I don't do anything by hand if I can do it better and faster by machine and that goes for applying a traditional Carnauba wax to a car. So after buffing out the car I machine waxed it using a Griot's 3" Mini Polisher as a 3" waxing machine.


Dodo Juice Carnauba Waxes and the Griot's 3" Mini Polisher
















Time to wipe-off wax

Just like I figured. The stout but tiny loops of microfiber easily sliced through the dried layer of wax breaking it up and making it faster and easier for me to remove. The towels fit my hands perfectly and just like Griot's claimed, you can make one pass and remove the majority of the wax and then flip to the opposite side and make a final pass for a wax-free and streak-free finish.

















My comments...

I love these new microfiber towels from Griot's. I like the simple design and the high quality microfiber they are made from plus a satin border to prevent fraying while gentle to the paint finish. Because they are only 9" x 9" they are not intended to be folded 4-ways like almost all other towels on the market so there's no fumbling around with folding and holding the towels an you don't have "think" about which side you've used or not used. Just grab a handful of these towels and get to work.

And just like I share with buffing pads in that more is better... same goes for microfiber towels. More is better. These towels come in a 4-pack so when you order yours, order at least 3 packs so you'll have 12 towels to get you through the project and even more would be better.



On Autogeek.com

Griot's Garage Pure Freakin' Magic Wax Removal Towels

[Mike Phillips]

Just to note...

This would also be the perfect towel for both applying #7 and massaging it over and into the paint and the removing it after the soaking session.


The #7 Rub Down Technique by Mike Phillips

[briarpatch]

Thanks for the review.....just out of curiosity...how many of those towels did you go through on that '57?

[Marc08EX]

Great review as always Mike!!!

These PFM towels are going to be in my cart in my future purchase.

[RavenHawk]

The towels definitely look interesting, but that Chevy...OMG, why?

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

Very nice review Mike!

Interesting take on the towel size being so small so you don't have to fold it into fours. Here I guess it won't matter much as you are simply trying to remove a dried up wax.

Thanks for sharing.

[Mike Phillips]

Thanks for the review.....just out of curiosity...how many of those towels did you go through on that '57?

1 pack.

I would have used them for the compounding and polishig steps and even the McKee's Jeweling Wax step, (horizontal surfaces), except Nick didn't bring them out for me to test until I was at the waxing step.

Since them I've used them for removing compounds and I like em....

[Mike Phillips]

The towels definitely look interesting,

but that Chevy...OMG,

why?

All I can tell you is... this is America.

We as a country do all kinds of crazy things. For example Jet Ski racing? I don't know if I see Jet Ski Racing in other countries?

I guess if people are pulling the cart, paying their taxes and obeying the laws of the land then here in America, (at least historically) we're free to pursue happiness.

[ScottH]

Mike if I am not mistaken the Griot's Polywax comes with one of these in the box. If true, I've used these several times to remove Polywax. The towels are great and removing Polywax with them is near effortless. I do wish these were larger though, as I like to fold my towels. I like to have a lot of "towel" under my hand versus a single layer. I supposed I could always double up on them for that reason...

ScottH

[VISITOR]

another solid offering from GG!