What microfiber towels to stock up on?

[Emt1581]

Right now I have 3 of the washcloth sized super towels (yellow with black trim/edge) and then a no name fluorescent yellow one. But from reading here, people seem to have hundreds of towels. Seems like every time you do any work with a towel you want to use a fresh one. Makes sense. If I keep a bag of clean ones in my trunk, I'm always ready to go.

At the same time, I have used towels for quick detailing (bug and road crap removal up front using CG quick detailer) and dusting (using CG Inner clean). So smaller towels work just fine for me. I also might start using them in addition to the leaf blower I'm already using to dry off after a wash.

Is there a brand or model that people here seem to prefer that's maybe sold in bundles of 10 or 20?

Thanks

-Emt1581

[Ray6712]

Rag company Creature is what I use for drying after I push the water off the car with compressed air.

Although lately I've graduated to their platinum pluffle towels which are super soft and soak up water like crazy.

If your looking to buy in the hundreds they have a wholesale site, you can purchase by 10 or so on amazon with prime!


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[derass]

I really like the Gold Plush Jr's. They're quite versatile, so they're perfect for detailing sprays, spray waxes, and removing compounds, polishes and LSPs. They are sold in up to packs of 12.

My only advice is keep towels that you use for removing bird droppings and bugs separate from those that you use for sprays, correction and LSP. You don't want to introduce any sort of grit while you're trying to perfect the finish. I use cheaper, general purpose MF towels for interior.

For reference, I have about 20 Gold Plush Jr's for exterior finishing. 20 cheap MF's for interior and door jambs (separate colours). I'm now looking to get maybe 20 more for rinseless/waterless washing. Those would need to be decent quality, but that I don't mind getting really dirty. They would be used for bugs and birds too.

Here's a link to the Gold Plush Jr's:
Gold Plush Jr. Microfiber Towel, gold detail cloth, buffing towel, microfiber buffing towel, micro fiber (http://www.autogeek.net/gold-plush-jr-towel.html)

[Rmd]

I am admitted towel-aholic. I have hundreds, and I just have one car so its definitely a subject I have experience with. My recommendation would be to focus on several categories of uses for towels, and then buy towels to dedicate to each category rather than to focus on the towels themselves first. You can break down the categories into dozens of uses and get into serious overkill, but here is what I would start with and some recommendations in each. The other reason to have categories is so that you can wash them only with towels of the same category. This is important because you don't want residue from a wax or sealant removal towels to contaminate drying towels. As Mike Phillips said in a post way back, get enough of each category to make a washer load; you don't want to wash 4 towels at a time and you don't want to mix types in the washer.
I'm going to focus on towels from AG/ACC with one exception.


Interiors - easiest and most economical is to buy a 36 pack of the Costco yellows. You don't need fancy towels for interiors if you are looking for a basic intro setup.

Drying - use drying towels only for drying, and wash them by themselves so they don't get contaminated in the washer with spray wax/QD or anything else than can reduce their absorbency over time. I'm a big fan of the Griots PFM and the Gyeon silk, but many people like good quality waffle weave towels like the guzzlers or other brands.

General Paint towels, such as spray wax/QD and general paint use. The yellow cobra junior are probably the best towels for this are are a good value. I would never be without these towels. Gold Plush Jr. Microfiber Towel, gold detail cloth, buffing towel, microfiber buffing towel, micro fiber (http://www.autogeek.net/gold-plush-jr-towel.html)

Paint - polish/wax/sealant removal. Towels such as the grey 530's or pink 600's are great for this. Also the AG edgeless towels are really good and are inexpensive; they come in multiple colors so you can keep wax and sealant separate from polish if you like. Forrest Green Edgeless Polishing Cloth (http://www.autogeek.net/edgless-towel.html)

Wheels/Tires - definitely have dedicated towels for this, and only use them for wheels and towels. Black general purpose towels work well for this. Microfiber Wheel Detailing Towel, wheel buffing towel, all wheel towel, utility towel, shop towel (http://www.autogeek.net/microfiber-wheel-towel.html). Or, here's a budget trick that works - dedicate 6-8 or so Costco towels for this and the first time you wash them put a really dark MF towel in with the load of costco's. This will discolor the gold costco's with dye, but wont hurt the effectiveness of the towels, and then you can tell them apart.

Sacrificial towels - engines, etc that you will throw away after one use. Costo's.

If you waterless or rinseless wash, you will need a dozen good quality plush towels. I prefer something in the 600 gsm range. This setup will be the most expensive, but if you shop around you can get good value.

Hope that helps.

[VISITOR]

buy a couple dozen of the gold plush jr's...

[amalik]

I am admitted towel-aholic. I have hundreds, and I just have one car so its definitely a subject I have experience with. My recommendation would be to focus on several categories of uses for towels, and then buy towels to dedicate to each category rather than to focus on the towels themselves first. You can break down the categories into dozens of uses and get into serious overkill, but here is what I would start with and some recommendations in each. The other reason to have categories is so that you can wash them only with towels of the same category. This is important because you don't want residue from a wax or sealant removal towels to contaminate drying towels. As Mike Phillips said in a post way back, get enough of each category to make a washer load; you don't want to wash 4 towels at a time and you don't want to mix types in the washer.
I'm going to focus on towels from AG/ACC with one exception.


Interiors - easiest and most economical is to buy a 36 pack of the Costco yellows. You don't need fancy towels for interiors if you are looking for a basic intro setup.

Drying - use drying towels only for drying, and wash them by themselves so they don't get contaminated in the washer with spray wax/QD or anything else than can reduce their absorbency over time. I'm a big fan of the Griots PFM and the Gyeon silk, but many people like good quality waffle weave towels like the guzzlers or other brands.

General Paint towels, such as spray wax/QD and general paint use. The yellow cobra junior are probably the best towels for this are are a good value. I would never be without these towels. Gold Plush Jr. Microfiber Towel, gold detail cloth, buffing towel, microfiber buffing towel, micro fiber (http://www.autogeek.net/gold-plush-jr-towel.html)

Paint - polish/wax/sealant removal. Towels such as the grey 530's or pink 600's are great for this. Also the AG edgeless towels are really good and are inexpensive; they come in multiple colors so you can keep wax and sealant separate from polish if you like. Forrest Green Edgeless Polishing Cloth (http://www.autogeek.net/edgless-towel.html)

Wheels/Tires - definitely have dedicated towels for this, and only use them for wheels and towels. Black general purpose towels work well for this. Microfiber Wheel Detailing Towel, wheel buffing towel, all wheel towel, utility towel, shop towel (http://www.autogeek.net/microfiber-wheel-towel.html). Or, here's a budget trick that works - dedicate 6-8 or so Costco towels for this and the first time you wash them put a really dark MF towel in with the load of costco's. This will discolor the gold costco's with dye, but wont hurt the effectiveness of the towels, and then you can tell them apart.

Sacrificial towels - engines, etc that you will throw away after one use. Costo's.

If you waterless or rinseless wash, you will need a dozen good quality plush towels. I prefer something in the 600 gsm range. This setup will be the most expensive, but if you shop around you can get good value.

Hope that helps.

Very good post

For a given category, how many do you need to get dirty before you make a load out of them?




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[Rmd]

Very good post

For a given category, how many do you need to get dirty before you make a load out of them?


I use a lot of towels, so it isnt usually a problem for me to have 10+ to wash at a time (except for drying towels, usually I only have a couple of those at a time, but they are big so I don't mind running the washer for a couple large towels and a few smaller ones). For the wheel towels, I only have 3-4 after a wash so I wring them out and set them aside until I use another 3-4 the next week. Even so, that's usually my smallest load of towels.

Edit to above post, I forgot glass towels. Another category not to mix. There are lots of threads about glass towels. Different people have different preferences. Some like terry non-linting MF towels that are typically rather thin, Costco like thickness. Others like waffle weave glass towels. Some like the flat shiny ones that are like the one side of the Griot's PFM glass towel. AG doesn't sell these for some reason. People like them and they are available from other rag sellers.

[Emt1581]

Wait....what ya'll are calling "Gold Plush Jr." that have "Cobra" on the tag, are the exact same towels I was referring to only mine had a tag that said "Super Towel" and were a buck a piece when I ordered them with the grit guard/wash board kit on ebay. Got 3 of them for $3-$4 extra.

I see AG charges $4.50 a piece!!! No thanks!

EDIT: Here is what I ordered in the past. Seems like a bargain by comparison.
http://www.autogeek.net/mictow.html

-Emt1581

[derass]

What did they suggest on the eBay Detailing Forum?

[KirkH]

What did they suggest on the eBay Detailing Forum?

You beat Mike to it.

[KirkH]

For paint, I only use Korean made 70% polyamide 30% polyester towels.

I use China made towels for everything else.

[FUNX650]

Wait....
what ya'll are calling "Gold Plush Jr."
that have "Cobra" on the tag, are
the exact same towels I was referring
to only mine had a tag that said
"Super Towel" and were a buck a piece
when I ordered them with the grit
guard/wash board kit on ebay.
Got 3 of them for $3-$4 extra.

I see AG charges $4.50 a piece!!! No thanks!

EDIT: Here is what I ordered in the past.
Seems like a bargain by comparison.

grit guard | eBay (http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313.TR6.TRC1.A0.H0.Xgrit+g uard.TRS0&_nkw=grit+guard&_sacat=0)


Finally (there it is): you've been
chomping at the bit to make this
information public.



Bob

[VISITOR]

Wait....what ya'll are calling "Gold Plush Jr." that have "Cobra" on the tag, are the exact same towels I was referring to only mine had a tag that said "Super Towel" and were a buck a piece when I ordered them with the grit guard/wash board kit on ebay. Got 3 of them for $3-$4 extra.

I see AG charges $4.50 a piece!!! No thanks!

EDIT: Here is what I ordered in the past. Seems like a bargain by comparison.

grit guard | eBay (http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313.TR6.TRC1.A0.H0.Xgrit+g uard.TRS0&_nkw=grit+guard&_sacat=0)

-Emt1581

the gold super towels and gold cobra jr's are not the same thing. the super towels tend to degrade quicker and those are the same ones cg's were selling as their own (don't know if they still do)... these are the ones to get below...

http://www.autogeek.net/gold-plush-jr-towel-12.html

[Emt1581]

the gold super towels and gold cobra jr's are not the same thing. the super towels tend to degrade quicker and those are the same ones cg's were selling as their own (don't know if they still do)... these are the ones to get below...

Gold Plush Jr. Microfiber Towels 12 Pack (http://www.autogeek.net/gold-plush-jr-towel-12.html)

They're different?

Who makes the Super Towels? And if they are both 70/30 blends, what about the Cobra's makes them better?

Thanks

-Emt1581

[VISITOR]

They're different?

Who makes the Super Towels? And if they are both 70/30 blends, what about the Cobra's makes them better?

Thanks

-Emt1581

the super towels aren't bad for use the first few times but after that they tend to lose softness quicker and the loops/strands start to ball up/go flat as well...