When finished polishing, how often should you switch to a new microfiber towel?

[AliMusa]

Can you reuse the same towel over and over to buff the Polish off the car? Or do you have to use a new towel for each section?

[lawrenceSA]

Well I always fold a towel into 4 so that you get 16 sections of clean towel to wipe with.

When wiping off compound/polish I will go through anywhere between 30 and 80 towels based on multiple factors such as:

How many steps of paint correction - 1, 2 or 3
The type of product - some are more 'oily' than others
The weather - humidity and heat
The paint type - hard, soft, grabby

Perhaps it is overkill but I try to work as clean as I can.

I am interested to see what everyone else has to say

[zmcgovern45]

I use 2 sides of the towel per polishing section. 1 section of the towel removes the majority of the polish, then I flip to the 2nd section of the towel and wipe the remaining polish from the surface... then I flip to 2 new clean sides of the towel for the next polishing section. So 1 towel lasts for 4 polishing sections.

So imagine a hood is broken up into 6 sections, and you are doing a 2 step process... that would be 3 towels just to remove the compound and polish from the hood.

I find that over using a MF towel leaves to streaks and residue left behind... it is a lot easier to just use a new towel more often than to have excess residue left over.

[parttimer]

Like most have said, I too fold mine into 4, then use one side to remove product, flip and finish. I might flip and refold and use a whole towel on on fender or section of the hood.

[KBsToy]

Well I always fold a towel into 4 so that you get 16 sections of clean towel to wipe with.

When wiping off compound/polish I will go through anywhere between 30 and 80 towels based on multiple factors such as:

How many steps of paint correction - 1, 2 or 3
The type of product - some are more 'oily' than others
The weather - humidity and heat
The paint type - hard, soft, grabby

Perhaps it is overkill but I try to work as clean as I can.

I am interested to see what everyone else has to say

+1

[747Captain]

Follow Up........... How and what do you use to wash the micro fiber towels. Washing machine, tub?

[lawrenceSA]

Mine go in the washing machine. I do not use washing powder but rather liquid. I throw some white vinegar in where the fabric softener usually goes and run them on a medium sort of heat setting.

Then into the tumble drier on low heat.


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[tuscarora dave]

I compound and use 1 towel for the entire car unless it falls to the floor. When I go to break the towel goes into a ziploc bag until I return to work. Same goes for after polishing. I use one brand new towel every time I wipe after the polishing step then it goes to compounding duty so long as it doesn't get dropped or laid on the dirty floor or work bench.

This fits into my technique of compounding/polishing until all the residue is gone before wiping the panel off. The cars I work on always get rewashed before applying sealant so any remaining polishing oil is not considered because they are removed in my post polishing wash.

[zmcgovern45]

Follow Up........... How and what do you use to wash the micro fiber towels. Washing machine, tub?

Use the search function... there are several threads related to this topic already.

[wdmaccord]

I find that I can use 1 towel longer if I am working with a dry dusty compound or polish (I can smack the towel on my leg to get most of the dry dust out). The oily ones will clog the towel quicker and have to use more towels. I always have one clean towel that I use for a final buff out after removal and initial buff out which can last through the whole car.

You will probably get a lot of different answers here. As many times happens, just do what works for you. If you feel a towel isn't removing/buffing very well and is leaving behind streaks or residue, try switching to a clean towel. Eventually you will get a feel for what works best for you.

[techaview]

What is the kind of microfiber will u guys be using for wiping off compound or polish oil? Those plush and expensive type or thin and cheap type? Is there any recommendation gsm? For eg, 200gs/m? Thanks

[tuscarora dave]

What is the kind of microfiber will u guys be using for wiping off compound or polish oil? Those plush and expensive type or thin and cheap type? Is there any recommendation gsm? For eg, 200gs/m? Thanks

I don't get caught up in the whole elite microfiber towel game. There are great towels and there are lousy towels. It takes some research to get the towels that work well for what you are actually doing and to avoid the lousy towels. There's no way I could afford the prices for towels from internet detailing stores. It would eat way to far into my profits to do so.

I found some good 70/30 towels from 3 different local suppliers. One place gets $1.50 per towel (by the dozen), another local supplier that brings them right to my shop gets $1 per towel (by the dozen) and the third gets $10.99 for a 4 pack of his towels. They are all made in China, are semi plush and none of them leave behind any marring when new.

I go with the least expensive when I can but it's nice to have backup suppliers locally.