Smack Towel Method (STM)

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

I lick my towels to taste test for foreign substances

I call it, "The Lick Method" or TLM


BOOM....Copyright that!



I agree with A4S, that the naming may be getting out of hand.

If a technique has been in practice for a substantial amount of time and someone comes along and tags it with their name, it's a bit hokey to me. People have been applying less pressure on the last couple of polishing passes as long as DA's have been in use.

Finish Polishing is "Jeweling" is "Burnishing"

I understand that the 1st step to becoming "known" is having something named after you.

Some are truly new and deserve a "name", others are common practice and do not

That's fine with me, this method does not need a name. I just wanted to share something as a practice I have been doing for quite some time.

I mentioned in the link by Mike that I was doing this however it was laziness on my part for not getting it together for so long.

Either way any of us look at it, it is just a method I perform however does not need to be named.

Mike, I'm not surprised you do that at all. I think we're all a bit OCD with our towels. When you consider how bad they (most) tend to lint, that's a great idea. I saw something a while back on TV where someone was giving cleaning tips, removing pet hair, and used duct tape rolled around their hand. I'm thinking that'd be a quite a bit more effective than our typical lint roller.

I noticed yesterday that even the very nice 850 "white whale" and the lesser "artic white" towels still shed, even though I've washed them twice before using (with WG Microfiber Restorer/Detergent). (Tried them new and it was TERRIBLE.)

I tend to get my washer and dryer drunk before ever loading any towels inside. I wipe them down (stainless drums) with a 30% alcohol solution. BOY DOES IT GET FUNKY WITH YOUR HEAD INSIDE.


Surely I need to think up a name for that one.

Tony, when I first started really getting serious about car care I always needed up with beautiful shiny black paint that would end up being covered with lint. Drove me nuts!

One day I was pulling my towels out while my wife was using a lint roller on some clothes. A light bulb blew up in my head and had to try it. Doing this now has really help curb the linting problem with the towels.

Duct tape sounds like a great idea although may be to strong and may possibly damage the towels.

BTW, I have always used a towel cleaner such as the Wolfgang version.

Getting inside the dryer to wipe it down!? Wow, I don't think id fit inside it. Im 6'2" although slim.

Thanks Mike for coming with this idea, this may help extending the utilis life of that 'Paint dedicated MF towels' I care a lot for, keeping then distant from reaching the 'Undercarriage Only' status.

Kind Regards.

Glad you enjoyed it Rafael. Proper handling, washing, and maintenance will go a long way to preserving nice paint towels. But you knew that.

Great article and write-up, Mike!

It's always good to be safer than sorry. This adds another safety factor before using MF towels on paint.

Thanks Marc!

Anything you can do to preserve the towels as well as the paint is surely worth it. Especially on black paint.

[Mike Phillips]

Great article and write-up, Mike!

It's always good to be safer than sorry. This adds another safety factor before using MF towels on paint.

I agree with the better to be safe than sorry...

In context for anyone unsure of what that would or could mean....


If you spend all day machine polishing a car to perfection, or even hand polishing a car to perfection, all it would take is ONE form of abrasive particle trapped into the weave of a single microfiber towel, then rubbed over the perfectly polished paint and BOOM all your hard work is undone.

Not just all your hard work (hard work = physical labor especially if you're working by hand), but also all your time and the use of your chemicals and wear-n-tear on your pads and machines, (if you worked by machine).

In every class I teach now whether it's a formal detailing class or a casual project and even my own detailing work, before I wipe a microfiber towel over paint I've worked on I visually and physically inspect the towel.

Here's an example. At my last formal detailing boot camp class my class learned how to use the Rupes Paint Polishing System on a very rare 1962 Chrysler 300, in fact I created a dedicated thread just for this class session.


How to use the Rupes Bigfoot Polisher - Detailing Class


Now keep in mind... this isn't a Kia Rio this is a classic and rare 1962 Chrysler 300 Sport with a FULL RESTORATION of the quality you would see come out of Wayne Carini's F40.com restoration shop.

Except that it had overspray paint on other paint and swirls in the paint. My class fixed all the problems with the car and created a true show car finish by machine polishing using Rupes polishers, pads and products.

BEFORE i let them wipe on the paint however they had to learn how to inspect their towels or they would RISK undoing all their hard work as explained above.


The below is post #7 from the above article...



Wiping off the wax


This is actually a VERY IMPORTANT step.

The reason this step is important is because if your microfiber towels have any abrasive particles lodged into the fiber the particles will inflict scratches back into the paint and this is what I call working backwards. That is you're undoing all the hard work you did when you removed the swirls and scratches.

So before you take any microfiber towel and wipe the wax, sealant or coating residues off polished paint first take a few moments to both visually look at the towels for contaminants and then feel the towels with your clean bare hand.

A lot of time your hand will detect abrasive contaminants that your eyes could not see and you can either pick them out of the weave or get a different towel. And as a rule you should inspect each towel before use.

If you watch My Classic Car with Dennis Gage you'll see me demonstrate this tip this year in their new season of shows for 2015.


Here's Meghan demonstrating how to inspect a microfiber towel using her hand and after finding "something" she's removing it before folding the towel 4-ways and using it to wipe off the wax.








Then everyone inspects their towels, puts on a pair of microfiber gloves and carefully wipes off the Pinnacle wax for show car results.






And of course... the car came out exactly as it should come out... and that's drop dead gorgeous!






Now we need to bring out the Autogeek Microfiber Towel Inspector.

[dlc95]

Awesome!

We have those things at home because of the cat... It never occurred to me to use them on my towels..

Thank you!

[KMdef9]

Thanks for the idea.

Using the washable one is what I'd probably try.

How many times have you done this? I'm curious if your always getting the same amount of lint, or a declining amount.



I'm also guilty of wiping down the inside of the washer as well. But only for paint MF's. Have to do it again after washing dressing MFs too. I've even used one of those fabric shavers to remove some embedded foreign objects (on MF's that don't get used on the paint).

[SameGuy]

I clean out the washer with Zep Fast 505 after washing MFs, lest I wish my cojones to end up in a sling.

[Garyhw48]

Mike, As usual great idea and demo.

I think my wife buys the peel off ones by the gross, I'll have to sneak a couple out to my shop.

She will never miss them, Ha.

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

Awesome!

We have those things at home because of the cat... It never occurred to me to use them on my towels..

Thank you!

Thanks.

I wonder how much cat hair you could pull from your towels...

Thanks for the idea.

Using the washable one is what I'd probably try.

How many times have you done this? I'm curious if your always getting the same amount of lint, or a declining amount.



I'm also guilty of wiping down the inside of the washer as well. But only for paint MF's. Have to do it again after washing dressing MFs too. I've even used one of those fabric shavers to remove some embedded foreign objects (on MF's that don't get used on the paint).

Sure thing.

I have done this quite a few times. Actually every time I have washed my Chinchilla's and I have had them for two years. The results are generally about the same with a gradual decline in lint pick up.

I would say some of the pick up is left over debris from previous clothing cycles.

I clean out the washer with Zep Fast 505 after washing MFs, lest I wish my cojones to end up in a sling.

Mike, As usual great idea and demo.

I think my wife buys the peel off ones by the gross, I'll have to sneak a couple out to my shop.

She will never miss them, Ha.

Thanks Gary.

I'm sure you could sneak of a handful without worry.

[Caleb@ImpeccableImage]

Great thread Mike. I'm glad I am not the only who is this meticulous when washing and drying microfiber towels. Heck, even if they look fine but just dont feel as "soft" I move them to my dirtier job collection of towels (glass, dash, wheels or tires).

[dlc95]

Thanks.

I wonder how much cat hair you could pull from your towels...

Ha!

Good thing the "good stuff" stays at my place!

[dlc95]

Thanks for the idea.

Using the washable one is what I'd probably try.

How many times have you done this? I'm curious if your always getting the same amount of lint, or a declining amount.



I'm also guilty of wiping down the inside of the washer as well. But only for paint MF's. Have to do it again after washing dressing MFs too. I've even used one of those fabric shavers to remove some embedded foreign objects (on MF's that don't get used on the paint).

I do the same. To the dryer as well. I take ome of my old dampened microfiber cloths and wipe the dryer from lint.