Why I'm not and never been a fan of waffle weave drying towels

[DBAILEY]

You just have to wipe very slowly with a WW drying towel to allow the water to wick into the fabric. I see videos of people vigorously wiping with a WW leaving trails of water behind. When you're wiping slowly you're not likely to scratch the paint.

I am however switching to drying with the GG PFM towels. I use the WW towels now for wiping the trim, windows and such dry.
I like the 16x16 PFM the best. The 16x24 towels at AA are about as big as I would want to get.

The really big $39 25x35 ones would seem too big based on using the 16x24 ones. The big one has to be quite heavy and cumbersome when loaded with water.

[fightnews]

Well this spring I have become addicted to rinseless washes. I have RW my car 4 times in less than 2 weeks. I have my method down for wiping and wanted to go with a waffle weave for drying.

In the past for my traditional wash I would use damp microfiber towels and a drying aid.

Today (after my 4th wash in 12 days) I took out swirl finder lights and really started to examine the paint. I noticed what could be the start of light swirling in the places where the car gets most dirty. I also noticed a light but long straight scratch that has like a double line on the hood. Nothing a polisher can't fix but still annoying. It's only my dd gti and want to polish every other year moving forward.

The only spot I really used my waffle weave on was the hood today. And I'm blaming it on that. I don't like how the towel gets really hard and stiff when dry. They always felt abrasive to me compared to towels. And I own good ones, the cobra guzzlers.



I hand clean mine if they get dirty with cold water and a little microfiber rejuvenater.

How do you guys take care of your waffle weaves? Do you machine wash them ?

Do you clean them with other towels ? Hand wash them if needed of just hang em to dry?

They are very popular and detailers love them, they work great but I swear they can be a bit abrasive. Is it just me? Thoughts ?

I'm thinking switching back to just dry microfibers with a drying aid while the car is still wet.

Pics for clicks

wash them in the machine with other microfibers i bet thats your problem. they prob arent getting clean, there's dirt and road film you can't see on the towel. I use mine once then wash it. I have those and have no problems. I like the gold ones with the pad in the middle though. 4 washes in 12 days is a lot too.

[Goin Rogue]

When I RW my cars I use the Cobra Guzzler. I pat each panel dry, it takes time but since you're only doing one panel it works good.

For 2 bucket wash I use the DP blower.

[idriveblackcars]

Thanks all for the replies! And yes I washed it waay to much in a short period of time lol.

I'm going to give them another shot, going to wash them today with my good towels instead of by hand too.

But I'm going to order some PFM towels very soon. I think, and because the paint is so smooth I was dragging the towel in some places instead of blotting and just pressing it down on the panel with water.

[oneheadlite]

I like the 16x16 PFM the best. The 16x24 towels at AA are about as big as I would want to get.

The really big $39 25x35 ones would seem too big based on using the 16x24 ones. The big one has to be quite heavy and cumbersome when loaded with water.

I'm usually a slide-the-towel-around dryer, and did find the 25x35 to be a bit cumbersome like you mention. But, it does work really well for laying flat if you use that approach.

[Bruno Soares]

Yes, those guessing are correct. I went with the 16x16 PFMs because I have the huge guzzlers and find the large size hard to use on vertical panels. The smaller towels worked great and having more of them makes it easier to just get another instead of trying so hard to wring out the big guzzler. I also ordered the 4 pack of glass PFMs and that should arrive tomorrow. I hope it's as nice as the paint one. This is the set I got 3 of for the paint.

Griots Garage PFM Terry Weave Towel, Set of 2

[RTexasF]

The WW towels I have are very old but even when new I didn't care much for them. No matter how I used them they always marred soft paint, Honda for instance. For cleaning/drying glass they are excellent which is now their sole purpose.

[Desertnate]

I've not had any issues with WW towels either. I strictly do bucket washes, but on our cars once I do a flood rinse, there isn't much water left on the surface and I simply go around and dab/wipe up what little is left.

[oneheadlite]

I also ordered the 4 pack of glass PFMs and that should arrive tomorrow. I hope it's as nice as the paint one.

I love the glass PFMs. They make it super fast to get streak free windows. I let a coworker use one once and they had me get them a pack next time I had an AG order.

[Mike Phillips]

Just to chime in....

I like the Guzzler Waffle Weave drying towels and for the most part these are all I use to dry my own cars and trucks and the cars and trucks I wash.


Everyone's mileage will vary and how scratch-sensitive a paint system is - is also a huge factor. Some paints simply scratch easy. Also the type of wax, sealant or coating you use can be a factor. Most coatings I've used leave the paint feeling rubbery, not silky slick and smooth.

I used a coating on the wife's SL 500 and after washing it and drying it ONE TIME (a week or two after applying the coating), I removed the coating and went back to PBL Surface Coating, which is what I used before testing out the other coating and which is what I currently use.

With the other coating, as soon as I went to dry the car the waffle weave towels grabbed onto the paint and didn't want to slide or glide over it. With the PBL Surface coating the towels glide over the paint and I can dry the car in probably under 10 minutes, heck under 5 minutes and no scratching.


Here's a recent article I wrote, don't mind the off topic banter...



Avoid water spots - The fast and simple way I dry my cars by Mike Phillips






And kind of related so I just want to share for others that will read this into the future....


The least invasive method to dry your car - Patting instead of wiping off rinse water

This is a different type of waffle weave towel but you can do it with the green Guzzlers...