[ishmaelali]

Originally Posted by Bobble

I agree on the second WW towel for drying and DI in general for towels great quality.
On the buckets, donuts shops get their apples and such for fritters in 3 or 4 gallon buckets and sometimes will either give them away or sell them for a buck. I've got like 3 of them. If you know anyone in the restaurant business they get lots of stuff in 5 gallons buckets and often are free, got 2 five gallon green pickle buckets that way. Just be resourceful, oh and grout sponges Home Depot/Lowes.

Good tip on the buckets. I need to go buy a couple today. I'll check my local donut shop (dunkin donuts)! lol.

By the way, I bought a grit guard for washing the car from DI. Will it fit in either a 3 or 5 gallon?

[crzylildude]

Here

Costco - Zwipes® Microfiber Automotive Cloths 54-pack
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.asp...
Zwipes® Microfiber Automotive Cloths 54-pack

[328i]

Originally Posted by crzylildude

Here

Costco - Zwipes® Microfiber Automotive Cloths 54-pack
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.asp...
Zwipes® Microfiber Automotive Cloths 54-pack

Those are good for dirty work, like cleaning carpets and interior, door jambs, engine bay, exhaust, wheels, etc. But no way am I letting those touch my paint!

Originally Posted by ishmaelali

Good tip on the buckets. I need to go buy a couple today. I'll check my local donut shop (dunkin donuts)! lol.

By the way, I bought a grit guard for washing the car from DI. Will it fit in either a 3 or 5 gallon?

I believe they fit the 3 gallon buckets as well, but I find I prefer the 5 gallon. As you're washing the grout sponges soak up quite a bit so you end up losing water, and also keep in mind the grit guard takes away the use of almost a gallon of water as well, as that's about how much water is below it. Sometimes I find myself having to add water to the 5 gallon bucket if I didn't fill it up high enough the first time, this is especially true when doing ONR washes.

I'm sure you can find a 5 gallon bucket free, but I like the white ones at home depot and they're not too expensive. They're labeled in incriments and have a nice comfortable cushioned handle. I actually use one of those for the wash bucket and an orange Home Depot bucket for the rinse bucket, I found it made it much easier to differentiate than when I had two same color buckets that were labeled, especially when working quickly.

[TOGWT]

Things to look for in a micro fibre towel

• How many times the fibres are split - a higher split ensues you get a more effective cleaning towel. Splitting the fibres creates millions of edges that trap dirt and dust that bonds to the fibres and is not released until the towel is washed in hot water. Therefore, the dirt is not re-deposited on the paint surface.

• Denier [: weight per unit length (linear density) measure of a continuous filament or yarn, used traditionally in textile industry]. The higher the number, the thicker the fibre

• Density of fibre - bear in mind that less density of fibre, translate into less cleaning power and far less durability. - is a measure of fibres per square inch of fabric. The range for quality micro fibre is 90,000 to 225,000 fibres per square inch. The higher the fibre count the more absorbent. The less dense cloths are also more abrasive to delicate surfaces. Look for at least 200,000 fibres per square inch of fabric.

• Ratio - of polyester (a scrubbing fibre) and polyamide (the absorbing and quick drying fibre) blend; an 80% polyester and 20% polyamide is typical (80/20) a 70/30 blend will absorb water faster. As polyamide is much more expensive than polyester, you can expect to pay more for a 70/30 blend.

• Quality - lesser quality versions can use a weave that is too wide or a pile that is too long, which causes the fibres’ to shed during use, leaving a lint trail.

• Construction - towel boarders, one of the of the advantages of a silk/satin edging is that they won't unravel when washed several times like a non edged towel nor will they cause marring of the paint surface, it also means that they will not snag.

• Weave -the weave on micro fibre towels can be adjusted to meet specific requirements; a terry-loop, cut, hooked feathered, zigzag or Piqué waffle weaves.

• Size - available in various sizes 16 -inch x 16 / 18 / 24 -inch, drying towels 25 -inch x 16 -inch being a usable size

• Thickness - some manufacturers are rating the thickness of their towels by weight; expressed in grams per square meter or g/m2. The ratio of polyester and polyamide usually remains the same.

When choosing micro fibre quality is very important, as a lack of quality inspection will result in variable results i.e. towels that will cause surface scratches, leave a trail of lint, etc. Many of the Micro fibre products being offered on the market are made from non-split (non-absorbent and ineffective) yarn. The manufacturer forgoes the expensive splitting procedure to save money, and the result is a failing product. Not only does the blend lose over half of its absorbing and cleaning ability but it weakens with use, greatly reducing the life of the product.

Some micro fibre products from China and Korea have less density and a denier (length of measure) of 0.5 or higher, which is 50x’s larger than the preferred quality denier of 0.02 or smaller.

A good quality towel may cost more, but it will last longer. The most important thing to remember is that a good quality micro fibre towel will provide better cleaning results and is less likely to cause surface scratches than lesser quality towels Micro fibre quality is very often reflected in the purchase price, best advice; use only high quality micro fibre towels from a reputable source. Pakshak Micropak

As with most things, you'll get what you pay for; as Henry Royce once commented [the quality tends to be remembered long after the price has been forgotten]

Copyright © 2002-2010, TOGWT ™ Ltd (Established 1980) all rights reserved

[Bobble]

Originally Posted by ishmaelali

Good tip on the buckets. I need to go buy a couple today. I'll check my local donut shop (dunkin donuts)! lol.

By the way, I bought a grit guard for washing the car from DI. Will it fit in either a 3 or 5 gallon?

Yep they fit, I use a 3 gallon one for the wheels and skirts when washing and a 5 gallon for the upper body panels. My damn kid took two of my buckets when he moved, just checked the garage. Damn kids!

[Buegie]

Originally Posted by 328i

Those are good for dirty work, like cleaning carpets and interior, door jambs, engine bay, exhaust, wheels, etc. But no way am I letting those touch my paint!

Have you actually used them? They're perfectly fine and it's been established that they don't mar the paint. Are they as plush as towels that cost literally 10x more? Obviously not, but they definitely aren't going to damage your car.

[ishmaelali]

I got my stuff from DI (I debated on whether to get them at costco, etc.), but I didn't want to take any risks. Even got the sponge from DI but from what I heard on this thread, sounds like the Grout Sponges at Lowes are just as good and cheaper.

Going to either Lowes or Home Depot to get buckets later bc Dunkin Donuts didn't have any buckets and I rather just spend 7$ for 3, 5 gallon buckets and be over with it.

I will surely post pics of my Montego Blue after the whole Zaino Process is over! Can't wait!

[328i]

Originally Posted by Buegie

Have you actually used them? They're perfectly fine and it's been established that they don't mar the paint. Are they as plush as towels that cost literally 10x more? Obviously not, but they definitely aren't going to damage your car.

Yes, I go thorugh a couple packs a year. Like I said, the quality simply isn't as good and they will cause minor swirls on some paints, so why risk it? I've spent maybe a couple hundred on my microfibers, but that was 3 years ago and I still use them to this day. Wash they costco towels once or twice and they feel completely different.

[gdnyc]

Try PakShak
http://www.pakshak.com/micro-fiber-towels.html

I've been using them for over 10 years. never had a problem with them. I usually buy in bulk to keep the costs down.

[jeffvb9]

Originally Posted by Buegie

Have you actually used them? They're perfectly fine and it's been established that they don't mar the paint. Are they as plush as towels that cost literally 10x more? Obviously not, but they definitely aren't going to damage your car.

Actually these will cause minor marring of your paint. Have used them for years but not on my body panels!!

[Detailers Domain]

we have microfibers towels, hit me up with any quesitons.

Fall 2010 Specials at Detailer's Domain.... Ends on Sept 30, 2010"]Fall Special[/URL]

[tlak77]

Microfibertech
Good quality/price; Waffle-Weave are good for drying as well.....