I have never used "microfiber towels" and I wanted to know if they are considerably better than traditional, cotton towels.

I want to use them to remove wax I just applied, to use with Meguiar's exterior "Quick Detailer" and to apply Eagle One "Wax-As-U-Dry", while drying off the car after a wash (although I do have a synthetic chamois and California Silicone Body Blade to remover water).

Is there any advantage to using a "microfiber towel with a waffle weave"?

Any ideas or opinions?

Thanks in advance!

The claimed benefits of microfiber towels include their being soft, sturdy, lint-free, and relatively affordable. Unlike, say, cotton diapers, microfiber towels lack stiching that may scratch finishes.
Costco sells a heap of 'em for a decent price. My neighbor just started using them, he's happy, and his cars look wonderful. I would, but have so many piles of cotton diapers remaining from when my kids were babies, that I just can't bring myself to spend the money.
The advantage of a waffle weave is that dirt and other scratchable items are absorbed into the towel in a way that buffers the car's finish from being marred. There's probably a limit to the magic here though.
The autopia site is the mecca for car detailing freaks and I suggest checking out the forums there for some educational and funny threads.

I LOVE them!

I will never go back to using anything else. I have the 12x24 waffle weave and it dries the entire E. Hardly even one wring out during the whole process.

I also use our leaf blower to dry the top and go around once the car before using the towel. And the waffle weave towel for glass is like a magic towel! No more windex, no streaks!

These wonderful magic towels have cut my washing time in half.

That is all i use!!! Wal-Mart has them 5 for $3.88

I strongly second the recommendation to go to www.autopia-carcare.com or www.autopia.org for advice. In particular I advise you read this (http://www.autopia-carcare.com/freeguide.html). There's a whole chapter dedicated just to microfiber (MF) towels.

Drying, glass, and polishing MF towels may have different characteristics (explained in detail in the link above), but there are several multipurpose towels. I do, however, still use special glass towels that I secrured from Wally World for $2-$3 if memory serves.

I recently read somewhere that microfiber technology was designed for clean rooms in computer chip manufacturing. The microfibers tend to lift anything via the ultra tiny fibers and since the strands are synthetic, the fiber tends to stay together and not leave its own self behind. That being said, I haven't used these wet, or with a product yet, but you can clean windows with them with no product, granted the window doesn't have a big gulp slogging on it. They are great, and yes Costco sells the mits in a 6 pack for cheap. They are great for dashboard dust! Get em!

I haven't used microfiber clothes on a car yet, but, that is what the cleaning bags for oakleys are made of and it isn't unusual to use a microfiber cloth to clean camera lenses. If it doesn't scratch optics, I'd say that might be a pretty good endorsement.

http://www.autopia-carcare.com/inf-microfiber.html

I use them for several different parts of washing the car.
I wash with one, clean the rims with antoher, and use a third for the Eagle 1 Wax as you Dry.
I love them.

I LOVE them!

I will never go back to using anything else. I have the 12x24 waffle weave and it dries the entire E. Hardly even one wring out during the whole process.

I also use our leaf blower to dry the top and go around once the car before using the towel. And the waffle weave towel for glass is like a magic towel! No more windex, no streaks!

These wonderful magic towels have cut my washing time in half.

There are so many out there and I read that the darker colors are not as good. Which ones do you have?

I know you were not asking me, but I use 2 light blue ones for the washing and the rims and then I have a light green and yellow one I swap between to wx as you dry.
I also use a yellow one during the interior cleaning.

I just bought a pack of 18 for $9 at Sam's Club. They are great.

My mom handed a micro fiber towel to me when the diaper I was using to remove the wax wasn't coming off very well. I was amazed at how easy the wax came off and left such a smooth , crisp shine to my hood!! I highly recommend them and will be purchasing more myself! :grin:

MF towels are good, but not great. I mainly use them to spot dry after blowing the car down with my compressor. I also use them to dry doorjams. The draw back to most microfiber towells is that they leave, well microfibers on everything.

It's still hard to beat the good old fashion 100% cotton diaper for stripping wax or cleaning glass. Call me oldschool, but that's 15 years of experience talking.

I've been detailing cars for awhile now, and I never let anything other than microfiber touch the painted areas of my cars. Anything other than MF and you run the risk of marring the clearcoat, resulting in visible swirls. Definitely pick some up.

As for color, I've never noticed a difference in quality that's associated with color. My "big blue drying towel" is, of course, blue. I also have smaller yellow ones for drying. MF towels intended for drying will have a waffle-weave pattern to help with the absorbtion of water. I've gotten most of mine from Sam's Club, but there are also retailers on eBay with great deals on MF. I think there are only a total of three manufacturers (all based in China) who actually make microfiber, so brand/color/price really doesn't impact the quality much.

As FiAsco and SamIam both stated, www.autopia-carcare.com is an excellent resource for all things detailing-related.

Never Ever use a diaper on your vehicle. Look at the edges of the cloth.....is it stitched w/ clear thread? This is nylon/ plastic. It will scratch your paint.

I only use 100% micro fiber cloths for painted surfaces and glass.

If your towels are leaving fibers....you probably should'nt use that brand of cloth again.

Ditto on the last two posts.
Microfiber only and only if it is very good quality microfiber does it touch my paint.
The sam's club MFs are great for engine, interior work, maybe door jams, but I prefer pakshak, autogeek, adams polishes, detailer's paradise, etc for paint. I have a lot of brands and some are better than others. Generally you get what you pay for.
My old cotton buffing towels are used to clean the garage floor and dry tires now.
Lots of great info on autopia!