I just did the whole detail (clay, polish, UPP) a few weeks ago - this was my first attempt at any of this. Anyway, I picked up a pack of the yellow microfibers from costco which I used to wipe off the polish and UPP and am now using for drying the car. I now recently noticed a bunch of very fine scratches, which I'm not sure if it's from the costco microfibers. I can only notice the scratches when it's relatively dark (for instance in the garage with only the garage light on) - during the day they're hard to see. I didn't notice them after I polished, but I didn't look at the car in the garage after I polished it, so they may be scratches that I just never got out with the polish and I"m just now noticing them under certain lighting conditions. I just don't want to keep using these microfibers if I'm scratching my hours (and hours) of work. Any thoughts?

 

Good question...I think some other members on here use them or have used them recently.

Personally I have no experience with them.

 

i got a 24 pack from sams club not too long ago and they have been great so far

 

I don't see why they wouldn't be OK. I'm sure all MF towels are not created equal, but Costco usually sells quality items. Maybe they worked so well, they exposed the scratches you hadn't seen before. Or maybe I'm way off base.....




2009 Kansas City All Acura Meet-May 17th
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I'm not sure, never tried them before. Patrick sells them, and a bunch of us on here have them (myself included) and they're great.

 

Did you wash them before you used them on your car?

 

No I didn't. I'm assume that's a problem since you're asking the question. I just now washed the ones that I used, but they were new when I used them on the car.

As much as it pains me, I'll probably repolish the areas that are the worst (probably the trunk), make sure I get all of the scratches out, then reapply the UPP (SOB!) - at least that way I know I'm starting from sqaure one. If the scratches come back, I'll toss the towels....

 

i use the yellow mf from costco....are you sure its not your wash mitt or sponge that did the damage....i use my yellow microfibres just for polish/sealant removal, and sometimes for qd wipes....i dont use them to dry the car, i use microfibre drying towesl for that...

the people over at autogeek think the yellow towels at costco are shitty, but they are pretty snobby over there so i dont give it much thought as i think the towels are good....

i dont always wash them before i use them, but i am sure its a good idea....

 

what are they composed of ?

What's the mix ?

The ones I picked up for detailing are:
Polyester 80% + Nylon/ plyamide 20% but I beleive 70% - 30% is just as good if not better (somebody correct me if I'm wrong)

The cheaper "micro fiber" cloths usually are something like 50% - 50%

 

They're 80 poly, 20 polyamide.

Pretty sure it's not the mit. I'm kind of anal about rinsing the mit with water before each dip in the soap, but I may get a new one just in case. J

ust curious why you only use the costco ones for removing product and the MF dyring towels for drying? Is there a reason they shouldn't be used for dyring?? I'm sure there's tons of posts about this, but just wondering.

 

Do they have tags on them? If so, did you take them off before using?

 

I didn't take the tags off, but I did fold them under.

 

Thats prolly your problem or the wash/dry technique.

I have a 150 or so yellow Costco towels and have never had issues with any of them. For polish / wax/sealant removal thats all I use.

Others will snub them because they aren't an expensive brand name or boutique. High $$ isn't always the best.

 

Agreed.........I actually saw the exact WW I sell for $10.49 for $18.00 on another site. Just because they cost more doesn't mean squat............

 

[QUOTE=Jesstzn;10867349]Thats prolly your problem or the wash/dry technique.
QUOTE]

I made sure the tag didn't touch the car, though, and I hadn't washed / dried them yet - they were straight out of the package. (When I did wash them, I washed them on cold - HE washer spins the snot out of them, so they were practically dry when I took them out. They air dried, then "fluffed" in the drier without any heat. No softener)

Anyway, I think enough people have verified it's probably not the costco towels. Perhaps it is the mit that I've always used and I'm just noticing the scratches now b/c it's polished. I'll do my little experiment on the trunk (repolish, etc), try a different mit and keep the costco towels to see if the scratches come back. I'll let you know.

BTW, I notice people use these towels to remove product, but not dry after washing. Any reason why??

 

Would you guys recommend just using the costco microfibers as a one time use only?

 

I wouldn't, they're decent towels but I only really use them for grunge work and the interior. I prefer other MF towels for paint.

 

Yea I only use the Costco MF towels for the interior. I used to use them for quick details but after washes and washes, they got much harder (as in, it's not as soft as before) and I stopped using them altogether. They're not bad, but I have this big MF towel that still holds its softness so I replaced the Costco with that. But since the Costco one comes in packs of 24, I basically use them for all purposes around the house.

 

yeah you can use them for anything and throw them away if it gets too dirty

 

I wash and reuse them all the time ..

 

Must be something in your wash / dry routine then. I can wash them 10 times and they are still soft and won't mar anything.

 

also make if you care about swirls just wax your car regulary get a DAP and your good
this is a great forum for detailing www.meguiarsonline.com

 

use only liquid detergent when you machine wash your towels...

 

yes and NEVER use fabric softner

 

I use these yellow Costco microfiber towels without issues, except on the softest paint like Jet Black on my 540i. I use super thick MF towels from showcardetailing.com on this car.

However.... Costco switched suppliers a few years back. The old ones were made by Eurow and I think they're a little thicker than the new ones, made by United or something like that. I have both and the Eurow ones are a little darker in color.

 

The pack I saw at sam's looked pretty good

 

i once used some from autozone, they suck, even after i washed them the fibers kept falling off... is it ok to wash mf towels w/ just vinegar?

 

why is fabric softner bad?

 

Leaves residue in the towels and they won't dry as well after .. also streaking when using them for windows . Cloggs them up.

 

Fabric softener is actually a water repellent.

 

The Yellow Costco MF towels are more of an all purpose towel great for polish removal and interior cleaning. They are not however geared for max water absorption like other MF towels are. In my experience they will more so push the water around the exterior of your car vs soak it up and they are fairly small to be used as a drying towel. That is why most people do not use them as drying towels after a car wash, however to each their own. If it works for you and you are happy with the results then go for it.

I use these all the time and have had some marr really soft paint but then again I have also had my best, most plush MF towel marr paint periodically. One time I ended up using a Costco yellow towel and it left a better finish than my expensive plush one? Wish I could explain that one ha..ha..!