Let's Talk Microfiber weight..

[ColonelCash]

Although I've been on the forums and keeping my cars presentable for a number of years, I am still perplexed by microfiber weights.

As we all know, microfibers are a gift from the heavens above. They are great for quick detailing, removing wax, cleaning door jambs, and just about anything else around the house.

Having said that, anyone who has browsed car detailer sites finds the weights listed for most towels. Best I can tell, these range from 200mg up to 750mg! In layman’s terms, the lower the weight, the thinner the towel.

Now, I'm curious to know what everyone uses. Being a Meguiars forum, I'm expecting lots of Supreme Shines and some ADS blue micros. But for those who have purchased other brands and weights, what are your feelings about them? Is there a magic range for microfiber weight?

[the_invisible]

Re: Let's Talk Microfiber weight..

I honestly don't know much about weights... but I like the ones that are the most plush.

One can argue that plushness is not the key to a quality microfiber towel, as the Ultimate Wipe is the least plush of all the microfiber towels I've used.

[Tuck91]

Re: Let's Talk Microfiber weight..

I only use Supereme Shines and ADS Gold microfibers.

[Murr1525]

Re: Let's Talk Microfiber weight..

Yeah, plush is good.

I found some GE brand ones at Big Lots a few years back, got like 12 or so, they are definately my favorite cheap towel, I take good care of them also. Little thicker/heavier than the Vroom ones, which are most of my cheap ones.

[Eddie6th]

Re: Let's Talk Microfiber weight..

I only use the SS's.Very plush. I tried cheapo's and they are mostly complete rubbish...no plushness and very 'plasticy' and greasy feeling,even after washing.

I don't know about the weights? Probably more material and closer knit pile...more plush.

[imacarnut]

Re: Let's Talk Microfiber weight..

As long as any microfiber towel you use is soft and performs with no issues, that's all that matters. I personally find that right around the 360gm microfiber towels are the best all around towels for everything.

[BarryK]

Re: Let's Talk Microfiber weight..

I usually get my MF towels from ADS, I buy their gold ones in bulk 100 at a time. Not the most plush or thickest ones but they are still a nice 70/30 mix decent towel and the price is hard to beat at $.69 each!

AutoGeek sells a big variety of different towels but honestly all that selection and differences just confuses my simple, small brain. The ADS towels answer my need for simplicity - they are soft, have a good fiber mix of 70/30, don't scratch, and are very reasonably priced.

I know a friend of mine has new "favorite" MF towels that are VERY thick and plush but at over $12/towel I think the pricing is ridiculous. Sure, that are incredibly soft but I go thru WAY TOO MANY towels during a detail and go thru too many towels a year to spend that kind of money on them.

[FastEddysDetailing]

Re: Let's Talk Microfiber weight..

IMO Chemical Guys have the best microfibers!

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: Let's Talk Microfiber weight..

I only use Supreme Shines and the cheapo's from Wal-Mart.

[james0509]

Re: Let's Talk Microfiber weight..

from my experience the most OBVIOUS difference in performance between the cheap ones I buy in bulk and the Cobra MF towels ( more expensive) is the drying ability.

From what I observed the cheap MF towels take many passes until an area is dry, the more expensive one ***** up the water within a few passes.

[ColonelCash]

Re: Let's Talk Microfiber weight..

This is great information everyone! I too have a number of Megs SS and the ADS microfibers. From Cobra I have a few 380gm towels that seem to work very well, they are much more plush than the Supreme Shines. Also, I only have 1 Ultimate Wipe (a freebie from Kevin Brown, Thanks Kevin!) but I feel it works as good as any microfiber at removing wax. Quick Detailing, not so much.

AutoGeek has some of their Shamrocks on BOGO right now, I was tempted to try them out...although I don't know if they would be too plush to do anything with.

Chemical Guys also has a set of their gold microfibers 12 for $18, which seems like a great deal. Personally, I tend to stick with microfibers that have silk edging on them for paint. The only exception would be my Ultimate Wipe. ADS gets regulated to interiors, wheels, door jambs, etc.

[FastEddysDetailing]

Re: Let's Talk Microfiber weight..

Im about to order the CG's Sasquatch

[imacarnut]

Re: Let's Talk Microfiber weight..

IMO, thick microfiber towels like that ^ are good for wiping down areas that are scratch-sensitive such as the odometer, dvd navigation screen, stereo face plate, etc., and light QD'ing. I don't care to use them for removing polishes, compounds, waxes, etc. Sometimes, thicker doesn't always mean better..

[Poki]

Re: Let's Talk Microfiber weight..

I have mostly used 2 different MF. The yellow ones from Costco and the orange ones from Target. The orange ones are MUCH more plush than the Costco towels and on sale are a good buy. Trying to recall the last sale price?? 8 for $5 or was it 12 for $8......something like that.

[theDodo]

Re: Let's Talk Microfiber weight..

right, so a little MF debrief:

the weight of the MF is as you have pointed out is the concentration of weave in a standard square meter. the more weave there is, the more it will weigh as a cut out square meter. the concentration is not all tho... the length of the threads within each weave (also known as pile) are substantial contributors to the weight as they add more thread per square meter. BUT,, the long pile does not increase the concentration of weave.

right, onto the pile. the length of the pile is the major contributor to the thickness of the MF (plushness). the longer the pile the 'plusher' the MF. then there is open and closed loops on the pile. when the MFs are made the outside loops caused can be left intact (closed loop) and this causes slightly thinner MFs. OR, the loops can be cut (open loops) which basically doubles the number of end points on the surface of the MF. open loop also has slightly longer pile than its exact twin in closed loop, due to each thread stretching straight out, thus making the end MF slightly thicker.

NOW for softness. all the above are part of the softness factor, but also the dyeing/washing process after manufacturing. cheaper dyes can cause the threads to feel individually harder and therefore the entire MF is not as soft as another. the washing process which also 'de-lints' the MF (especially the open loop) is also important to the final softness.

so, weight, pile, loop and softness - that is how we go about choosing MF. hoipe it was helpful, if not a tad long (for talking about MFs) 8)