Water Magnet still safe to use.....

[F-150]

I've only got the gc water magnet drying towel to dry my truck, have had excellent results by the way. When I get them they're really soft and I'm confident with using them to dry my truck. But everytime after I wash them they aren't as plush and soft..actually kind of rough and I'm a little afraid to use them to dry my truck again. But I did anyway one day and once I was done very small scratches (swirls) appeared, you can barely see them and only in certin types of light because I have a white truck. I know they will go away with scratch x because they're times of the day that I can't even see them when I try hard to. Recently I've just been buying new ones everytime they're dirty. Anyone have any ideas as to what I'm doing wrong?

[Jbirk]

You said it scratches, so the answer is that it is no longer safe.

[Tim Lingor]

Re: Water Magnet still safe to use.....

Originally posted by F-150
I've only got the gc water magnet drying towel to dry my truck, have had excellent results by the way. When I get them they're really soft and I'm confident with using them to dry my truck. But everytime after I wash them they aren't as plush and soft..actually kind of rough and I'm a little afraid to use them to dry my truck again. But I did anyway one day and once I was done very small scratches (swirls) appeared, you can barely see them and only in certin types of light because I have a white truck. I know they will go away with scratch x because they're times of the day that I can't even see them when I try hard to. Recently I've just been buying new ones everytime they're dirty. Anyone have any ideas as to what I'm doing wrong?

How are you washing the towels? Have the towels been dropped or was the paint not totally clean when you used the towel?

Sometimes if you missed a spot while washing, the dirt can get picked up into the towel with the evident black/dark patches on the towel.

I use the washing machine with hot water and liquid Tide. I hang them up and allow them to air dry. No problems at all.

Tim

[rusty bumper]

Just wondering......Would it make sense to keep a clean bucket of rinse water handy to dunk the towel in after a few wipes? This might help to remove any grit that's picked up from missing a spot that didn't get washed properly.

I like to use this method when I am using a chamois to dry the finish with. The water will turn lightly dusty dirty looking after I'm through with the chamois......And I take pains to make sure that the car is clean before drying.

I know it doesn't take long for dust to settle on a clean car.

[Jbirk]

Toss your water magnet out if it is scratching, or find another use for it that doesn't involve drying cars.

Get a replacement and you can do what I do which is wash it in hot water with liquid Cheer or whatever.

Let it air dry instead of running it through the dryer. Just put it in a clean area with plenty of air.

[Alex7938]

as with all my towels if i let them dry on the line they do seem rougher to the touch, but if i tumble dry them they come up really soft

[explore_02xlt]

my experiance with the water magnent has been kind of bad. is there any specail ways to use it? i get alot of streaks especailly on glass. customer service sent me a replacement towel and it still does it. So now i know it's me and not the towel. sorry to high jack but this just reminded me

[BJClarke001]

explore_02xlt,

I use the WM all the time and have good luck with it. I use the hose first to sheath the water off my vehicle. Then, I use the the Leaf Blower to get most of the nook and cranny water out follwed by the WM folded into 1/4's and I constantly turn it over on a per panel basis. Sometimes (almost never), I need to wring it out but these towels are tuff to wring out. It sounds like if your getting streaks, the towel surface area is saturated with water. I know maybe I am telling you something you already know but just reviewing the basics might be what is needed.

Edit: As far as washing these towels; I wash them with Tide and tumble dry with no fabric softener nor dryer sheets. I think these softner chemicals interfere with the absorbancy effect and may cause streaks.

[gb387]

I have 3 Water Magnets and have had very good luck with them... I sheet the water off with the hose (no nozzle) then dry uses only one water magnet, no streaks, no scratches!?!?

[Mike Phillips]

I have 3-4 of them and I wash them with my microfibers using Tide, then dry them in the dryer as normal and I have not seen any fall-off in softness or performance.

How are you washing and drying them?

[F-150]

When I wash my water magnets, I used the original liquid tide w/ warm water. A little bit of white distilled vigenar for the final rinse. Tumble dry Low. But I use woolite if I can't see any dirt or stains in them. (Normally when I first get them if they have dust all over).
And by the way, I only wash them with other water magnets and sometimes the supreme shine microfibers.

[Jeff Smith]

I have noticed similar scratches.

I wash in warm water with Woolite. Then run them through the dryer.

I think I do a good job of washing the vehicle, Use NXT Shampoo and I am pretty sure I dont let the WM hit any dirt when drying.

Having siad that. A though that has occured to me a time or to when I see this is this:

I wonder if after washing my ride I might still have some above surface contaminates still bonded to the wax/finish. Could it be possible that the WM is alomst acting like a clay and pulling these off/out of the finish then rubbing them along the finish until they are caught up well enough in the WM?

Personally these scratches are very minor and seem to tend to go away about 2-3 Speed Detailing sessions so I don't sweat them too much. But I have an ungargared daily driver and have come to realize there are certain compromises I am going to have to learn to accept as a result.

[F-150]

Exactly! I didn't have close to any wax protection on my truck so even tho I noticed very minor scratches I used quik wax after washing it one day and the paint surface was fine (no bonded contaminants only minor scratches) and I used quik detailer everyday for 5 days until I washed it again. But after using quik detailer during all of those 5 days I could not notice any scratches. But it rained a bit after and when I washed it again I could see the scratches and it needed to be waxed still.

I do not have a grit guard insert tho....I still use the 2 bucket washing method. Anyway I bought 2 more water magnets and this saturday...if it doesn't rain... I'm going to wash with GC shampoo/conditioner with a new ultra plush mitt, use scratch X, the pure polish and GC wax all with new even coat applicators. I'm almost 100% sure that the scratches will be gone after that. But anyway sorry to get off the subject... I just threw the old 2 water magnets away because if they're rough and I think they'll scratch, they'll be tossed. And the new ones are nice and soft of coarse so I no longer have a problem unless if I wash them and they're turning out like my old ones I'll get back to you all. Thanks everyone!

[Jbirk]

Try this.

Clean your washing machine by wipping it down.... same with the dryer and empty the lint trap.

Try liquid tide and a warm to warm-hot wash then dry them.

They should turn out fine... mine do.

[Tuningfreak]

I`m using the WM since some month. It was never machine-washed - always after use I wash it with warm clear water, wring it out, wash again, wring it out and hang it indoor on a line and let them dry. Excperience is still perfect, and I usually wash and dry my car EVERY week.