What do you all do to clean the cotton towels you use to buff carnauba wax with? I usually just wash them with my whites, but they don't always seem to come clean.

 

I soak them it HOT water with Dawn in the laundry tub, rinse, then soak again before put them in the wash. It seems to work well.
-Dan

 

Though the following general list of 'tips' has been discussed in this forum many times before, it bears repeating and has proven very successful for me as used on all of my previous cars (Porsche Boxster S, BMW M3, VW GTi, Honda Civic Si, etc). NOTE: They ALL had dark, easy-to-ruin paintjobs , but always looked fabulous.

1. It is best to machine wash your car towels SEPARATELY, in HOT water. Do not be sparing with the detergent.
2. By ALL means do NOT USE FABRIC SOFTENERS of any kind. They reduce the towels' ability to absorb water, which will cause streaking when used as drying towels. I have even seen towels that have been so repeatedly 'treated' with fabric softeners that they FEEL like they still have wax imbedded in them, and could hardly absorb any water at all - they just push it around.
3. I use a cup of bleach in each load of car towels, which seems to help release wax or grease residues from the nap. If you do this, it is probably best to use a second rinse cycle to flush the cleaners and bleach from the towels.
4. Finally, make sure you are using 100% pure cotton towels, and dedicate their use to your car. Any synthetic blends can cause streaking or even those fine spider web scratches over time. You can tell if your towels are pure cotton by burning one little tip of the material with a lighter (disclaimer: be careful, duh). If it burns clean, without any smoke, then it is pure cotton. Any synthetic material will emit smoke when burned.
5. If you don't trust the condition or purity of your current towels and really want to start over with a fresh batch, I suggest you check out www.dftowel.com. They sponsor several MINI clubs, and the products are really impressive!

There are other things that you can do to improve your "Car Care Experience", but maybe this will help.
.

 

Thanks for the tips! If it's ever warm enough again to wax my car, I shall put them to use!

 

Many here would argue for microfiber over terry cloth towels, even some of the Zaino guys and gals. Whichever you chose, the rest of the reqs by coopernicus are great and either is better than mom's old bath towels!


Joel

 

I would probably agree about the microfiber vs. cotton, if all microfiber towels were consistently made from materials proven to be truly safe for long-term use on our delicate paint surfaces. Unfortunately, the term MICROFIBER is now an overused buzzword and means vastly different things based on the source. Some of it is just cheap synthetic junk, so I haven't been able to bring myself to try any of it on my cars' paint...

Here's a link to a decent explanation of 'Microfiber' from the DF Towel folks:

DF Concourse Towels - Explanation of Microfiber

Admittedly, they have a vested interest in keeping us all focused on using pure cotton for our cars, but this info does make sense. In fact, DF Towels are endorsed by Sal Zaino himself for use with his products. Sal apparently tested many Microfiber towels, and found wildly-varying results, even between batches of the same towel from the same manufacturer. Some definitely DID scratch the paint during his tests.

I can't argue with the results I have had with cotton over the years. Why mess with success, as they say...
.

 

Microfibers are a mixed bag. Just like cotton towels... sometime you will get a "100%" cotton towel that will have nylon thread to bind the edge and it's the nylon that causes the scratches (why Sal recommends ripping off the edges).

Microfiber, if you can find good ones, are the way to go, IMHO. Sonus makes some great ones... the buffing towel is so soft and plush, it feels like it should be sold next to XXX videos. The drying towel is very, very absorbant.


My additions to the washing tips from above:

1. Wash microfibers separately from other fabrics.

2. Do not use powdered laundry detergent... only liquid! Sometimes the powder doesn't dissolve all the way and then you might as well be rubbing your car with sand.

 

Typically I wash mine towels & mitts with my clothes, but then air dry them (as mentioned you don't want them coated with fabric softener, which will smear on your car).

As you move up the crazy--sorry "enthusiast" scale, you should separate them. Also Sonus Der Wunder Wasche is made specifically for washing microfiber.

 

I wash mine in warm water,run a second rinse cycle and only use liquid laundry soap with NO bleach or fabric softener.
To dry I use a "damp" dry and let them air dry after. Again NO fabric softener. Once every 5 washes I put 1 cup of vinegar in the wash water to help bring the softness back.