# Microfiber Cloth Review.



## yetizone (Jun 25, 2008)

Hi all. A Microfibre Cloth & Applicator Pad Testing Frenzy...!

Recently, I've replaced all of my MF cloths as they were getting a little tired. The list is not in any way supposed to be **********, just my experience of trying a new selection of cloths at hobbyist level. Cloths used regularly and machine washed in liquid non-bio detergent or Chemical Guys MF Wash, at 40 Deg C and both air and tumble dried. Re: colour & pricing: Some of the prices and colours may be inaccurate due to most of the cloths being bought several months ago. Check with your supplier 

Low price....

Screwfix: £2.09 X1 or £20.99 X 50. Blue. Short, single density pile on both sides. Stitched edge. Little or no lint deposit. Fibres grip and remove polish and LSP efficiently. A little smearing when using a QD, but understandable with the depth of pile. After about eight to ten washes they do seem to lose their softness and the pile compresses a little. Straight to the 'dirty jobs' bin at that stage.










Aldi PowerForce: £1.29 X 2. Yellow (other colours are available). Short, single density pile on both sides. Stitched edge. Similar pile to the Screwfix cloths, perhaps slightly softer. Again, zero lint deposit when new. Wash quite well initially, but again, the pile deteriorates and compresses after ten or so washes, but less so than the Screfix.










Simply Microfibre: .99p X 1 (multiple buy discount). Red/Pink (other colours are available). Mid to short density pile on both sides. Stitched edge, which is a little coarse. Superb low to mid priced cloth that perform well. Very good polish / LSP removal with little smearing with a QD. Washed and dried well and still in use for paint duties after twenty or so washes. Good value cloths and outperform the Screwfix and Aldi items.










Planet Polish: Super Weave Lemon: £1.65 X 1 (multiple buy discount). Mid, single density pile on both sides. Stitched edge. Similar to the Simply Microfibre cloths, but have a little plusher and denser feeling pile if anything. Wash and dry well and retain their softness much longer than the budget cloths. Very good value cloths.










Kent MF: Smaller in size than the usual 40cm sq. Quite good MF quality, short pile to both sides, but let down by the coarse seams. Remedied with a sharp pair of scissors! Despite the poor seams, these cloths are rather good. Remove polish well, adequate for QD duties, but they do lint a little after a few washes - the only cloths on test to really do this.










Mid price....

Poorboys Deluxe Mega Towel: £3.95. Coral, yellow silk edged / Green with yellow silk edged. Web photo as they've been claimed by father in law! Nuff said! Dual sided, mid and short density pile. Very good cloths indeed, perform beautifully for all polish / LSP / QD duties. Wash and last well too.










Chemical Guys Silk Banded: £12.99 X 3. Yellow with black silk edging: Dual sided, mid and short density pile. Very good towel at a mid price point that performs all paint duties beautifully. Still going strong after multiple wash and dry cycles.










Sonus Der Wunder Buffing Towels: £9.95 X 2. White with red silk edges: Dual sided, mid / long and short density pile. Luxurious, outstanding towel for all paint polish / LSP / QD duties. Remains soft and pliant after many wash / dry cycles. Slightly denser MF construction than the Poorboys and Chemical Guys cloths. Excel at everything and best all rounder on test.










High price....

Zaino Finishing Towels: £19.95 X 3. Yellow 'edgeless' construction. Long, single density pile on both sides. Quite simply the softest feeling MF cloths I own, feeling much softer than all of the other cloths. Competent at polish and LSP removal, but excel at QD duties and final wipe downs. Best on test for QD / spray liquid sealant wipe downs.










Serious Performance Uber Premium Detailing MF Towel: £4.49 X 1. Blue, edgeless construction. Very dense luxurious pile. Not so great at polish or LSP removal but competent enough not to be an issue. Outstanding for QD and final wipe downs though. Wash and dry very well indeed and feels virtually as new after a couple of months use. Just like the Uber style drying towels in fact.










CarPro (Cquartz) 500 gsm Super Plush Suede Borders. From Spoony's Group Buy Special: (http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=207291): Yellow, superb deep pile luxury MF cloth with very soft suede seam. Very good in most areas, but being similar in feel to the Zaino cloths, they are better suited to QD and final wipe downs rather than polish removal. Wash and dry very well and feel as new after repeated use.










Duragloss MicroFiber Polishing Cloth: #9003: £8.94 + VAT. 28 X 43cm. From Duralgoss_UK. Very nice cloth to use. Probably best used for final QD wipe downs or as a mini drying towel - as the pile is so deep, soft and luxurious. It can be used for removing polish, wax or sealants that are fairly easy to remove, but anything requiring a little more buffing effort it struggles and would benefit from a MF cloth with a shorter pile. One of the plushest and softest cloths I've used. Consider it a mini Uber style drying towel (similar proportions) and you get the idea. Very good but very expensive, but only one is needed. Lasts and washes very well indeed.










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And on to the MF Applicators...

Souns Der Wunder Applicators: £3.95 X 2. Green short pile single sided, edgeless construction. Very nice to use for liquid sealant application, wash very well and keep their shape much better than other MF pads I've used.










Zaino MF pad: Blue deep pile single sided, edgeless construction. Work quite well, although the foam pad loses its shape in use and when washing which is a little annoying. Wash and dry very well in terms of retaining pile softness. Bettered by the considerably cheaper Kent pad.










Kent Car Care MF Demist Pads (used as sealant applicators): .75p X 1. Blue short pile single sided, stitched edge. Outstanding value for money at the price. Easily work as well as the Sonus and Zaino pads, keep their shape much better than the Zaino and wash and dry very well indeed. One of the best finds of this whole exercise.










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Conclusion: The biggest surprise was just how competent the cheap and cheerful cloths are. They wash quite well and are more than adequate for most polish and LSP removal. The caveat being that they seem to lose their plushness after only a few wash / dry cycles so. In terms of longevity, its the more expensive cloths that unsurprisingly have the edge. The old cliches of 'you get what you pay for' and 'buy cheap, buy twice' seems to ring true with the good ol' MF cloth. For me, a selection of a few high quality cloths supported by a bulk buy of the cheaper cloths seems the ideal balance.

Finally, a couple of pix of them all together to show comparative pile density. From bottom to top in review order: Screwfix - bottom, CarPro - top.

Hope you find the little review of interest, I had fun trying out all the cloths


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## ads2k (Jul 12, 2006)

Nice one fella :thumb:


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## toni (Oct 30, 2005)

Excellent comparison! As a MF addict I appreciate alot you time taken for this comparison :thumb:


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## Mr Face (Jan 22, 2009)

ads2k said:


> Nice one fella :thumb:


as above, very interesting.

Have already condemned my 50 screwfix to their last appearance for anything recoverable so great timing :thumb:


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## Railsbrough (Mar 24, 2011)

Excellent write up am in the market for a new set of cloths at moment and you have helped point me in a suitable direction.


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## Audriulis (Dec 17, 2009)

I was waiting for su h a review a long time, thank you for your time doing this, superb review


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## yetizone (Jun 25, 2008)

Thanks for the positive comments guys. Appreciated. I generally enjoyed using all the cloths. No real duffers, but over time some did deteriorate quicker than others and lets just say they won't be replaced. For me, the stand out stars were probably Zaino and Sonus. 

I know the list was not in any way ********** and there are notable exceptions, specifically Costco, which I hoped to include, but just did not manage to get over to my nearest branch when planned. :wall: One towel I would like to include in the write up.

Other examples from Autoglym, Meguiars, Eurow, Detailers Preference, Dodo, Dri-U-Kwik, etc etc all notable by their absence. No specific reason - just felt that I had a decent cross representation at the different price points at the time. They and others may well be included at some point.

Will try and keep the thread updated by posting a quick write up of any new MF cloths or pads that come my way


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## DMH-01 (Mar 29, 2011)

Great review mate. Should be made sticky as questions on what cloths to go for are always coming up .


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## ITHAQVA (Feb 20, 2011)

Review was brilliant, many thanks for putting so much effort in mate, top man :thumb::thumb::thumb:


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## Spoony (May 28, 2007)

Brilliant sir, thanks for your time to complete that write up.


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## CliveP (Feb 1, 2009)

Excellent Review, I agree should be made a sticky! I only found it after following a link to it after someone responded to a MF question, otherwise I may have missed it.

Only other 'mid-priced' one I'd have loved to have seen in your comparison is the Eurow - Shag Pile Double Density Towels which I believe proves ever popular, pic below:










That said, I think you would conclude like some others you mentioned above -they do look remarkably (except for the edge) similar to the Serious Performance Uber Premium Detailing MF Towel you've reviewed (but the Eurow's are less expensive). In fact I could repeat your words on Serious Performance ones for the Eurow ones "Outstanding for QD and final wipe downs though. Wash and dry very well indeed and feels virtually as new after a couple of months use....." Only thing I'd change are mine feel like brand new after over a year of washes!

In fact I have maybe seven or so I've not even used yet as the original ones are lasting so long.

Regards,
Clive.


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## tsi140 (May 7, 2011)

CliveP said:


> Excellent Review, I agree should be made a sticky! I only found it after following a link to it after someone responded to a MF question, otherwise I may have missed it.
> 
> Only other 'mid-priced' one I'd have loved to have seen in your comparison is the Eurow - Shag Pile Double Density Towels which I believe proves ever popular, pic below:
> 
> ...


I also agree with you...!!!!!!


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## Ross (Apr 25, 2007)

Nice review my fav towel has to be the Eurow from QD'ing to LSP removal it just workks really well and I do love DJ Fantastic Furs for that finial buff.


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## hutchingsp (Apr 15, 2006)

I picked up a bale of 50 of the Screwfix towels earlier today.

Impressions are that they are an absolute bargain tbh.

Not at all convinced that I'd use them on paint, but for 40p each they seem an absolute no brainer.


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## ianFRST (Sep 19, 2006)

you need to try the white zaino ones aswell then 

ive found that the yellow ones are better at polish removal, and the white are better at lsp, which is the opposite of what they are recommended for :lol: (i bought 10 of each :doublesho:lol


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## GrahamKendall (Sep 8, 2009)

Thanks for the excellent write up. Really usefull.

Does anyone know if the planet polish ones are similar to the big pack you get in costco? they look very similar, I am mighty impressed with those.


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## yetizone (Jun 25, 2008)

ianFRST said:


> you need to try the white zaino ones aswell then
> 
> ive found that the yellow ones are better at polish removal, and the white are better at lsp, which is the opposite of what they are recommended for :lol: (i bought 10 of each :doublesho:lol


They are on the 'TO DO' list :lol:

Interesting about the white cloths being better for LSP duties.

When I last placed an order, everywhere was out of the white towels 

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Edit: PS. Thanks for all the positive feedback folks. Appreciated! As mentioned prior I'll keep the thread updated, as and when new cloths head my way.


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## yetizone (Jun 25, 2008)

Original post updated with a test of Duragloss #9003.


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## meraredgti (Mar 13, 2011)

sir, thank you


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## GSchneider (Jul 11, 2011)

great stuff this well done and thank you I have been looking to replace my cloths


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## R2P (Dec 25, 2010)

im a mf addict too im love the cg fatboy towels at to mo brill write up tho very useful!


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## ant_s (Jan 29, 2009)

Missed this first time round, but thanks mate. A very good write-up and a good selection to choose from, thanks again!


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