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      02-21-2008, 03:19 PM   #1
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microfibre sponge?

I was in the car wash section and saw a microfibre sponge. It was basically a sponge wrapped in a microfibre cover. It seemd nice and soft. Anyone ever use one of these? I have been using a good sheepskin wash mitt but wonder if the microfibre is the way to go.
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      02-22-2008, 12:13 AM   #2
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I have sheepskin for the wash mit and the MF covered applicator pads for polishes.

I wondered the same thing though.
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      02-22-2008, 11:05 AM   #3
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You want to wash the car with Sheepskin (the thickest you can get). This will allow the dirt to transfer into the sheepskin mit, and the mit will also hold more water and suds.



Use in conjunction with a foam gun and you will greatly reduce the chance of putting swirls in your paint.
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      02-22-2008, 02:36 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnL135I View Post
You want to wash the car with Sheepskin (the thickest you can get). This will allow the dirt to transfer into the sheepskin mit, and the mit will also hold more water and suds.



Use in conjunction with a foam gun and you will greatly reduce the chance of putting swirls in your paint.
x2 I have been using one from Sonus (autotopia) for a couple years on my dark blue paint and swirls are almost non existent.
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      02-22-2008, 03:08 PM   #5
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I manufacture and import Microfiber for a living. I would not recommend a MF Sponge for washing a car. You leave yourself open to transfer scratches.

The MF sponge is fine (wet) for interior work or glass. (no plexiglass)

Any other MF questions and I will attempt to answer.
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      02-22-2008, 03:57 PM   #6
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Boar hair car wash brush used here.
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      02-22-2008, 09:58 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 0002s View Post
I manufacture and import Microfiber for a living. I would not recommend a MF Sponge for washing a car. You leave yourself open to transfer scratches.

The MF sponge is fine (wet) for interior work or glass. (no plexiglass)

Any other MF questions and I will attempt to answer.
What about the microfibre wash mitts that Mequires sells? I just noticed those on their website. Are they any better or just stick with sheepskin?
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      02-23-2008, 12:48 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vanbmw View Post
What about the microfibre wash mitts that Mequires sells? I just noticed those on their website. Are they any better or just stick with sheepskin?
Depends.

-Short Version...stick with Lambs Wool Mit and use good quality MF towels to ONLY dry your car off

-Long Version

Split cleaning microfiber is made up Polyester and Polymide (nylon) and is usually 80/20 mix. The fiber is 1 denier (or under) and is (in a perfect world) split 9 time. The inner core is nylon and the 8 outer splits are poly.

So you get a fiber that can mechanically remove dirt from a surface and is "X" times more absorbent than traditional cleaning textiles. Regular fibers don't clean. They only move liquid from surface to bucket and vise versa. The chemical does the cleaning by a process called emulsification.

Upside is MF cleans better than cotton/other because the fiber has cleaning properties as well as the increased absorbency combined with the cleaning chemicals emulsification.

Downside is that what it picks up in the fiber "can" scratch surfaces (think sand).

Car finishes are hard enough to take minor dirt in that the (insert microfiber product) would pick up. So if you keep a (insert MF product) clean and only for a single type of auto application you would be fine. In fact MF products will pull dirt off surfaces at a microscopic level.

If you don't maintain the product correctly or let it pick up large particles (think sand) then you risk transfer scratches.

The other issue is that most of the microfiber sold at retail is "shit". The product is not split that well and the weaves aren't the best for the application being used.

I personally use nothing but microfiber for my vehicles, but then I know what I'm using and how to use it.

-hope this doesn't confuse
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      02-23-2008, 01:53 PM   #9
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Sounds good. Nice to get the opinion from someone that obviously knows what he is talking about. Is there a brand or two of microfibre towels you recommend for drying?
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      02-23-2008, 02:38 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vanbmw View Post
Sounds good. Nice to get the opinion from someone that obviously knows what he is talking about. Is there a brand or two of microfibre towels you recommend for drying?
Brand is a matter of "batch" from China/Korea. Even within brand it will change from load to load.

I would recommend never buying a towel that you can easily see through.

Also lay a towel flat on a surface and bead some water on it. Good splits will instantly absorb the water. Bad splits will keep the water beads on top and then absorb them slowly.

Another problem is people wash MF with cotton. MF will pick the cotton lint up in the wash process. While it doesn't damage the towels it will be annoying.

You can damage MF by washing in fabric softener and or using dry sheets. The silicone in the FS and DS will coat the fibers and effectively seal the "cuts". This will cause the fibers to stop performing as they did new.
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      02-23-2008, 02:41 PM   #11
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again, I use nothing but MF products to clean my house, car, computers, firearms....etc.

I am always leery of suggestion something to someone about their cars and have it end up causing transfer swirls or scratches. This is why I am overly cautious with recommendations.
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      02-24-2008, 04:45 AM   #12
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These are bar none these best cleaning pads I've ever used. They also come in a mitt form as well. They don't hold on to dirt at all so there's no chance at scratches (I've never had any from using them). I have tons of Griots stuff. It's all fantastic, especially the polisher (made by Makita). The clay is by far the best I've used too...

http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/11290.do
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