That's the one I've got and can report that it's pretty good. It was on offer at Halfords a while ago. You simply show it some water and it hungrily slurps it up. Of course, keeping them fluffy and not wrecking the fibres has a lot to do with how they are washed and dried.

http://i67.tinypic.com/2nv5l6q.jpg

This may be a dumb question but how do you make them last? First I have to confess I never bought one for £20+ because they seem like single use items for me. Instead I have like a lot of small ones. I do know the basic rules not to use fabric conditioner and not to tumble dry and to use mild detergent ( whatever that means). As far as my experience goes cheap microfibre towels/cloths vary a lot in absorbency when they are new from pretty good to not good at all. I find the ones that are marketed for glass/windows to be best. but after single use they are either useless or very impaired.

From what I gather I wash car with a shampoo containing wax, dry it with microfibre cloth, most of this wax ends up in cloth and normal washing does not remove it so next time instead of being water absorbent it is water repellent.

Do you all use shampoos that does not contain wax? and then wax/polish after drying?

I use PH neutral shampoos - usually PoorBoys https://www.theultimatefinish.co.uk/...r-shampoo.aspx

currently trialling UF's own brand, but will be going back to PoorBoys for next order

I don't think there is any wax in either of these.

I do not wax or polish afterwards as I have a ceramic coat, should not use anything mildly abrasive like polishes, quick detailer is adequate for a final product, am planning to try finishing with AG Extra Gloss Protection but first need to check for abrasives in the product.

My routine is:

1. Snowfoam applied on dry car (i.e. not pre-rinsed) and left to dwell for 10ish minutes.
2. During the 10 minutes, I use a detailing brush to clean grilles, badges, etc
3. Rinse off
4. Clean wheels - I use Valet Pro Bilberry https://www.theultimatefinish.co.uk/...l-cleaner.aspx or a stronger IronX type product if they are especially dirty, then hand wash with small bucket of shampoo and wheel brushes, then rinse with jetwash
5. Apply 2nd snow foam
6. Without rinsing the 2nd foam, hand wash using two buckets with grit guards, PH neutral shampoo and wool wash mitt
7. Rinse
8. Dry horizontal surfaces and glass with the fluffy green towel in previous post
9. Buff same surfaces and dry vertical surfaces with Gyeon drying towel
10. Finish off with my BigBoi BlowR Pro - these are not cheap and not effective without a drying towel to assist.

My next investment will be in to a walter filter, which should mean I can skip the towel drying phase altogether and go straight to blow drying



All the above is for a maintenance wash, every 4-6 weeks I do a more detailed routine that would include de-tarring, ironX and a claymitt, though have to be careful not to affect the ceramic coat with this

They never seem to be as fluffy as they are brand new, and it's advisable to wash them before first use but in reality, nobody ever does because they feel so big and fluffy out of the bag. It's best practice to wash them on their own and a splash of white vinegar in the drum doesn't hurt, but don't ever use bleach or washer powder.

There's a lot of polyester in the big microfibre towels which why it's not a good idea to tumble dry them using heat. Ideally you want to spin dry them in the washing machine but because they are so heavy when wet, it can unbalance a machine :ROFL:

A good way to tell if the microfibre cloth/towel is ruined is drip some water onto it. If the water gets absorbed then it's good, if the water runs down the towel then you might as well throw it away. If you drop the towel on the floor you should probably throw it away too, unless you're going to sit with some tweezers picking out every single particle of grit.

I wash my towels with a little non-bio washing powder.

I also nearly always run them through condenser drier, never heard before that might be an issue