i'm having trouble finding the name brand towels mentioned on the Zaino website... i went to Target and bought the most expensive 100% cotton, made in the USA towels that they had but when i used them they barely seemed to soak up any water... at target in the car section they had "car wash towels" made by a company called "Baja Sol"... they said they were 100% cotton and extra soft and extra absorbent... however, they are made in pakistan... do you guys have any experience with these?

also, Baja Sol sells a "Chenille" wash mit... i'm not sure what Chenille is... would this be a bad thing to use for actually washing the car?

thanks!
Jeff

 

NEVER buy toweling or mitts that are made in foriegn countries. Those are not true 100% made in the USA cotton products and will cause marring. Chenille is another word for cotton, but again, always notice where it's made before you buy... Also, many "chenille" mitts are a blend of cotton/poly which is bad as well...try to look for true 100% cotton.

For quality cotton towels, go to the upper end stores in your local mall. I get my Fieldcrests (Royal Velvet or Charisma) from Goldsmith's. You might also check Dillard's if you have one. I recently bought some nice POLO towels and Noble Excellence 100% cotton made in USA toweling. Yhey actually feel better than the Fieldcrests, so I bought them...

If you buy bad quality stuff, you'll get a bad quality detail job. Don't let toweling be your weakest link...

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*Mike's 1992 Camaro RS 25th Anniv.*
Dark Red Metallic (ext.) / Flame Red (int.)
Flowmaster Crossflow, K&N, 20% 3M Panther Black Tint
JL Audio 3 10", PPI PC2100, Kenwood eXcelon KRC-953H/U, Kenwood / Pioneer speakers
Shine by ZAINO! - Special Thanks to Sal Z!

 

ok, thanks for the info... what specific type/brand wash mit do you recommend? i can't stand the idea that i'm scratching my car when i'm trying to keep it clean!!! Also, if it matters, my paint is single stage, non clear coat...

 

Well, most of us use the Viking 100% cotton mitt, but they are extremely hard to find these days since the retailers replaced that mitt with a lower quality version. I have heard good reports of a Turtle Wax "Wash Pad" that is 100% cotton and USA made. I have not bought one but a good source says they are decent to use... I found them at AutoZone, but be careful as TW has 2 different wash mitts. One is a mitt thingy which is Made in China, the other is the Pad that is USA made.

I recently tried the 100% cotton NAPA mitt and I believe it was causing scratches...probably due to the cotton seeds! Luckily i still have a couple of the Viking mitts that are actually 100% cotton.

 

is auto paint specifically engineered to scratch easily??? it seems almost unbelievable how easily it scratches... i was checking the air in my tires and the bill of my baseball hat touched the fender and now i have a whole line of little vertical scratches... it wasn't like i headbutted the thing either...

its enough to drive me nuts!!! every time i look at the car, its the same thing: "What is THAT?!?! did i not see that before or is it new!?!"

 

I know what you mean! It's true, paint nowdays is much easier to scratch and swirl than paints of a decade ago (or longer). Makes you wonder if maybe the automotive paint companies own car care companies as well. They're probably saying, "Let's make a softer auto paint so we can sell them more scratch and swirl remover!" LOL!

In all seriousness, if you can blame anybody, it's our Governments fault. They have set much tighter regulations on paint formulations than they did years ago. Consequently, nearly all paint finishes are much more prone to scratching and rock chipping and so forth. It's all about tradeoffs. Now we have more environmentally friendly paints, BUT they scratch and chip like hell. On the bright side, generally, I have found that GM paint to actually be more durable than import paint like Honda, Toyota, etc...

But, I know how you feel. Seems like every little thing that touches the car causes more swirls or scratches... The best solution would be to never touch the finish at all, but how can you wash or detail? So, the next best thing is to use high quality toweling and mitts to lessen or prevent these effects from occuring.

Life is all about tradeoffs...


[This message has been edited by MikeLS (edited April 15, 2002).]

 

Two reasons todays paint scratches easier:

1. no lead in paint today like years ago makes for a softer paint, EPA to thank for that
2. clear coat is softer and being clear it magnifies defects like a prism.

Remember, we are in the VAST minority, the public at large never ever inspects or looks very closely at their cars paint, hell most dont even check the air, oil, or coolant. Just look at the people you work with, how many other than you give a damn about their car?????



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96 Black Impala SS
Authorized Zaino Showcar Polish Distributor
www.zainobros.com
Remember #3

 

that's for sure, most people don't care... it's just frustrating when you really do care that its basically impossible to keep a car looking perfect (and still drive it)...

the car i'm actually referring to is a '94 Black Toyota Supra... it is a non clear coat single stage paint (all non metallic and non pearl colors on supras don't have clear coats)... i'm using Z3 for this per Sal's recommendations... My Z28 gets Z2 of course... but with both cars being black they both seem equally impossible to keep looking perfect... while i'm here, any particular Zaino suggestions for non clear coat finishes?

thanks guys, i swear this forum is the best show/shine forum on the net...