Thanks a lot, vid6639, theMAG & Thad_E_Ginathom, for enlightening me. I shall switch over to microfibre clothe for my Fiat Linea.

[theMAG]

The ability to "reach into small spaces" makes them particularly good at cleaning textured surfaces..

Vid - that quality alone should make you want to use them judiciously, with some future-state planning thrown in.

[mkh]

Originally Posted by condor

@mkh, not that yellow soft duster cloth. This is different.

I am referring to the yellow cloth from 3M- its sold at many places , now at Spar also. Those are the only ones 3M makes for car care...

Originally Posted by vid6639

Spar has them for Rs.149. 3 different blends of microfiber. Some chinese make. Size is small but they work.

I think I'm getting addicted to microfiber cloths.

I now have Meguiars pack of 3, Spar pack of 3 and have just ordered a microfiber drying towel, a microfiber wash mitt and microfiber wax applicator pad.

I had posted about these sometime back , have used them, they are good. THe text there on the box is french, did not see anywhere made in china tho.
The problem is i am really not sure on how and what to use them for on car exteriors. I have used them for interiors and the orange works great. THe blue- flat one i have used for removing polish/wax...have u been able to really figure out which one to use and for what? The instructions told that yellow one for polish, orange to remove dust..

Originally Posted by vid6639

Nope they are both different. Turkey towels are more or less cotton towels.

The microfiber towels are made of Polyester and Polyamide. They are completely lint free and the strands are very very thin. These thin strands don't allow the dust to stick on to them and therefore prevent the car from getting scratched.

Depends on how you use them- microfiber can hold dust and if not shaken and still used over the car, can scratch it badly- i found out with experience

[Fornax]

Is this Scotch-Brite™ Multi-Purpose Cleaning Cloth from 3M Europe - Scotch-Brite? Brand - Cloths good?

[mkh]

3m Sells a cloth that is ONLY for the industrial usage- their detailing centers. Its a superb one- the centers use it daily, wash it and the cloth lasts about 3 months( was told by the center)
The cloth sells for Rs 2000 for 6 of them...and not sold outside...
Have a friend who can source ...PM me if anyone would like one...go to a 3M detailing center and see it
SPAR in bangalore has a few microfibers also- good ones...

[ghpk]

Scratch Free Wipe from Scotch-Brite at this link

[mkh]

Originally Posted by ghpk

Scratch Free Wipe from Scotch-Brite at this link

these are too tiny- useful only for LCD etc as mentioned there, not for cars. for cars they have different cloth

[s3va]

I would like to buy a good cloth for washing and then wiping the car dry after the wash. So basically I would like to have 2 cloths for the above said purposes. Can I use the micro fiber for the same ?

[Thad E Ginathom]

You can use, but micro-fibre gives its best cleaning when it is dry or damp. When soaked, I don't think it is markedly better than any other wet cloth. Suggest you save micro-fibre for the finishing stages.

A soft brush is probably better than a cloth for washing. It will remove the greater part of dust and dirt without too much danger of scratching. Remember that dust, however fine it may seem, includes abrasive and should not be rubbed into the paint surface. It is this that produces the fine-swirl scratch patterns. You might as well take scotchbrite to your car!

[s3va]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

You can use, but micro-fibre gives its best cleaning when it is dry or damp. When soaked, I don't think it is markedly better than any other wet cloth. Suggest you save micro-fibre for the finishing stages.

A soft brush is probably better than a cloth for washing. It will remove the greater part of dust and dirt without too much danger of scratching. Remember that dust, however fine it may seem, includes abrasive and should not be rubbed into the paint surface. It is this that produces the fine-swirl scratch patterns. You might as well take scotchbrite to your car!

Thanks Thad

So are you saying that I can use the Scotch Brite which we get it in the super markets for 'wet wash' ? i am using one scotch brite stuff for cleaning the dining table and other household stuffs, is this the one or some other specfic to car ? I find this hard, so wont it scratch the car ?

I did check the website but didnt find any scotch brite specific to cars.

[mkh]

Originally Posted by s3va

Thanks Thad

So are you saying that I can use the Scotch Brite which we get it in the super markets for 'wet wash' ? i am using one scotch brite stuff for cleaning the dining table and other household stuffs, is this the one or some other specfic to car ? I find this hard, so wont it scratch the car ?

I did check the website but didnt find any scotch brite specific to cars.

For wet wash a microfiber will also do- microfiber wash mitts are the best in fact to use
You can get them at SPAR in OASIS mall or even at some car accessory shops - depends if they keep them.
For wiping dry you can use a micro fiber as suggested, the choices for people in bangalore are:
1. 3M Cloth- (scoth brite for cars) available at SPAR in Oasis or METRO. Costs Rs 90 per piece
2. 3M Professional series cloth- NOT SOLD AT RETAIL, however i am sourcing a few , you can tell me if you want one( my friend works in 3M marketing). Cost Rs 350 per piece
3. Again in SPAR @ OASIS- a single cloth, newly launched there and @ Rs 150. Not a big brand but is good..
4. MORE store has a set of 4 for Rs 130, 2 are terry towels and 2 are microfibers. You can also use a wet terry towel for wiping.
5. SPAR also has a set of 3 cloths, 2 of them are not much of use, the 3rd orange one can be used to wipe or wash(wet)
Best way to daily clean is to probably use a really wet terry towel or micro mitt with water, then wipe it
I think in our conditions we can only do the best, nothing ideal- just should not do something really crazy like wipe a dusty car or use incorrect cloth..
I will be posting some pics soon of microfiber cloths i mentioned

[s3va]

ok more questions..in bold embedded in the below quotes. Thanks MKH !

Originally Posted by mkh

2. 3M Professional series cloth- NOT SOLD AT RETAIL, however i am sourcing a few , you can tell me if you want one( my friend works in 3M marketing). Cost Rs 350 per piece : Can you please specifically give me the product name ? I have been given to understand that the only differecen is the color, one is blue and the other yellow, restwise they are the same as the ones available in retail !


Best way to daily clean is to probably use a really wet terry towel or micro mitt with water, then wipe it : When you say terry towel is it the same type of bathroom turkey towels ? And what is Micro Mitt. some light here please..

Originally Posted by mkh

3m Sells a cloth that is ONLY for the industrial usage- their detailing centers. Its a superb one- the centers use it daily, wash it and the cloth lasts about 3 months( was told by the center)
The cloth sells for Rs 2000 for 6 of them...and not sold outside... : Same as question no. 2 in the above quote

[mkh]

Originally Posted by s3va

ok more questions..in bold embedded in the below quotes. Thanks MKH !

Quote:
Originally Posted by mkh

2. 3M Professional series cloth- NOT SOLD AT RETAIL, however i am sourcing a few , you can tell me if you want one( my friend works in 3M marketing). Cost Rs 350 per piece : Can you please specifically give me the product name ? I have been given to understand that the only differecen is the color, one is blue and the other yellow, restwise they are the same as the ones available in retail !
Reply: No they are not the same!!! The brand is 3M only, the blue is higher quality and much much more rugged. I have the yellow and seen the blue one...the yellow is more of a wipe, the blue is multi purpose..you can see in any 3M detailing center..


Best way to daily clean is to probably use a really wet terry towel or micro mitt with water, then wipe it : When you say terry towel is it the same type of bathroom turkey towels ? And what is Micro Mitt. some light here please..
Reply:
No- 100% cotton terry towel is not the same as bathroom towels...check any website for details(like meguiars)..terry towels are also v good to remove wax/polish. To wash even a soft baniyan cloth is good if water is used to remove dust already there on the car. Micro fiber wash mitt- just google and you can see pics online..As i said, whatever best you can do- nothing is really perfect in our conditions. I use a wet microfiber to wipe and if really dusty, use a static duster and then pour water and wipe with soft micro fiber. I tried a really wet baniyan cloth, that is also good.


Quote:
Originally Posted by mkh
3m Sells a cloth that is ONLY for the industrial usage- their detailing centers. Its a superb one- the centers use it daily, wash it and the cloth lasts about 3 months( was told by the center)
The cloth sells for Rs 2000 for 6 of them...and not sold outside... : Same as question no. 2 in the above quote

[s3va]

MKH..great response..Thanks

I was given to understand through a reliable source in 3M(technical) about the difference between yellow and blue MFs.And lot of Scotch products available abroad are not marketed here in India. So what probably you must have seen must be an imported one, you never know. The retailers/professionals get the blue ones for a discounted price and that's about it. Nevertheless I will soon try to find out the difference personally.

As you said baniyan cloth is the easily available best cloth, I have been using it for years. I am really keen on MF like products purely for the reason that I dont get to wash my car most of the times as my watchman does it for me. And the care I can expect from him is the least for the simple reason that it is not his car. Hence I thought of atleast equipping him with a good cloth so that things like swirls and all those could be minimized.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by s3va

Thanks Thad

So are you saying that I can use the Scotch Brite which we get it in the super markets for 'wet wash' ?

No!

I'm using it as an example of how to damage your paintwork --- saying that rubbing in dust with any sort of cloth is potentially as damaging as using a scotchbrite. That is, the kind of scotchbrite abrasive pad we use in our kitchens.

Answered this as soon as I saw it. Would hate to have a queue of angry T-BHPians outside my house blaming me for their scratched paint! Quite likely some other poster cleared up the confusion before this...

Mind you, I think we are at cross purposes about Scotch "brite"...