s4dreamer Posted February 9, 2003 Report Share Posted February 9, 2003 This is another new product from Meguiars, which I bought largely through word-of-mouth that it was an effective method of drying the car after washing. At £14.99, it's not cheap, so what do you get for your money? Well, when I hear the word "microfibre", I tend to think of those fleece-like material dusters which attract the dust using static electricity, so I was skeptical that it would pick up any water at all. What you actually get, though, is a roughly 2ft x 1ft (60x30cm for those of you of the metric persuasion) rectangle of a material that, well, reminds me of a dishcloth. I t has a "waffle" type finish to it similar to some dishcloths or teatowels. The cloth arrives packaged in a nice plastic tubular container which is a handy place to store the cloth (when it's dry) to prevent it picking up dust & dirt between uses. So how did it perform ? Well, the box claims that it is more effective than real or artificial chamois. Having used many of the former and currently using the latter, I was hopeful that this indeed would be the end to water streaks left on the car during drying. I washed the car, then rinsed it with a trickle of water to allow as much as possible to bead-up and run off the car before drying - no easy tak with my hosepipe, believe me! Then I took the cloth from its container and folded it into a rough square and wiped. To say this cloth is absorbent is a bit of an understatement. When dry, it seems more than capable of soaking up a small lake! With 3 wipes on either side of the roof of my car, it was dry. And I don't mean dry-ish, as it is with the chamois, but dry - all water gone!! What a marvel. With some judicious folding, I managed to dry around two thirds of the car before the cloth became wet. For me, this is where the problems started. I just couldn't wring enough water out of the cloth to get it dry enough to prevent streaking. Certainly, it's performance at this stage was on a par, if not slightly below my fake chamois. However, after a few minutes of bunched muscles, I found that if the cloth is folded into a smallish square of approx 6-8" and then rolled up - as if you were putting it back into the box, it became much easier to squeeze out enough water to have some semblence of a dry feeling in the cloth. Be warned, though, that you still need the vulcan death grip and muscles of steel to get a significant amount of water out of it - it's definitely not for the delicate! Once I'd succeeded in wringing out a substantial amount of water, the drying cloth performed much better than it had been when wet. Probably only slightly better than the chamois, but better enough to make it worthwhile using. Although the cloth can be machine washed, I simply rinsed it in hot water after use and then hung up to dry naturally. In summary, I would say that the Microfibre Drying Towel is well worth the investment when you next come to replace your chamois. When dry it is a fantastic absorber of water, and if you manage to wring it out effectively, it performs more than adequately when wet too. I'll certainly be using it instead of the chamois in the future and feel comfortable in recommending it if you hate those streaks that your chamois leaves behind when the car's bodywork is cold - as it was for me yesterday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hopsta Posted February 9, 2003 Report Share Posted February 9, 2003 Superb write up Trev, very indepth and informative. I'll certainly be getting one of these meself. Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Domus Posted February 9, 2003 Report Share Posted February 9, 2003 Very eloquent Trev. I used it for the 2nd time today, on the MX-5 this time. I had put it away damp in its tube. Big mistake, couldn't get it dry enough by wringing. I think you have the right idea hang the thing to dry completly, before putting away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny_TSport Posted February 9, 2003 Report Share Posted February 9, 2003 I used my Drying towel for the second time today and i have to say its spot on! It took me half the time to dry the car, but there aint much water on it anymore, it just beads off with all the gold class wax on it Btw your right about the wringing out thing - you need arms like Conan!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted February 10, 2003 Report Share Posted February 10, 2003 Yep, used mine for the first time yesterday.. superb.. does exactly what it says on the tin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bushy Posted February 10, 2003 Report Share Posted February 10, 2003 [ QUOTE ] Superb write up Trev, very indepth and informative. I'll certainly be getting one of these meself. Graham [/ QUOTE ] No probs grahm make the cheue payable for the extra amount then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hopsta Posted February 10, 2003 Report Share Posted February 10, 2003 no probs Bushy.. found the blankety blank late last night i'll be posting it off to you later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted March 17, 2003 Report Share Posted March 17, 2003 Used mine today. have to admit i was sceptical. Synthetic chamois i have used in the past have been useless. does exactly as claimed, it makes drying a doddle. and damn quick too. do need arms like a Gorilla to wring it out tho! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatcat Posted April 8, 2003 Report Share Posted April 8, 2003 Just to echo everybody else really, I've used my new towel now 3 times, and it's really VFM, works very well and would recommmend buying one. Another sound product from Bushy PLC Inc.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S3Bangs Posted April 8, 2003 Report Share Posted April 8, 2003 Really good product but flippin expensive I think... if you check the American website, the same cloth is being sold at $9.99...Nonetheless ...Buy it..its that good.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatcat Posted April 8, 2003 Report Share Posted April 8, 2003 [ QUOTE ] Really good product but flippin expensive I think... if you check the American website, the same cloth is being sold at $9.99...Nonetheless ...Buy it..its that good.. [/ QUOTE ] Tony - you are such a tight wad.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S3Bangs Posted April 8, 2003 Report Share Posted April 8, 2003 [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] Really good product but flippin expensive I think... if you check the American website, the same cloth is being sold at $9.99...Nonetheless ...Buy it..its that good.. [/ QUOTE ] Tony - you are such a tight wad.......... [/ QUOTE ] I never even realised Pete... Still flippin expensive.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Posted July 8, 2003 Report Share Posted July 8, 2003 Used mine for the first time the other day and all i can say is "it does exactly what it syas on the tin" but i didnt find it as hard as most of you have made out when wringing(sp) it, but i do have fairly big arms and shoulders from playing rugby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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