Made the switch to Adams this past summer when I got my first new car and I stumbled on some Instagram posts with their products tagged in the pictures. Decided to see what they were all about and I'm glad I've found such a company that knows how to advertise, demo, and listen to their loyal customers. Consistently releasing videos on new and improved products is awesome and really enjoys seeing how to use the products correctly. But anyway, Before the winter I made sure to thoroughly wash, seal and wax my car. With winter half over, the weather broke this past weekend and with 50 degree temps I got to wash the car to re-up the sealant and give it a good mid-winter wash. Looking at the paint while washing, I could tell that it has been well protected the past few months and it looked good.
One thing I did notice was what looked like some 'rail dust' on the bottom of the front doors which I will tackle in the spring when I can spend more time without worrying about snow the next day. Also saw some very faint swirls but I believe those were from the dealer when I got it in the summer.
Overall, I am very satisfied with the results after ever wash. I plan I buying more of the less essential products to round out my arsenal this spring and most likely getting the new Swirl Killer to really go the extra mile. Can't wait to see what you guys come up with next!
Just got my order today. Looks like I have a helper. I think I will try adding some APC since the pilot has some black plastic trim at the bottom. I also purchased 2 MB today so hopefully will get some good stuff to add to what I ordered. Thanks for advice. I was surprised that anyone responded.
So you want to start mixing and diluting products for various uses, but you're not sure how to decode the ratios? Not to worry - the Shine Doc has got you covered! Dilution and mixing can be a very important part of a good detailing regimen, whether its to reduce the strength of a cleaner for more delicate needs or reduce the shine of a dressing, its key to know how to properly read dilution recommendations.
WHAT PRODUCTS CAN BE DILUTED?
Virtually any chemical can be diluted in one way or another, but things like wax for example won't be diluted often. Other products like Super VRT, Leather & Interior Cleaner, or Rinseless Wash will be things you dilute all the time.
CAN I USE TAP WATER TO DILUTE THINGS?
Yes and no, it really depends on the product you're mixing and what its purpose will be. Typically any product that has an 'optical implication' should only be mixed with distilled water. By optical implication we're talking about products with a visual impact on reflection, clarity, etc. So for example Super VRT can be mixed with regular tap water as the clarity of your tires or trim isn't an issue. On the other hand Rinseless should (ideally) be diluted with distilled water to reduce the chance for streaking when its used as a waterless spray.
DEFINING 'PARTS' IN A DILUTION
The term 'parts' are used in simplified dilution ratios that allow the user to calculate a dilution ratio regardless of the size of the bottle or batch you are mixing. Simply put 'parts' are a basic way to break down a mix and scale it to whatever amount you need or want.
In a dilution ratio your first number is always the water and the second number is your chemical, so for example:
If you were trying to create a dilution of Car Wash at 4:1 it would read 4 PARTS water and 1 PART car wash. Because the ratio is a simplified dilution you can apply it to something as small as a 16oz bottle or as large as a 5 gallon bucket. As long as you know the parts you can create any batch you need at the identical dilution ratio.
HOW PARTS MAKE UP A TOTAL YIELD
With the parts understood we can discuss how those parts add up to create your total yield. The total yield is the amount of the finished mixture you will create with your dilution. Simply put, the sum of the parts equals the yield. Sticking with our 4:1 mixture for Car Wash from earlier -
4 parts water and 1 part car wash equals a total yield of 5 (the sum of the parts)
If you were using a dilution of 20:1 your total yield would be 21. If working with a dilution of 10:1 your total yield is 11, etc, etc.
DETERMINING YOUR BATCH SIZE
Your batch will be dictated mostly by the container you intend to mix in. Keep in mind that most bottles are not defined by 'full to the top' as almost every bottle manufacture leaves an air gap at the top to reduce spillage. If your bottle doesn't have markers or a gauge to indicate sizes use a measuring cup to determine where the fill lines should be and mark them with a sharpie.
CONVERTING YOUR RATIO TO OUNCES
So now we know what parts are and how they add up to the total yield. You also know that your batch size will be dictated by your container, but how do we break the formula down into ounces and start mixing? We need to convert our parts to ounces. Lets say we're going to mix 32oz of our Car Wash solution at 4:1 to clean a set of delicate aluminum wheels:
BATCH / YIELD = OUNCES PER PART
Remember BATCH is the size of your container, or the amount you wish to make in ounces and YIELD is the total number of parts in your dilution ratio so in our example:
32oz / 5 = 6.4 ounces per part
Now that we've determined our ounces per part we can plug that number back into the original ratio and determine exactly what we need to create our mixture in the correct batch size
4 PARTS WATER x 6.4oz = 25.6oz
1 PART CAR WASH x 6.4oz = 6.4oz
Double checking our math by adding it together you can see we have a total of 32oz of mixture being created at our desired dilution.
TIP: PRE-MIX LARGER BATCHES
Armed with all this new found knowledge of dilution how can you make it even more effective? Try pre-mixing larger quantities of your most commonly used ratios for refill purposes. Diluting directly into the bottle, while convenient and easy does present a challenge - if you are almost done with your mixture and need to refill it how can you accurately measure when there is already liquid in the bottle to contend with? By mixing gallon or larger batches to then refill your spray bottles you can eliminate the guess work and the need to mix for 128oz of use.
So the next time you exhaust a gallon container don't toss it out! Mix up a batch of your most commonly used dilution and have it ready to go whenever you need it!
COMMON DILUTIONS
Below you'll find just a few suggestions on various dilutions to use your Adam's products at. If you have a dilution ratio you like for a product reply here and we'll add it to the list. The beauty of diluting products is you can find a variety of needs and new solutions for products you may not have thought of before.
All Purpose Cleaner
8:1 - Delicate aluminum wheels or trim
4:1 - Bug or tar pre-treater, door sills, kick panels
1:1 - Ceramic coated wheels, gloss or matte black painted wheels, delicate engine bay
Car Shampoo
128:1 - Soap Bucket
8:1 - Foam Cannon or Foam Gun
Leather & Interior Cleaner
8:1 - Delicate surface interior cleaning
3:1 - Moderate soiling
1:1 - General coated leather cleaning (when no stains are present)
Mega Foam
256:1 - Soap Bucket
16:1 - Foam Cannon or Foam Gun
Rinseless Wash
16:1 - Waterless washing spray
64:1 - Clay lubricant
6:1 - Pre-Wash/Pre-Soak solution
Strip Wash
128:1 - Soap Bucket
8:1 - Foam Cannon or Foam Gun
Tire & Rubber Cleaner
1:1 - Maintenance cleaning of lightly dirty tires, delicate engine bay
Ultra Foam Shampoo
128:1 - Soap Bucket
10:1 - Foam Cannon or Foam Gun
VRT Tire & Trim Dressing
1:1 - Spray on low gloss tire dressing
2:1 - Spray on detailer for vinyl soft tops/tonneau covers and engine bay plastics/hoses (sometimes referred to as "VRT Milk")
3:1 - Quick detail spray dressing for matte vinyl wraps
Wash & Wax
128:1 - Soap Bucket
10:1 - Foam Cannon or Foam Gun
Wheel Cleaner
1:1 - Paint decontamination/removal of ferrous metal (Iron Remover is preferred and more effective for full body panels)
Wheel & Tire Cleaner
2:1 - Fender wells and engine bay
1:1 - Maintenance cleaning of lightly dirty wheels and tires
Plush to waffle weave, glass towels to wash pads, and even more recently polishing pads, microfiber has forever changed how shine freaks keep their cars looking great and how detailers correct, protect, and care for customers cars. The argument could be made that no single advancement in the world of car care has had a larger impact in the last decade than microfiber. Professionals and enthusiasts alike all keep a hefty supply of a wide variety of towels on hand at all times, but despite its omnipresence in the care care world there is still a fair amount of mis-information and mis-understanding as to how they should be cared for.
In this FAQ article I'll be covering the basics of cleaning and care for your microfiber towels and a little bit of background on what makes them the preferred choice of detailers.
WHAT IS MICROFIBER?
What good is it to get into all the minutia of microfiber if you don't first have an understanding of the materials composition and history?
Microfiber can be composed of many parts, most commonly in the detailing / car care industry we use a combination of polyesters and polyamides. These microscopic laboratory born fibers are around 1/100th the diameter of a human hair, this ultra fine thread is what gives microfiber its delicate touch and super soft feel. To put that size into perspective, if you were to think of a regulation basketball as the equivalent of the diameter of a human hair, an individual strand of microfiber would be smaller than an M&M chocolate candy!
Why is this important? While you might see a fluffy towel with your naked eye on a microscopic level there is a very tiny, but very uniform and durable strand there. Almost all microfiber will share an identical fiber structure, regardless of weave or pattern. How the fibers are laid out will impart different characteristics to the material (plush for delicate surfaces, waffle weave for drying, flat for glass, suede for coatings, etc)
Each individual strand has a star-like structure and all strands are virtually identical across the entire surface of a towel. If you could pull a fiber from one towel, and another from a different towel of similar quality and cross section them you'd likely not be able to tell them apart. This leads to a uniformly soft towel that performs the same regardless of fold or what portion is in contact with the surface. This is in stark contrast to the wild inconsistency of cotton fibers which can vary in shape and size from one strand to the next. (see the image below)
The star shaped structure on each strand allow microfiber to trap small particles, dirt, moisture and debris making them very effective for cleaning. Compared to the inconsistent, tube-like, shape of cotton which is absorbent, but not ideal for cleaning microfiber has a clear advantage.
WHERE DID MICROFIBER COME FROM?
These tiny man made textiles were actually being produced back as early as the 1950's though the applications were extremely limited. Technology at the time had its limitations and it was next to impossible to produce long continuous strands in a consistent manner making it not only very expensive, but also very time consuming to produce. Technology began to catch up in the late 1960's when a team of Japanese researchers were able to produce microfibers in long continuous strands. This breakthrough lead to the adoption of microfiber for a variety of applications in the 1970's in the textiles industry. By the 1990's microfiber would gain popularity in the cleaning products market, but mostly in the janitorial and hospitality industries due to its sanitary properties and low tendency to shed or lint.
In the early 2000's I personally had my first experience with this new 'micro towel' a friend of mine had gotten his hands on. It was softer than the cotton diapers we were all used to using in those days and in the coming years we began to see more and more variety in towels available. A good friend and fellow detailer actually began importing these towels as a side business around 2002 and instantly the SoCal detail market began to change. Everyone wanted these incredible new towels.
In the years after that microfiber would explode and become widely accepted as the best option for any kind of detailing. The towels continued to improve and find new configurations - waffle weave, glass towels, foam core towels, applicators, and most recently the microfiber buffing pads. Its funny to think back on a time before microfiber, when a cotton diaper was the best option now, and even stranger to think that it wasn't all that long ago.
WHAT DOES 'WEIGHT' MEAN?
GSM or "Grams Per Square Meter" or "g/m2" is also referred to as the towels "weight". This measurement dictates the materials fiber density. In other words the relation between the mass of a towel and how much space or volume it takes up. Usually the higher the GSM the softer the towel. Plush towels for use on delicate surfaces should be at least 360gsm, but I personally prefer towels at least 460gsm or higher. Towels in the 200-350gsm range are best suited for non-delicate surfaces and tasks, like scrubbing leather seats or wiping off things under the hood.
Now, the GSM rating isn't always the best way to define a towel. For example a waffle weave towel may have a lower GSM, but thats due to the way its constructed not as much due to the quality of the material.
To be safe always buy your towels from a reputable source, and before jumping in with both feet test it in a small area to make sure its delicate enough for the job you're about to do. If you use a low GSM towel all over your car without first testing you'll have a lot of paint correcting to do!
USE THE RIGHT TOWEL FOR THE JOB
Because microfiber marks such a substantial investment in your detailing collection its important to do your best to preserve them to get the most use from them before they are retired. To this end its always a good idea to segment your towels into various types.
Plush or deep fibers are generally best for extremely delicate jobs, like wiping or polishing clear coat, while shorter or looped fibers have superior scrubbing and cleaning power. Waffle weaves offer the best absorbancy gram for gram and flat weave towels are ideal for non-delicate surfaces where streak free performance is paramount.
But don't just section your towels off by type! Sort your towels out in your collection for the jobs they're best suited for. Don't waste a good towel on a dirty job like wiping a door hinge or polishing metal. Preserve your best towels and retire old or stained towels to less important jobs.
WHATS CONTAMINATING YOUR TOWEL MAKES A DIFFERENCE
When you think about the contamination thats in your towels after a use you're talking about a pretty thick cocktail of polymers, waxes, oils, and other stubborn residues that need strong detergents to remove. For example waxes and sealants are products that BY DESIGN resist removal from detergents, water, heat, etc on your paint. A "good durable" wax or sealant is defined by its ability to resist detergents thru more than a few washes. These products behave no differently when buried deep within the fibers of your towels. Anyone whos tried to strip wash a sealant knows that sometimes it takes a pretty aggressive mix of All Purpose Cleaner to get it completely removed.
So knowing what kind of fight these products put up on your paint, why assume they'd be so much more easy going when bonded to a towel fiber? They aren't. This is why a stronger detergent or dedicated microfiber cleaner like Adam's Microfiber Revitalizer & Brightener is key to maintaining your towels. Removing product residues is just as important to your microfiber as any other part of their care and MFR&B was designed specifically to break down the things most commonly found in detailing towels.
The types of contamination found in automotive detailing towels will be far different than the soil, food, and grime found in other towels around your home. While a dish towel might have a combination of last nights spaghetti sauce and that mystery food goo from the fridge, your detailing towels will be full of polish, wax, and sealant residues. Because of this the type of detergent you choose is important.
Regular laundry soaps are still an effective option - most good detergents can remove most anything you find, or at the very least break them up enough to be effective. We've all seen the TV commercials where brand X removes grass stains, wine stains, ground in dirt - but I haven't seen one yet that says it'll remove carnauba wax and polymer sealants. Removing a grass stain from your socks is a much different proposition to removing a sealant from your towels.
The option to avoid, and one incorrectly recommended by amateurs all over the web, are 'delicate' detergents like woolite. Products in this category are lacking in the areas needed to really remove all the residues found in your towels. Sure, if you need to clean a silk shirt or delicate unmentionables by all means reach for your woolite, but we're dealing with tough residues embedded deep into very tiny fibers - use a detergent capable of getting the job done. While microfiber is important, and should be cared for appropriately, it is fairly durable stuff and can handle stronger detergents to make sure they are 100% clean. Weaker detergents will continually leave behind a small amount of detailing contamination, leading to a slow buildup and eventually hampered performance.
REGULAR CLEANING:
Your microfiber should be cleaned after every use. While it might be tempting to let that drying towel sit and use it again next weekend you run the risk of contamination causing swirls or letting something set into the towels that will be more difficult to remove later. Cleaning microfiber is usually the least enjoyable part of a detail, but in the end staying on top of your laundry just ensures that your towels will be at their best and ready when you are.
CLEANING TOWELS
Always separate your dirtiest towels, like those used to clean wheels or for metal polishing, from your 'good' plush and drying towels to avoid cross contamination and wash them in separate loads.
Keep cotton and other materials out of the wash loads. Wash microfiber only with other microfiber.
Use a dedicated microfiber detergent like Microfiber Revitalizer or a dye free/perfume free liquid laundry soap - no powders or granulated.
Set washer to a warm water setting. Some heat is required to break down waxes and polishes. Cold settings will not clean towels as effectively.
If your washer is equipped with an extra rinse cycle, use it. This will make sure as much of the contamination and remaining soap is removed from the towels as possible.
Microfiber can be machine dried if you prefer, use a low heat setting and NO FABRIC SOFTENER. Air or line drying is also an option, be sure to do this somewhere the towels cannot be contaminated with dust or lint.
MICROFIBER PADS & APPLICATORS
Just like with towels, separate any extremely dirty or contaminated pads from the group and wash separately to avoid cross contamination.
Wash pads and applicators separate from towels. The foam backing and velcro can become snagged and damaged during agitation by a towel in the same load.
Use a brush to break up heavy, caked in, polish residues on pads before washing.
Microfiber Revitalizer is preferred, but if using regular laundry soap make sure its dye/perfume free.
Set washer to a warm setting, not hot. Pads have a glue membrane that is sensitive to high heat so stick to warm wash water settings.
Air dry all pads and applicators on a wire rack to maximize airflow and expedite drying.
HEAVY STAINS AND CONTAMINATION:
No matter what there is going to be occasions where a towel becomes extremely contaminated or stained from either something you removed from a vehicle (grease, oil, tar, etc) or it becomes saturated with a product to the point there is some discoloration. In these situations pre-treating or at the very minimum pre-soaking the microfiber to keep these stains from setting in is key. Obviously, you can't stop mid-detail and clean your microfiber accessories, so here are some quick tips to help with heavier contamination on the fly.
Pre-treat any towel that becomes heavily soiled with grease, oil, brake dust, etc - spray liberally with All Purpose Cleaner or Microfiber Revitalizer. Soak the heaviest contamination and rub the towel against itself to agitate, then set aside for cleaning later.
Pre-soak towels to help start the cleaning process long before you get around to doing your detail laundry. Prep a separate bucket with clean water and add 2-3oz of Microfiber Revitalizer. As towels become too dirty to continue using toss them into the pre-soak bucket. Place a grit guard, upside down and ON TOP of the towels after they've been put in the mix to hold them in the solution as they try to float to the top.
For microfiber polishing pads or applicators use a stiff brush, like the pad conditioning brush, to break up residues before they harden and set in. Pads can also be added to your pre-soak bucket if desired.
If a towel ever becomes so contaminated that it doesn't wash clean, it may be time to retire it to a new job. Rotate towels that have been heavily stained to less delicate tasks.
MICROFIBER STORAGE:
Where your towels are kept when they are not in use is just as important as how they are cared for, so make sure you have a solution for keeping your towels out of harms way and dust free between uses. Plastic storage totes are an inexpensive solution - the lid will keep your towels from collecting dust in an area like a garage and will also minimize the amount of crawly insects that might find a new home buried in all that plush softness.
Always be sure your microfiber is completely dry before storage. Mildew will form on towels in some climates if they are even slightly damp. This is especially true of microfiber applicators and pads. The foam backing and cores is a magnet for moisture avoid using air tight containers for anything with a foam core or backing unless you are completely confident it is dry all the way through.
BOILING YOUR TOWELS:
Over time your microfiber may become contaminated past the point it can be completely cleaned using traditional methods. Typically this will present itself during use - drying towels will begin to feel less absorbent. Plush towels may lint slightly or smear products more than remove them. This is an indication that the fibers are 'full' either from residues deposited during use or things like fabric softener accidentally introduced during cleaning.
In any event, if your towels begin to loose their performance or just don't feel as good as they did new boiling is the solution, the last resort, to bring them back. NOTE: this process applies only to towels and microfiber without foam cores or backing. Never boil pads or applicators.
Fill a large cooking pot approximately 2/3rd full of water and bring to a boil
Add approximately 1-2oz of distilled white vinegar per gallon of water and stir
Place a few of the towels to be treated into the pot, maintaining a slow boil
Stir continuously with a large spoon, avoid letting the towels rest against the bottom or sides for too long
After about 60-90 seconds in the boil, remove the towels using tongs and rinse under cool water
Wash using the "Regular Cleaning" guidelines outlined earlier and they should be as good as new.
NOTE: Should boiling fail to bring absorbancy to a towel or the towel continues to lint then you are most likely dealing with a towel at the end of its lifespan. Retire the towel to less important tasks and replace with a new one for future use.
HOW LONG WILL A TOWEL LAST?
There really is no set answer to that question. Depending on how frequently they are used, how well they are cared for, and the types of products they're used with a towel can last for a very short or very long time. On average a towel should last the average user at least a year or two. Understand that no towels are good forever, they wear out eventually like any other product that sees frequent use.
If you experience diminished performance after some time and try the recommended boiling method it might be time to retire that towel and replace it with a new one. Your vehicle is a big investment and towels by comparison are a relatively small price in making sure it stays looking nice.
One thing is for certain - the better care you take of your microfiber towels and accessories, the better they'll do at caring for your vehicles.
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