Never use detail towels.

Barry

Barry

Paint Fanatic
Staff member
Guys, just a reminder, when you are washing a car with wax and grease remover, never use a detail rag as shown in the picture!
I just had another issue this week where a guy who does everything by the book had a couple of areas where the epoxy wanted to jump off the car when sprayed and the rest of the car was perfect. I finally said it's in the rags, what are you using, and bingo.
I get this about once a month, new or not; they come with something in them that paint doesn't like.
Here is a picture of some I use to apply detail spray before driving a weekend car.
Also, the same reason you never use paper towels from the house.
Get a box of prep wipes from an automotive paint store and not lowes or home depot; another problem with me losing my hair.

Help save my hair!! Lol
 

Attachments

  • 20190216_100319.jpg
    20190216_100319.jpg
    94 KB · Views: 765
Last edited:
Lots of good choices for wipes out there. My favorite at the moment is Sontara Maintenance Wipes E-4584 . These are actually not marketed as a final paint prep wipe by Axalta, the Sontara E-4601 are what they market as a prep wipe. But the Maintenance wipes are actually more lint free than the 4601's. When I used the 4601's I'd notice some lint on the surface before tacking. Using the maintenance wipes I don't notice any. Come in a large roll, centerpull from the box. If you are a hobbyist one box of these will last a long time. Good value for the money.
 
After dawn, only thing i used on my 2 repaints was bounty & use 1st & last few pieces for anytjing other then paintwork due to adhesive (which i say they changed to a elmers type) cause now if you use cardboard tube to dry hands it feels slimey. I drop all papertowels after wipe on floor & when done with that phase, i use broom & push them wet around floor to clean it before next step.
People think i'm sloppy throwing them on floor till they see how nice floor looks after using them to clean it :)
 
Over the long term including doing just one car from metal to paint you will pay as much or more for decent paper towels than you will for a box of quality prep wipes. Plus paper towels can be contaminated before you even open the roll. Not a chance I want to take. I hate re-doing stuff. Bonus is because they are woven you can use them for other purposes after you use them for wipers.
 
So microfiber towels should not be used with wax and grease remover? Microfiber is all I have ever used before, If they are the problem then I will never use them again.
 
No, microfibers are for polishing. Towels used for paint prep should be perfectly clean and disposable, never reused or washed. For critical paint prep the key is generally to use a disposable, low lint non-woven wipe that is made for the purpose. There are many, and some are pretty expensive, but not as expensive as even one flaw that causes rework.

I will admit that we do use normal paper towels for cleaning that occurs out on the shop floor well before the final prep for primer. Sprayway glass cleaner and white paper towels do leave lint but do a good job of general cleaning in circumstances where taking the part or vehicle to the wash bay might be impractical. Jambs, or places where tape is expected to adhere are good candidates for this process. Since the vehicle will be cleaned multiple times before paint, a bit of lint at the front end does not present much of a problem.
 
JC Daniel said:
So microfiber towels should not be used with wax and grease remover? Microfiber is all I have ever used before, If they are the problem then I will never use them again.
Click to expand...

They are a very big problem due too the chemicals used in them, I'm sure it vary s by manufacturer but don't know and don't care as most calls i assume problem is something else and it takes me 30-45 minutes too figure out.

This problem is barely beating out the 2nd problem I get and that is people buying yellow tack rags from Home Depot or Lowes.
 
Save the HD or Lowes tack rags for your walls and trim at home.
An extra wipe session with W&GR is worth the time vs even one tiny fish eye or crawl happening when it's too late!
OTOH I've often wondered what exactly is the substance used to make a tack wipe tacky? I always open them up, refold loose and wipe the surface very gently. I fear that mystery sticky stuff rubbing off on the surface :eek:.
 
Chris recommended a wipe brand. Can anyone recommend a tack cloth that's good (or safe, I guess) to use? I'm inching my way closer to color and I need all the help I can get in making it look as good as I can get it.

Thanks,
Chris
 
It's funny this was posted. I actually commented on a facebook post this weekend of issues I had with microfiber towels once before. A few years ago I switched to microfibers to do my cleaning with. After using them for maybe a year or so I started having terrible issues with fisheye. I could not figure it out since I had been using microfiber for quite a while with no issues. Finally took an old scrap fender and cleaned half with microfiber and other half with prep towels and sure enough the half cleaned with microfiber went insane and the half cleaned with prep wipes was perfect. Microfiber is only used for polishing in my shop now.
 
cmfisher4 said:
Chris recommended a wipe brand. Can anyone recommend a tack cloth that's good (or safe, I guess) to use? I'm inching my way closer to color and I need all the help I can get in making it look as good as I can get it.

Thanks,
Chris
Click to expand...

Always go to an automotive paint store any they have will work but stick with the blue or white color.
I always buy the blue thinks its called professional or similar too for base an clear.
 
What is the issue that pops up with hardware store tack tags? I usually use the Crystal brand but I have a couple of the hardware ones laying around as spares, wondering if I should take them home and not be tempted to use them on my good stuff.

Since we're talking wipes and I dont want to completely derail the thread. I am using Wypall X60 and X80.

I started out with the X60, but bought a box of X80 to try and I like them alot better, they seem to lint less if at all.
 
cmfisher4 said:
Chris recommended a wipe brand. Can anyone recommend a tack cloth that's good (or safe, I guess) to use? I'm inching my way closer to color and I need all the help I can get in making it look as good as I can get it.

Thanks,
Chris
Click to expand...

Chris I've had good luck with both Surgical Blue and Gerson Blend Prep. The Gerson's are synthetic and less tacky than the SSurgical Blue's but they work well.
Here are links (reference only not endorsing these sites)
https://repaintsupply.com/dat-surgi...Ij370a7Vg08_9z3g-xLxSv72b4qlg9jsaArBIEALw_wcB

https://www.tptools.com/Gerson-Blen...lNtjc7LNOafmgO2Mzhxxrl-ItS_26N2kaAqXCEALw_wcB

A word about using tack clothes correctly. When using a tack cloth you should never use pressure or push down like you are wiping or polishing something. Simply let the tack glide over the surface. Pushing down too hard risks getting some of the "tack" from the cloth onto the car. This can cause a multitude of problems. So just let the tack cloth glide over the surface, don't forget to tack your masking paper.
 
Very good information here, I bought some white prep cloths from paint supplier today. I use Gerson blue tack rags and get good results with them, Follow exactly how Chris said to lightly use them and you will be fine.
 
I had to bring this post alive again.
I'm getting killed with people using detail rags for wax and grease remover and then spending 20 mins trying to figure out why solvent pop or baby fisheyes in their job.

One shop I have three calls before I asked the question because every step was done correctly and who would have thought to ask?

I finally asked and bingo, that was the problem.
 
Wypall are good, you can get a massive roll from Uline, most of the time buy 2 and get a free stand. Just dont look at the uline brand and think they are so much cheaper, they are full of lint.
 
Barry said:
I had to bring this post alive again.
I'm getting killed with people using detail rags for wax and grease remover and then spending 20 mins trying to figure out why solvent pop or baby fisheyes in their job.

One shop I have three calls before I asked the question because every step was done correctly and who would have thought to ask?

I finally asked and bingo, that was the problem.
Click to expand...

Never ceases to amaze me the amount of bad practices at most shops. Guys that call themselves Professionals yet don't know not to use microfiber towels.:rolleyes:
With the amount of time it takes to correctly prepare a car for paint (from stripping to final wet sanding) the last thing you want to do is cheap out on wipes. I could go on but I'll stop there.:)
 
Where the problem is coming from years ago when first out these detail rags were very expensive, now you have people selling mixed one in big balk plastic bags cheap

Here was the giveaway, the vehicle was exceptional except hood cleaned last, and he grabbed a new rag
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top