A lot of people wonder and carefully consider about the kind of car wax or ceramic coating they’ll use on the car exterior, but then they don’t seem to put as much effort into picking the right car towel. Even if you have the car wash and the car waxing jobs done by the professionals at the nearby Brown Bear Car Wash (if you live in Washington state), you still need car towels to wipe down the car every now and then before you drive it off.
Pick the wrong car towel, and you might actually make things worse. The main danger is that you scratch up the paint job on your car. You might also leave unsightly swirl marks. It’s even possible that you imbed contaminants into the various car exterior surfaces.
But you can avoid these problems by sticking with the following car towels:
Trainshow Cleaning Chamois Towel
This is an old-school option that plenty of old-timers still love to use. It doesn’t feature any synthetic material. Instead, it uses oil-tanned deerskin. This natural chamois material is quite absorbent and can carry off plenty of water from your car every time you swipe it.
Once this car towel gets wet, it’s quite soft, and it’s no trouble to wring out. It’s even lint-free, so you don’t have to deal with that annoying issue of leaving lint on the car paint.
It does take some getting used to, as it’s different from using a regular fabric towel. You have to wring it out and flatten it each time you wipe it across the car surface. When you’re done using it, you can dry it in the shade (and not in direct sunlight).
A single towel in this case can dry several cars all day. And it will last for years.
The Absorber Synthetic Drying Chamois from CleanTools
Yes, it’s synthetic, and but it’s was engineered to mimic the performance of a chamois leather car towel. That way, it can meet modern (vegetarian and vegan) sensibilities. It’s actually made with PVA (Poly Vinyl Alcohol), and it features pores that use capillary action to absorb moisture, like a sponge.
Just drag the towel across the car exterior, it will absorb the moisture, and you can just wring out the water by hand. But you have to first get it wet before you start wiping down, or else it might scratch the car surface.
Zwipes Auto Professional Microfiber Drying Towel
Most people say that you should just get a microfiber towel and you’re good to go. But not all microfiber car towels are equal. However, this one is certainly better than most. It works very nicely even on large surfaces.
This is a medium-size towel, featuring deep waffle pockets that offer excellent absorbency. The edges also have soft finishes with rounded corners. Just get rid of the tag on the edge to minimize the risk of scratches.
This towel dries faster than traditional chamois, and it won’t leave streaks on chrome and glass. It may fray a bit early when machine-washed, so if you want it to last longer, wash it by hand and then air-dry it.
