Why you should remove your tags from Microfiber Towels

[George @ DU]

Microfiber has quickly become the norm in the automotive detailing industry and is even taking over other markets like furniture, clothing, etc. Is just using a microfiber safe enough or are there other things you can do to help improve upon them?

This writeup will explain the importance of why you should remove the tags of your microfiber towels (or purchase tagless towels). Just because a towel claims it is microfiber does not mean it is 100% paint safe for your vehicle. A simple way we can test this theory is by taking the back of a CD and seeing if the towel will scratch it.

Here is my test CD:

*As you can see the CD isn't perfect to start with but it gets the point across, notice the light scratches between 7 and 9 o'clock.

Next I marked off the CD into two distinct sections and wiped the area with as much pressure as I would removing a typical detailing product:

*I must have rotated the CD so that the light scratches are now on the right side of the CD, now between 4 and 6 o'clock.

On the right side of the CD, I applied the same pressure I did with the microfiber towel, but now I did it with the tag rubbing on the CD surface.


Results of the CD Test:


Playing with contrast and levels in Photoshop to show more of the scratches created:


As you can see. If the tags are easily creating scratches and swirls on a CD, they certainly will do the same on your clear coat. Next I decided to remove the tags.

Showing both sides of the tag:




Next I tried to cut the tag as close to the binding as possible:


I then proceeded to pick out the tag with a pair of tweezers. As you can see I ruined the binding on the towel which could easily begin to fall apart when you wash the towels, this is not the result I was looking for.


I proceeded to grab a new towel and had Greg cut the tag even closer to the binding this time.


Finally I took the tweezers and just tidied up the edges so the tag was hidden by the binding as much as possible.

[George @ DU]

Time to test the results... Will the remaining portion of the tag be detrimental to the CD or better yet your clear coat? I proceeded to rub the binding of the towel where the tag is with the same amount of pressure I performed in the beginning. Notice I marked off half of the unscratched side of the CD to get a new area to view our results side by side.




Results:


Playing with levels and balance:


Conclusion:
While I wasn't successful in removing the tag completely from the towel, we seemed to find the next best possible solution, which is removing the tag as much as you can without ruining the binding. From the results of the test, which I couldn't get my camera to document completely, removing most of the tag, is SIGNIFICANTLY safer than leaving the tag on. Even if you were to use the towel on the spot where you cut off the tag, the chance of adding imperfections are pretty minor. This also says a lot about the binding of the towels tested, which were the Detailed Image General Purpose Microfiber Towels. Some cheaper towels will use nylon edging or another material that may scratch your clear coat.

If anyone has any questions on anything that was documented in this article, please do not hesitate to ask.

George

[derek80]

Wow, very nice George.

This is probably what I also do.
1) Cut the tag as close to the binding as I possibly can. (Yes, I ruined some towels but it was worth it in the end)
2) Then I can simply pull out the remaining tag from the side.

Try that and let it know .

[George @ DU]

Thanks... I am using the new camera, but have no idea how to use it properly, haha. I need to study the book and possibly take a course on it. Hopefully the documentation only gets better.

Derek - did you try your method on the towels I sent you? I can't see how you can possibly get the tag completely off of our towels (General Purpose) without ruining the binding, unless you pick at it with tweezers the entire day.

Thanks for the feedback guys.

George

[derek80]

Yes I used the towels you sent me (oh thank you again George).
I use a very small beauty scissor, carefully cut them, and take'em out. It's been a while, so it took more time, maybe 10 minutes per towel. Works like a charm. (and again yes, I probably ruined about 10 towels)

[picus]

Is it wrong of me to just tear the tags right off? It doesn't seem to hurt the towels at all.

[derek80]

Originally Posted by picus

Is it wrong of me to just tear the tags right off? It doesn't seem to hurt the towels at all.

hehe you're right, it doesn't hurt the towels performance, but for me, binding gets all messed up .

[George @ DU]

Originally Posted by picus

Is it wrong of me to just tear the tags right off? It doesn't seem to hurt the towels at all.

Have you had any problems with the towel beginning to unravel or deteriorate in the areas you ripped off the tag? I would think messing up the binding would have an effect on the durability and life of the towel.

George

[picus]

No problems. In fact, I still have all the towels from that last batch I ordered from you, all with ripped off tags, none unraveling. They are starting to get a little hard after ~50 washes though.

[picus]

OK so I just got another batch of mf's from George today, so I thought I'd take some pics.

First, this is how I pull off the tag:



this is important. Pull straight down and use your other hand to hold near the tag. This will pull it almost completely out, and no ruined binding.

Do not do this!



Pulling against the binding = almost guaranteed wrecked binding; ask me how I know.

What I consider an "ok" removal:



What is left of the tag will fall out in your first wash, binding = ok.

Now, for kicks; he is the same towel after what I would estimate is ~50 washes:



It's holding up quite well considering the life it's had. These general purpose mf's from DI are actually my favorite ones when you combine quality with longevity and price. I have a lot from Pakshak that were a lot more costly initially, started about the same quality, but in general they do not hold up quite as well in my experience.