Wash mitt advice

When I first bought my Mini, I bought a synthetic wool wash mitt thinking it was the softest and least abrasive material. There were two problems I found with this mitt. First the hairs get snagged on every little edge on the car (front and rear emblems, side indicator grilles, license plate, etc) and you end up picking off hairs all over the vehicle during the drying process. Second, the mitt can pick up dirt particles that were not rinsed off in the pre rinse and they get buried in all the hair and you cant see them until they scratch your clear coat. I prefer the microfiber mitt but it is very grabby. The mitt will also pick up every little speck of dirt on the paint and will trap it like the sheepskin mitt. Only difference is you can see it and can remove it from the mitt to prevent scratches. So every time I go to rinse my mitt off in the bucket I examine it for particles. I usually just end up picking them out, but sometimes I need to stick the nozzle inside the mitt and backflush the particles out. I think they work much better, you just have to keep an eye on the mitt as you wash. Then again maybe I just had a really cheap POS wool mitt and a nicer one would have avoided the hairs everywhere. I dont know, but I hope this helps ya out....

Steve

 

Even with all the issues Steve lists (which are true) I love my lambswool mitts... they just seem to hold the soap solution best and stay "slickest" as you do a panel.

I rinse them differently than I used to, and that seems to help get all the particles out - I use a separate rinse bucket, and I dunk the mitt and agitate it VIGOROUSLY for several seconds. If I'm wearing the mitt, I also spin it while agitating - but usually now I just hold the mitt like a pad. I do the rinse after each panel - or twice per panel if it's really gritty. My car almost never gets muddy, etc. - if it did, I'd rinse after every wipe.

 

I also used to use the lambswool mitt but found the microfiber mitts offer better piece of mind for the reasons Steve mentioned. I use two per wash with the "older" mitt being the one I use on the lower, dirtier parts of the vehicle and in the door jambs and I do pick stuff out manually and back-flush with the hose occasionally.

 

I use the Griot's MF wash mitt. I also have their MF wash pads (no hole for hand to go in, appears similar) but are too clumsy big.

 

Lambs wool will release dirt and grit while MF is designed to trap it and hold on. I think the choice is clear.

 

I'm making an edit on my post. The mitt that I was originally using was a synthetic wool mitt as I just learned from OctaneGuys amazing detailing article he wrote up :cornut: I've never used a lambswool/sheepskin mitt but I would like to. Seems very plush and soft. MINImaybee is right....the microfiber does trap everything but if you do a really good pre-rinse you shouldn't be picking anything up anyways, except maybe on the bottom but I always inspect the mitt after each pass down on the bottom.

Steve

 

Haha thanks for saving me some keystrokes. Come on folks, this is a detailing forum...don't overlook the details that people post. Steve confused the synthetic mitt which is VERY different from a genuine sheepskin mitt..and everyone assumed he was talking about the real thing.

As for myself, I still use the sheep skin, no other mitt gets all slimy and slippery like the sheep skin. I use friction as an indicator to how clean the surface is and how much soap is left on the mitt.

The first pass always has more friction, so it's more of a plopping down of a sopping wet and soapy mitt on the surface. I do a small area, rinse the mitt, get it soapy again so it's all slimy, and the same paint surface should glide much more smoothly meaning the paint surface has been cleansed. I don't like to rub the paint during these first few passes as I just want to soften/loosen the dirt on the paint by soaking it.

As the paint gets cleaner, I can feel by the drag on the paint when it's time to add more soap. I don't know of any other mitt that gives me this kind of feedback during the washing process.


Richard

 

Richard,
Yeah I got a little mixed up but like I said, you're awesome detailing writeup helped clarify that for me. Those synthetic wool mitts are garbage, but I'm definitely going to consider switching from microfiber to sheepskin. At least give one a try. Thanks again for all the helpful info

Steve

 

Is there a secret to long life with a sheepskin mitt or am I super rough with mine? I went through two mitts in a matter of months (the white ones you sell on your site) despite the fact that I'd hand wash them in car wash soap and carefully air dry them between uses. I'd always have the problem with bits of the wool being torn from the mitt by edges and after just a few weeks I'd have entire pieces of the mitt falling off of the mitt and large wholes beginning to form.

With the MF wash mitt I trail a finger off the edge of the mitt so I can feel how much grit is still on the paint between passes.

 

Well, I use the same mitts that I sell..and with me doing a car or two a week plus my own cars on the weekends, I'll go through a mitt about once every three or four months. I'll continue using it even as it starts to shed, until larger chunks come out..then it becomes an underbody/bumper/plastic arches mitt. I also keep a mitt at my apartment for when I wash there..I'll wash once every two weeks there...that mitt easily will last a year before shedding.

Because sheep skin mitts are natural..the rate they will shed will vary from mitt to mitt. Hard to tell just by looking or feeling which one will eventually lose his hair first.

Which car wash soap are you using?
Do you let the mitts dry out until they are hard?
Do you wring them dry when you are done?
Do you use this mitt with Dawn dishwashing soap?
Do you use a different mitt for the dirtiest parts of the paint...ie the boot versus the bonnet or doors?

I'm not sure which white ones you are referring to. The only mitt I have is this:

 

I don't use a different mitt for every panel, sorry if there was some confusion.

I use the black lambs wool from DP, for pretty much every thing, except the wheels, and the side skirts/arches if they are really caked with muck, on those areas I use a MF.

I don't use either mitt as a mitt, I just fold the cuff into the mitt, then hold the mitt in my hand. I find this works better for rinsing, and switching hands.

I hose the mitts off when I'm done, then lightly wring them out then let them air dry on a post on my bucket cart. I never "wash" my lambs wool.


Mark

 

that was the same on sheep skin from my experience. the crap that wont wash away in one pass you'll need to do another pass or stop and rely on clay.


actually the MF mitts aren't designed like the MF towels where it graps onto things. comparing the MF mitt to the MF towels is meaningless.

like saying toilet paper flushes but cardboard doesn't. but still both paper.ut: :lol:

 

I think one thing is pretty clear about the lambswool/sheepskin mitts. They are natural hair on skin, so their durability won't be consistent like a synthetic/man made type of product. But they do reward you with the silkiest and safest way of washing your paint over any type of mitt.

One food for thought. Production detailers hate lambswool. They swear by "natural" sea sponges...because they are inexpensive and last forever..nevermind what they do to the paint.

 

Mystique

I hang them to dry and typically will have dried out completely and are hard by the next time they're needed.

I don't wring them, just hang them from a drying rack (with other MF towels as well) and let them drip/air dry.

I do a Dawn was twice a year on both my car and my dad's truck and both mitts were used for two washes (the first one in the spring and the second one was used in the fall for two washes and already begining to fall apart at that point)

I'd been using a MF wash mitt for the plastic trim, front and rear bumpers, and lower parts of the doors from the start.

That's the one, I called it white but I suppose "natural" better describes the color, I just wanted to make sure it wasn't confused with the Black one sold through DP.

 

OK, call me crazy, but I use the Monster Fluffy MF towel for washing. Why? Because (a) I can "fold away" surfaces that get dirty as I wash, (b) they are very light-colored so I can see if I am pulling dirt off, and (c) I have several, so if I run out of surface to fold away I just grab another. I don't like reusing a surface that has just pulled off dirt. The mitts have practically only two surfaces to use.

 

You're crazy. :lol:

 

:lol: ut: :crazy:

 

Ofilioti- I think that's good practice even for no-rinse type car washes.

But that is kinda crazy. Hahaha. jk