Best Microfiber Towels for Cars 2023

Microfiber towels are best friends of every car enthusiast who loves to detail their cars and is one of the best detailing tools. For beginners in auto detailing, it’s hard to understand why to spend so much on microfiber when you can buy cheap kitchen microfiber towels in a supermarket or use cotton towels. If you tried to detail with cheap towels, you know why it’s not the best idea, so let’s find out why microfiber takes so much attention when detailing a car and what are the best microfiber towels for cars.

In the car detailing world, high-quality microfiber towels make massive improvements: you can achieve results faster and easier, with lower chances of leaving scratches on the surface.

There are different microfiber towels, you may notice that with one towel, you can clean the door panel in one wipe-off, and another spreads cleaner and dirt from side to side, but both are microfiber towels, so what is the problem here?

The problem is in the quality of microfiber towels, and I will share with you the best microfiber towels for cars you can use to make your car detailing easier and faster.

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Benefits of microfiber

1. Easy to maintain

You can wash them in a washing machine, and they will be like new without fading or ruining the fabric.

2. Higher GSM for the same price

GSM (grams per square meter) – in simple words – is how much liquid your towel can absorb, and a high-quality cotton towel with the same GSM will be more expensive.

3. Durability

Microfiber is a synthetic material, so it’s more durable than natural fabric and not falling apart, leaving threads after wiping off.

When to use microfiber towels?

Literally, every time you are detailing your car.

1. Interior cleaning
2. Exterior
3. Applying and removing waxes, sealants, trim, and tire protectors
4. Buffing off waxes
5. Glass cleaning
6. Collecting dust and removing dirt

How are the best microfiber towels for cars made?

Car microfiber towels are made from a blend of polyester and polyamide. Polyamide is more expensive than polyester, so the more polyamide you have in the towel, the more expensive it will be and will have a higher quality.

The cheapest microfiber towels from supermarkets or malls are made from 100% polyester. That is why they are not absorbing any water and can leave scratches. Polyamide makes towels softer, which prevents scratches.

The best blend of microfiber to avoid scratches even on soft car paint is 70/30 (70 – polyester, 30- polyamide). 70/30 microfiber can allow you even to wash your car without a hose! Feel free to use 80/20 for general cleaning, for example, on door panels, dashboard, fabrics, exterior/interior plastic, and trim. You can use cheap 100% polyester towels as well, but mainly for some heavy-duty work on not delicate surfaces.

Will microfiber towels for cars scratch the surface?

High-quality microfiber towels for car detailing are special-blend microfiber, which is why it’s supreme to use towels for car detailing. They are made from premium 70/30 blended microfiber, while cheap and non-car microfibers are from 100 polyesters. It means car towels are softer and does not scratch car paint or sensitive surfaces.

Some high-quality towels use special-edge stitching to minimize the risks of leaving swirls. Some make edgeless towels.

All you need to do when using a high-quality microfiber towel to avoid scratches is to remove a tag from it.

What are the best microfiber towels for detailing cars?

To summarize, the best microfiber towel for detailing must have:

1. 70/30 blend microfiber
2. Soft edge stitching or edgeless
3. High GSM, 250-500 for interior detailing, polish removal, 500 and more for drying towels
4. Different colors (or edge color) to distinguish towels for waxes and the rest for cleaning the car
5. Minimum size of 16″x16″(40x40cm)
6. Suitable pile height (ultra low – multimedia screens, low – removal of waxes, medium – general cleaning, high – drying, waffle – drying, glass cleaning).

Can car microfiber towels be washed?

I can tell you more, you need to wash them, and the more you wash them, the better experience you have when you use them. No microfiber towel will work better than a clean one. Just keep in mind several things:

1. Wash towels for waxes and sealants (everything oily or wax consistent) separately from towels for general cleaning. Oils and waxes from wax towels will spread on a drying towel. It will not absorb water so well anymore.
2. Use special detergents for microfiber towels – they will remove stains more effectively than laundry detergents.

Best microfiber towels for detailing car Exterior

Chemical Guys El Gordo Extra Thick

Scratch-free towel, so you can freely use it on car paint. This option has the best price in our exterior towels list.

Can be used:

1. For drying a car but I would recommend it as an additional towel to your big drying towel.
2. Use it for wiping off quick detailers and plastic trim restorers.
3. Suitable for drying car parts after all-purpose cleaners.
4. Remove wax and sealant residues.
5. Buff car paint after applying waxes.
6. Engine bay cleaning.

Check the price of Chemical Guys El Gordo Extra Thick by clicking on the highlighted text.

Adam’s Borderless Grey Lite Plush Towel

Towel from Adam’s that lets you not worry about scratching car paint too. It will cover all detailing needs as the previous towel from Chemical Guys. The difference is that option from Adams is plusher, which makes it a better solution for removing and buffing waxes and sealants.

Check the price of Adam’s Borderless Grey Lite Plush Towel by clicking on the highlighted text.

Sonax Microfiber Cloths Ultrafine

The most expensive on our list is a German car care company with 3-pack microfiber towels. If you want to know how clean your towel is, this option is perfect for you cause these towels are white. A small thing that means a lot when you have a lot of towels, these towels have different color borderlines, so you will not have a problem remembering which one is for wax and which one is for cleaners. Overall high-quality towels are worth trying if the price is not your concern.

Check the price of Sonax Microfiber Cloths Ultrafine by clicking on the highlighted text.

Best microfiber towels for detailing car Interior

Chemical Guys Workhorse Professional Grade Microfiber Towels

This towel will clean and absorb all you need when working with car interiors. Soft enough to work with sensitive surfaces, you don’t need to worry about leaving swirls and scratches on car screens or glossy plastic.

Check the price of Chemical Guys Workhorse by clicking on the highlighted text.

Adam’s Edgeless Utility Towel

Based on Adam’s polishes description, it’s a universal microfiber towel, but I would say it’s not the best for everything. If you need to clean and wipe off door panels, car dashboards, or even glass – it’s great. Not the best for leather or cloth cleaning due to its structure.

Check the price of Adam’s Edgeless Utility Towel by clicking on the highlighted text.

Meguiar’s Supreme Shine Microfiber Towels

Best price for a towel in our list counting the sizes of each towel. This one is 16″x26″ compared to 16″x16″ for the rest of our list. A universal solution that can work perfectly on interior plastic, cloth, leather, and glass. Bigger size for the same price is a benefit of owning these towels.

Check the price of Meguiar’s Supreme Shine Microfiber Towels by clicking on the highlighted text.

Best microfiber towels for Drying a car

Most people think it does not matter which towel to use while drying cars after washing. If you are looking for the best drying towels for cars, I believe you got tired of swiping water from side to side with your old microfiber. Don’t forget to use Quick Detailers, or Rinseless Wash as a drying aid to have even lower risks of scratching your car.

Let’s start with the main things.

1. You need a large premium microfiber towel, so it will have good absorbing characteristics.
2. It doesn’t matter which color of microfiber you choose, it’s not affecting how the towel will make its job.
3. Always keep extra clean microfibers (mid or small size) with you in case you will need to remove some dirt or if your main towel will fall on the floor and get dirty to avoid scratches.
4. Do not apply extra pressure while you are using the towel.

Now we can get to our TOP rating. Every towel from this list will bring your car wash experience to a new level. It will save a lot of time you usually spend drying your car, and you will be surprised that you did not spend all your power wringing out your old microfiber every 2 seconds.

Chemical Guys Woolly Mammoth

t must be one of the most popular and effective large towels in the US. All I can say is Woolly Mammoth deserves it. Consists of 70/30 premium microfiber to minimize risks of scratching paint surface.

It has all you need:

1. drying in one pass
2. trapping leftover dirt deep within fibers
3. grabbing enough water for drying a mid-size sedan without squeezing the towel.

The density of the towel is 880 GSM.

Check the price of Chemical Guys Woolly Mammoth by clicking on the highlighted text.

Adam’s Double Jumbo Plush

Another valuable option from ‘Adam’s’ is a dual-layer microfiber large towel. One of the best solutions for drying your car. They use ultra-soft 70/30 microfiber that will prevent scratches on your car paint, and use longer, thicker looped yarn allowing this towel to absorb more water compared to regular towels.

Due to the dual sides of this towel, it has incredible density. The higher density allows you to collect more liquid and dry big-size cars. If you have a problem with small towels or your towel cannot dry your vehicle completely, try this one.

The density of the towel is 1500 GSM.

Check the price of Adam’s Double Jumbo Plush by clicking on the highlighted text.

Meguiar’s Supreme Extra Large

Last but not least, drying solution from Meguiar’s with Supreme microfiber. Valuable instrument to keep in your car’s trunk or garage. For those, who are looking to wash the car themselves and not have any nerves with drying it.

For me, the big plus of this towel is its color. With a yellow color drying towel, you can recognize it easily once you need to wash it. It’s crucial to keep your towels clean to avoid scratches and swirls on your car paint. The towel consists of 70/30 scratch-free microfiber to decrease the possibility of scratching your car while drying.

The density of the towel is 920 GSM.

Best microfiber towels for car Glass

Previously we discussed the best way of car windshield cleaning and we know that to achieve clarity in car glass fast and easily, we need the best car glass towel and the best car glass cleaner. Here I will share the top towels to add to your detailing arsenal for cleaning the glass in your car. 

Remember that for the best results, you need to have several towels. Not all of them need to be glass towels, but you should have at least one glass towel and additional microfiber towels with a medium pile height.

Chemical Guys Waffle Weave Glass Towel

Proper towel for cleaning glass. You can remove dirt, dry car glass, and buff the cleaner to perfect the clarity of car glass with one towel!

This towel is from a 70/30 microfiber blend and soft stitching edges. It means the towel is soft, so you don’t need to worry about leaving scratches and not absorbing as much water as needed.

Size: 24″x16″ / 60cm x 40cm

Check the price of Chemical Guys Waffle Weave Glass Towel by clicking on the highlighted text.

Meguiar’s Perfect Clarity Glass Towel

You can buy these towels in a 3-pack, which is enough to clean all car glass: windshield from inside/outside, side and back glass, and mirrors.

A scratch-free towel with a low pile height will help to clean and buff off the glass. If you are using towels from Meguiar’s, another benefit for you is the different colors of towels from traditional yellow towels. It will help you to recognize which towels are for glass while you wash them.

Size: 16″x16″ / 40cm x 40cm

Check the price of Meguiar’s Perfect Clarity Glass Towel by clicking on the highlighted text.

Adam’s Tough Glass Towel

An unusual towel for glass cleaning from Adams Polishes. Unusual is that it has ultra-low pile height when usual glass towels have a medium height or are waffle type. It leads to some benefits but also to some drawbacks.

Benefits: it allows to buff off car glass in seconds without stripes and scratches, and it soaks a lot of water.

Drawbacks: if your glass has dirt on it, ultra-low pile height will not allow you to collect the dirt and leave you at least some clean part on the towel for buffing it off.

So when using this towel on car glass with dirt, first wipe it off with a medium pile of microfiber to collect the dirt and buff off the glass with Adam’s Touch Glass Towel.

Size: 16″x16″ / 40cm x 40cm

Griot’s Garage PFM® Crinkle Glass Towel

Another unusual solution in glass cleaning but without downsides. This towel has a unique wave microfiber side that is perfect for collecting dirt and debris from your glass and another side with low pile microfiber to buff off your glass to its shine without leaving strikes.

Unfortunately did not find any info about the blend of its microfiber, which needs to be solved by Griot’s Garage!

Size: 16″x16″ / 40cm x 40cm

Check the price of Griot’s Garage PFM® Crinkle Glass Towel by clicking on the highlighted text.

Conclusion

I recommend avoiding cheap towels in malls or supermarkets, only for some dirty work as a one-time-use towel, not to destroy expensive microfiber towels. Always choose the best microfiber towels for cars and it will make your detailing experience pleasant!

Exterior and Interior Towels

For exterior Chemical Guys El Gordo Extra Thick looks like the most attractive option because you get high-quality towels for a reasonable price.

For the interior, my best is Meguiar’s Supreme Shine Microfiber Towels, which is reasonably priced and a big size which means you can do more with just one towel, but you get three.

If you need something universal for the exterior and interior, go with Chemical Guys Workhorse Professional Grade Microfiber Towel. All towels in this list are scratch-free means you can use them for exterior and interior but don’t expect them to be the best for both. Chemical Guys Workhorse can make properly as a universal towel, so if it’s your first set of high-quality microfiber towels, choose Workhorse.

Drying Towels

Be sure that your vehicle and towel are clean before drying your car. We can spend so much on drying towels – to protect the paint from scratching and speeding up the drying process. If you use a dirty drying towel, it will leave swirls on your car paint. Even the best drying towel cannot protect from scratches when it’s unclean. Use high-quality towels and keep them clean to be sure your car paint is safe and secure.

Glass Towels

Cleaning car glass can be stressful because of stripes and stains, even after a second cleaning wipe-off. To achieve clarity of glass faster, we need more towels.

That is why my personal best in this list is Meguiar’s Perfect Clarity Glass Towel, which comes in a 3-pack for reasonable price and shows effectiveness in glass cleaning.

For cars with big-size windshields or a lot of glass, Chemical Guys Waffle Weave Glass Towel is the best due to its size and high absorbing qualities.

For those who had problems with the stripes or buffing of the glass, try Adam’s Tough Glass Towels it will help you to resolve this problem and will be a great helper in glass cleaning.

If you often have a lot of dirt on car glass, try Griot’s Garage PFM® Crinkle Glass Towel. It is a smart idea from Griot’s Garage for removing dirt and buffing it off with the same towel.