Ultimate Wipes vs. store brands

[pooky]

Browsing the auto isles at Target, i see packs of microfiber for $6-7 and wonder what the big difference is between these brands and the Meguiar's line...
Any personal experience out there in this area?..Thanks!

[imacarnut]

the ultimate wipes & supreme shine microfiber's are some of the best microfibers out today, period. when choosing for a good microfiber towel...you want to feel for plushness, the border edging and i also stretch them and look through the light to see how thin/thick they are (i'm probably as picky as they come). imo, i think the megs microfiber's are alot better than the vroom brand at target. i would only use those for door jams, etc... not to mention, the supreme shine microfibers haven't showed any sign of wearing and i've been using them for months!

[Jeff Smith]

Re: Ultimate Wipes vs. store brands

Originally posted by pooky
Browsing the auto isles at Target, i see packs of microfiber for $6-7 and wonder what the big difference is between these brands and the Meguiar's line...
Any personal experience out there in this area?..Thanks!

I have a selection of both. Both have there purposes but only megs touches my paint and chrome. The only reason I have the off brands is that I loaded up on them prior to being turned on to the Meg's Line.

For me, I like the Meg's line better for one main reason. Customer Support. If I got a problem with any product I am using, I have several avenues available to me with Meg's.

I have not used alot of other brands enough to provide comparative analysis between different brands. I am sure other brands will do the job. Some will lint more, not last as long, etc.

I will say that I am pretty hard on my cleaning fabrics. I clean with a heavy concentration of dawn and wring out several times before I even put them in the washer and wash with woolite. The meg's towels hold up to this very well. The others do OK but are starting to "feel" thinner. Thin does not cut it when working on my paint and chrome. So alot of these MFs are being tasked with other work now while the Meg's stuff is still being used for the task I bought them for. And yes, some of these were bought from Target. VROOM I think.

[pooky]

Ok, thanks for the input..Sort of figured it was gonna be quality over quanity.. Thanks for the help!

[Shiny Lil Detlr]

I'm going to respond to the contrary of some folks here. Honestly, I've seen VERY little difference between the Meg's towels and the ones I've been getting from Sam's Club (I think costco also has these).

What I've been purchasing are the "Hometex" brand microfibers, which are a 16x16" 70/30 blend towel, light blue in color. I've had excellent luck with them being super plush, and very, very durable. They have never scratched, marred, or otherwise negatively affected anything I've used them on.

If you ask me, they are of a quality nearly equal to the Ultimate Wipes, and are significantly cheaper. For me, that's all that matters. The only thing I will mention (and I usually advise this for ANY MF toweling you get) is to run them through one rinse/spin cycle in the washing machine, plain water only, and then dry on extra low heat before using them the first time. You'd be suprised how much lint comes off of them the first time around!

[Jeff Smith]

Originally posted by Shiny Lil Detlr
I'm going to respond to the contrary of some folks here. Honestly, I've seen VERY little difference between the Meg's towels and the ones I've been getting from Sam's Club (I think costco also has these).

What I've been purchasing are the "Hometex" brand microfibers, which are a 16x16" 70/30 blend towel, light blue in color. I've had excellent luck with them being super plush, and very, very durable. They have never scratched, marred, or otherwise negatively affected anything I've used them on.

If you ask me, they are of a quality nearly equal to the Ultimate Wipes, and are significantly cheaper. For me, that's all that matters. The only thing I will mention (and I usually advise this for ANY MF toweling you get) is to run them through one rinse/spin cycle in the washing machine, plain water only, and then dry on extra low heat before using them the first time. You'd be suprised how much lint comes off of them the first time around!

Yep, I agree some brands out there are just fine. I still pick other brands from time to time. I tend to keep alot of towels and MFs around. I like to be able to go a week or so between washes. I have about 20 Super Plush Terrys and 80 Ultimate Wipes. Plus about an equal number of other brands.

Something I previously should have stated was this. And yes I am a weird one, I have 2 different car wash methods I pull from. One is my MEG'S wash. This is the quality wash, I use this on mine and folks' cars who obviously take alot of pride in their rides.

Then there is the get it done wash. This is the quick one I'll put on a work truck, severly hosed beater or whatever. This way. I tend to use the meg's stuff for the quality work and the other brands for the grunt work. Not that one is exceptionaally better than the other but I just like to know what my MFs & towels have been used for.

I have a feeling before all is said and done most people have an assortment of brands around. And I would guess it is safe to assume that some folks, like myself tend to task certain towels and MFs for certain jobs or uses.

I am big into color coding my Mfs so I know what they were used for. For example: Blue for Glass, Green for Chrome Etc. Unfortunately Meg's does not lend itself to this very well so I do tend to go with other brands because of this. I like to know I am not pulling out an MF to clean my chrome that I used to apply Scratch-X or something prior to the last wash. I just don't like taking any chances.

Like I said before with Meg's you have access to good customer service. For me, I am willing to pay a little more to help keep that line open. But the other rands do have a place in my arsenal but I consider those to be a little more disposable.

[imacarnut]

Originally posted by Shiny Lil Detlr
What I've been purchasing are the "Hometex" brand microfibers, which are a 16x16" 70/30 blend towel, light blue in color. I've had excellent luck with them being super plush, and very, very durable.

i've used these and agree that they are good quality microfibers despite the brand name and price. but since i've gotten the supreme shine mf's, i lend the other microfibers to door jams, etc.. even though they are good enough for the paint.

[pooky]

Ok, You guys are similar to me.. i do my own cars and both are in pristine shape... Since the finish is as good as it is gonna get (according to Mike at one M. detail days....i have my pile of different stuff for different parts also..mainly cotton Ts...but, after getting turned on to the mfibers at that detail day..would like to stock up on more of em...One thing i sort of saw on the various packages was the bragging of blend %s...don't know how much that matters....

The Mfibers that i got from Meguiars didn't leave any streaks on the glass (vs a tougher challenge with T shirts) and took the wax off better. Too bad i missed out on the E-Bay offering when those Ultimate fibers came up for auction.. Actually my wife was the one telling to score em but...i missed out...

Hey, a quick tip i use for cleaning the engine bay.. I spray it down with one of those commercial do it your self high powered systems.. Let it cool and dry overnight and then, just spray all over with some furniture spray wax.. Leaves it nice and wet looking without any wet buildup...Been doing it for years, easy and looks mighty nice...

[Djmigs]

imho it comes down to quality and customer service and how long they have been in business...

remember "trust" the name Meguiars

Megs have been in business very long they wouldnt want to damage your car

they have one of the best Cust. Serv. if not the best

the thing i really like about megs is that they have the complete car care package versus or other co. which dont

so since you order polish and wax you know there the best quality then so will be there other products "Quality"

im sure you will find some mf close if not almost identical but it boils down to customer service at the end of the day

would you want to experiment on your car with other brands

[rusty bumper]

I've seen the VROOM brand of microfiber towels at Target and the big drying towels look very plush.

I've never tried them yet though.

[Jeff Smith]

Originally posted by Rusty Bumper
I've seen the VROOM brand of microfiber towels at Target and the big drying towels look very plush.

I've never tried them yet though.

I have one and yes, Very thick, plush. I keep it in the trunk as a just in case kind of towel. I used it once but it was so big, I could not wring the water out of it.