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These microfiber towels are soft and consistent for washing, drying, and waxing your car’s paint to keep it shining and free of contaminants. Wash Mop
When it comes to automotive cleaning and detailing, microfiber cloths are one of the most useful materials to keep around. Microfiber is a synthetic composition that’s both softer and less likely to leave lint than natural fibers like cotton and paper. (Yes, even normal cotton towels can leave scratches on your clear coat—but high-pile microfiber won’t.)
Microfiber is also very absorbent to water, which makes it especially useful for achieving that shiny, bright look when towel-drying after a wash. More rigid varieties of microfiber work well for applying polish, washing glass, and dusting off interior surfaces.
We’ve rounded up some of the best microfiber car cloths on the market, so read on for our top recommendations, plus a rundown on what to consider before shopping.
There are three main factors to consider when buying a microfiber cloth: pile height, texture, material composition, and size.
Pile height measures how tall, so to speak, the fibers are—longer piles are softer and shorter piles are more rigid. For drying exteriors, use the softest possible option, but for polishing paint or cleaning hard plastics, you can use lower pile fabrics. Generally speaking, very low-pile microfiber is a bit more expensive.
Texture varieties include waffle and suede. Waffle microfiber provides higher absorbency, while suede ensures uniform softness across the cloth (think of the microfiber that comes with camera gear or eyeglasses).
Microfiber is usually about 80 percent polyester and 20 percent polyamide. The polyester gives the material its trademark softness and the polyamide lends absorbency. We find that premium towels tend to contain a little bit higher concentration of polyamide compared to budget brands.
Microfiber car cloths come in a range of sizes, from just a few inches wide to multiple feet. It’s most useful to pick a size that matches your work so you can maneuver it easily—for instance, detail work might warrant a very small square of microfiber, whereas polishing a car requires a bigger fabric. Most microfiber cloths are machine-washable and can be reused dozens of times.
Our selection includes products we chose from our experience with both auto detailing and cleaning, along with review data from sites like The Drive and Motor1. We took factors like size, price, and materials into account to provide a wide variety of options to suit your needs. Every microfiber car cloth we write about has high customer ratings, too.
This cloth provides good coverage at 29 by 36 inches, and gets top marks in both softness and absorption. It scoops up water droplets with very little effort on the user’s part, and can dry an entire midsize vehicle in one pass.
One side of the product has soft, long-pile microfiber, while the other is an absorbent polyamide material. It’s best to make sure the microfiber side is the one coming in contact with paint at any given time.
As the name implies, this cloth was made with drying in mind, covering a large 22-by-30-inch area at once. It also comes with a waffle pattern for maximum absorbency.
Although it provides good coverage at a low price, some reviewers have noted that it isn’t particularly soft compared to more expensive options. That said, we love this as a car cloth to keep in your vehicle for quick dusting and clean-ups on the go.
This five-pack of 16-by-24-inch cloths all have a thick, suede texture that cleans up interiors beautifully. Each fabric sheet is actually two-sided, with a long-pile gentle side and a more abrasive short-pile side. They’re good for washing, waxing, and drying without leaving much lint.
During the washing process, the deep fibers help grab dirt and lift it safely away from paint without scratching, and the material is 80 percent polyester. The relatively small size of the cloth may mean you’ll have to wring it out several times while drying, and it may take longer than some ultra-absorbent fabrics.
Overall, though, with two uses and five cloths included, this is a solid multipurpose kit.
Unlike most microfiber cloths, this set of four features a rough, rigid surface with extremely short pile height—perfect for scrubbing the grime off of windshields, mirrors, and chrome surfaces. (Keep these away from paint as they’re liable to leave tiny scratches in a sensitive clear coat.)
The cloths are 20 by 16 inches apiece and 80 percent polyester. The manufacturer also guarantees the product will last at least three years, or about 300 washes. These are a great pick if you spend a lot of time detailing your car, especially since you can grab them in an eight-pack.
This drying towel with a cutesy name almost looks closer to a throw rug than a simple hand cloth. The Wooly Mammoth cleaning cloth features a massive 25-by-36 inches of coverage with nearly half an inch of thickness for soaking up as much water as possible.
The fibers come in a long-pile suede, with 30 percent polyamide content for added absorption. The large size, however, can come at a disadvantage when the cloth fills up with water, becoming awkwardly heavy for some users. You’ll also want to run it through the wash once before use to strip it of potential lint.
This kit is the best pick for people who work on cars, whether that’s in a body shop or at a car wash. With a dozen bright blue cloths at 16 by 24 inches each, this pack has great value. The suede-like pile height is relatively short, so they’re more suited to scrubbing than fine detail work, but these do just fine drying off paint, mirrors, and windshields.
The microfiber composition is 80 percent polyester and leaves minimal lint. Black satin stitching around the border ensures the cloth will retain its shape across many uses and washes, which is a nice touch for anyone who uses microfiber cloths all day.
This cloth’s small, 14-by-16-inch size makes it perfect for stowing a few in the car for periodic dusting, or to mop up emergency spills. With twelve of them in the box, you can easily outfit your household’s cars with one pack of these microfiber cloths.
These are best saved for the interior, however, because the coarse short-pile pattern isn’t good on paint. The material makeup is more washcloth than drying towel with a very high polyester content—87 percent versus only 13 percent polyamide—so it’s less absorbent than its competitors.
That said, it’s a great tool for picking up dust, wiping away stains, and generally keeping your dash looking good.
Most microfiber cloths are intended for drying and wiping, but this specialized version is actually best for applying soap during a car wash. It slips around the user’s hand and features a thick, long-pile arrangement of microfiber designed to grab and trap loose dirt. It’s also gentle on paint.
Once the cloth becomes saturated, the mitt is machine-washable to restore its fluffy state. Coverage is on the smaller side, with 9.6 by 2.7 inches on each side, but this is a handy tool for occasional at-home car washing.
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