Microfibre Cloths

New hi-tech cleaning cloths offer supreme performance - but which is best? Here we put 10 top-sellers through their paces

Auto Express Car Reviews

April 2006

The latest revolution to hit car cleaning is not some new hi-tech formula, but a cloth. Forget that micro-fibre products have strands thousands of times thinner than a human hair - what really counts is that they make cleaning your motor easier, cheaper and more thorough.

Those tiny strands - incredibly, there's more than 1,000 miles of them in each cloth - dig deeper into the molecular structure of the surface, lifting out dirt that your old T-shirt simply slides over. They're also super-absorbent, holding on to any grime that's lifted out and reducing the amount of cleaner required.

These new-generation cloths can be used just about everywhere - wheels, dashboard, bumpers and paintwork - for both cleaning and drying, while buffing up polished surfaces has never been easier. No driver should be without a micro-fibre cloth, both in the glovebox and garage. But which one should you go for? We put the top names to the test to see which cleaned up best.

Both microfibre and multi-purpose, these cloths can clean, polish and dry, so we tested their ability in all three areas. Each was weighed dry, soaked, then put back on the scales to check absorbency.

Cleaning was assessed on dirty window glass, and finally we buffed polished panels, looking for a quick shine with as little resistance as possible. Price was also considered in the final verdict, although it played a small role, as none will make your wallet wince.

Verdict

All-rounder Meguiar's Duo-Fiber topped each test. As with all microfibre cloths, it can be washed hundreds of times and still perform, making it £8 well spent.

Meguiar's really knows its way around the new technology, as its Supreme Shine is second. If spending nearly a tenner on a cloth is too much, hunt down CarPlan's Triplewax Cloth version at a mere £3.