A few years ago a bought a large box of assorted microfibers from The Rag Company, they will probably outlast me with proper care. (Good tip about not washing with scented detergent).

I also have a couple from Griot's Garage, they are good as well.

 

They don't particularly care for fabric softener or the high heat dryer setting either. It was so nice of the better half, she really thought she was helping.

Auto geek does have some great sales, but as of last week they were out of stock on my favorites.

 

Ive heard that story so many times over the years. For the love of God please nobody do this.
Roadie, Which ones are your favorite? You can usually find the same weight towel at other online places. I have 2 totes full of paint towels and 1 for interiors. Certain thickness I like for removal of compounds, polishes, sealants, coatings. When I need some I just look around for the best price on that weight with the right knap.
I haven't tried any of the Gyeon Bald wipe towels yet, but they are on the list.

 

@eaglefan1 (and sorry to sidetrack the thread), what are your favorite microfibers for paint? Are there particular towels @ Rag Company for example you recommend?

-OC2CO

 

don't worry about the sidetrack, this is all good info, and besides, i'm curious too.

but, i kinda think the op was talking about the gloss black engine covers, etc. as opposed to the vivid black paint on the tins....

 

My favorite do all towel for paint is CarPro Boa. Rag company Eagles are nice. The Microfiber madness Dry Me Crazy is awesome for drying. Ive had it for 3 years and it hasn't changed at all.
I also have a lot of the cobra gold plush, very nice. If you get them from 1 of the detailing stores online, they will be quality

 

i'm on my 4th vivid black harley, had a black infiniti g35 about 13 years ago, and have a black dodge viper now....(at least my boat is white..lol). Every single time i tell myself no more black anything because it is such a PITA to keep it looking clean. And every single time I keep going back to black. It looks so good when it is clean but keeping it there might as well be a 2nd job. I'm pretty meticulous when it comes to cleaning and more specifically how i clean my bikes/vehicles and even with all that, it is virtually impossible to not get fine clearcoat scratches over time. From my own personal experience the only way I can truly keep them looking fresh is to use a dual action polisher (i have a porter cable) and a good quality polish. Wash your car, bike, whatever with dawn dish detergent to strip off any waxes or polishes that may be on it, then clay bar it, wash it again, and then go to work with your polisher. After polishing, use a quality wax and then as others have mentioned above, quality microfiber towels, and general cleaning should keep it looking good for a while. For me I find that i can usually make it about 2.5-3 years in between polishing again. Plus, after you do it once and get it done right, the new clearcoat scratches are very superficial and will not require a polish with a major abrasive. There is a guy named Junkman(might even be on this forum) that has a bunch of youtube videos about detailing and stuff....great material.

When I bought my last street glide, I wanted another 2015 so I bought this one used with 3k miles on it. As you can see from the picture, whoever had it apparently didn't know how to handle cleaning black because the swirl marks were out of control. But it was only superficial clear coat scratches which I knew I could easily get out and used it as a way to talk the price down..lol. Below is a before and after....i did a 2 stage polish using chemical guys v36 and v38 polishes with a medium and soft buffing pad then finished it off with a coat of their butter wet wax. I rolled into a bike night and parked next to a vivid black brand new 2018 street glide (this was back right when the 2018's came out) and the guy came over and asked me why my paint looked better than his brand new motorcycle..lol.

Anyways, with some good cleaning habits black paint can be maintained very well but over time it will need a full once over to get it back to better than new. It literally came out like a mirror finish. Pictures don't always come out the best so the after product in my opinion looks way better than it does in the picture below but you can clearly see the difference between before and after so that's why i figured i would put them up here.

before polish

after polish but before wax

 

Blankline, Looks much better. If you want to get before and after shots do the 50/50. All it takes is a piece of painters tape. I do this for every vehicle I do and send it to the customer. Ill attach an example, which is only compounded, no polishing. Next 2 are final results. As you can see in the blurry letters on the coating bottle, camera phone was sucking!
Im not a chemical guys fan, never could get the results I was looking for with there polishes and compounds. Soaps are good though. Whatever works for you is what's important.

 

At the Rag Company, I got

10 pack 16X16 edgeless 365 GSM Premium 70/30 blend microfiber towels, $19, they work well for polish removal
5 pack 16x16 Eagle edgeless 350 professional Korean 70/30 super plush 350 gsm microfiber towels, $20, these are incredibly soft and good for buffing.

I don't use these for general purpose drying.

I struggled with Chemical Guys V36 and V38 polishes but they left very fine scratches in the finish (micro-marring). Mike Phillips at Autogeek sent me samples of Wolfgang equivalent products ("total swirl remover" and "finishing glaze") and I got a beautiful finish, and I'm a complete beginner with machine polishing. I was impressed enough to buy some more. It's expensive but it works and you won't need much for a bike.

 

The same thing I used on my Cragar SS wheels - WINDEX. Keep everything waxed and a light mist and wipe with a microfiber.