Bowdens Green drying cloth, no longer a good product.

[ozmale]

Hello Guys,
I love my cars and spend a lot of money on products keeping them clean.
I have use for many years Australian Bowdens products.
For Drying I have been using their "Big Green Sucker" cloths
The Big Green Sucker - Luxurious and plush drying towel.

I recently discovered something very disturbing.

When the cloth is completely dry if you shake it vigorously over any dark or black surface (e.g. bonet of a car) the cloth will shower down a lot of what appears to be very fine yellowish grit. I vacuumed the cloths with a Clean Dysan vacuum cleaner and the yellowish grit collected in the cleaner., a lot of it.
If you get enough of this stuff and rub between your fingers it is clearly abrasive, very strange.

I contacted a friend of mine who I recommended the green cloth too, and he did the same shake test and found the same thing.

All of my Bowdens green clothes do this but not, curiously, one I have from a different brand.

I have written to Bowden's with photos etc in a very informal way looking for some idea of what this grit is. But sadly (like most Australian companies) unless your actually buying something they ignore you.

I have done a little further investigation of my own and it looks like these cloths are actually two cloths stitched together along the edge and each cloth has some sort of polyester (or plasticized) backing which is disintegrating even on an almost new cloth.

Sadly I suggest you try a different brand of drying cloth because if you do my shake test you will be pretty shocked.

Chris

[Lucas_R]

I have 2x of these Bowdens Own green sucker cloths so I will try the shake method tonight. My cloths are probably 2-3 years old.

[ozmale]

I have 2x of these Bowdens Own green sucker cloths so I will try the shake method tonight. My cloths are probably 2-3 years old.

That is an interesting point. My cloths are all less than 12 months old. If my theory of the disintegrating backing is correct, you may find less of the yellowish grit as it may have washed away over time. Particularly if you wash out your cloths in the washing machine.

[Lucas_R]

That is an interesting point. My cloths are all less than 12 months old. If my theory of the disintegrating backing is correct, you may find less of the yellowish grit as it may have washed away over time. Particularly if you wash out your cloths in the washing machine.

I have never put mine in the washing machine except to just spin the water off. I rinse them in the laundry sink after use (just with warm water - no chemicals) and then put them in the washing machine to spin them and then hang them out to dry.

[doc_777]

I'm an avowed Bowdens addict...I mean "product aficionado". Every time I use a batch of cloths (of whatever type), they go in the washing machine with a dose of the Bowdens microfibre wash. I don't get any of that yellow grit you mention. Will keep an eye on the situation though so thanks for the heads up.

The Drop Bear cloths are also of the double-sided/layered style so will keep an eye on them as well

[ozmale]

I finally heard back from Bowdens. They asked some questions, somewhat designed to show I was not looking after the cloths.

Their solution was to buy their $40 cloth cleaning solution and follow their 8 page cleaning regimen, which no one on the planet would be capable of doing.

I too am a fan of their products but I expected a better answer than "go and buy more product".

[Lucas_R]

Did a vigorous shake test on both my big sucker drying cloths - no dust or fibers that I could see.

[ozmale]

Did a vigorous shake test on both my big sucker drying cloths - no dust or fibers that I could see.

That is good news (I think) Two of my friends have the dust problem and one of them doesn't. Very hard to work out what the difference is.
I have now proved its the backing material disintegrating. Appears to be disintegrating a lot on some but not at all on others.

[Lucas_R]

That is good news (I think) Two of my friends have the dust problem and one of them doesn't. Very hard to work out what the difference is.
I have now proved its the backing material disintegrating. Appears to be disintegrating a lot on some but not at all on others.

Sounds like either Bowdens has made a change to the materials used at some stage, or the method of maintaining the cloths is causing them to degrade slowly over time.

Also, dont forget that nothing lasts forever - so if your cloths are a few years old and been used many times that perhaps they are ready for the bin and time to buy new ones.

[Suncoaster]

I'm a confirmed Bowden's Supporter and I switched from drying my car with a soft, fluffy bath towel to the Big Green Sucker and I am disappointed that it is soaking wet before I finish drying the car. Yesterday I had to start off with a chamois to clear the bulk of the water off the car roof and bonnet before switching to the Sucker. I think that I will revert to the soft fluffy towel. When they start to become a little hard, I pick up another one at a sale at Myer. They dry the whole car in one hit and just tidy up around the handles,grille, mirrors etc with a chamois. I use a leaf blower to blast water out of nooks and crannies and the wheels.

[Lucas_R]

I'm a confirmed Bowden's Supporter and I switched from drying my car with a soft, fluffy bath towel to the Big Green Sucker and I am disappointed that it is soaking wet before I finish drying the car. Yesterday I had to start off with a chamois to clear the bulk of the water off the car roof and bonnet before switching to the Sucker. I think that I will revert to the soft fluffy towel. When they start to become a little hard, I pick up another one at a sale at Myer. They dry the whole car in one hit and just tidy up around the handles,grille, mirrors etc with a chamois. I use a leaf blower to blast water out of nooks and crannies and the wheels.

I bought one of these about a year ago and its a game changer. Big Boi Buddi hand held blower - Detail Central

Gets all that annoying water that hangs around the grille, mirrors and door handles etc. Blows a good 50+% of the water off the actual car too so actual time drying with a cloth is greatly reduced.

[doc_777]

Depending on the size of the car, you may need multiple green cloths - that's just the way it is. In our household it's one fresh green cloth per car when drying, followed by a grey drop bear cloth with the Fully Slick finishing spray. Perfect results. The green cloths do not always leave the car perfectly dry, but by following with the drop bear cloth and FullY Slick, it doesn't matter.

[Nafe75]

I have no problems drying my Jetta with a single Big Green Sucker. I've even dried off our Fabia Wagon afterwards using the same towel with no issues. I do wash them using the Bowdens Microfibre wash if they are a bit grubby. I store the Sucker (and all my cloths) out of direct sunlight in a big storage tub to keep them from gathering dust.

[Lucas_R]

If you decice to buy a replacement big sucker cloth, they are on sale at Supercheap Auto for $23.99 starting early tomorrow. Bowden's Own Big Green Sucker Microfibre Towel | Supercheap Auto

[Suncoaster]

Thanks for that Lucas. I'm a bit of a nut about washing my vehicles. Too many You Tube videos I think. I started washing my father's cars when I was about ten( sixty three years ago) and those days there were no car shampoos. We just used to keep the hose running at a low level and wash the dirt off as we went with an old rag. We progressed as Turtle Car Wash became available and always used a chamois to dry off. The obligatory run around the local streets to shake out the last drops, and a further run over with a dry cloth. So much more interesting these days, with a vast array of products and techniques. Car finishes are so much better. Cheers for the info. John