Cloths and Scrim

Prewashed is ready to use straight out of the packet and comes at 80cm x 75cm. The WCW Large Scrim - Unwashed is larger at 92cm x 92cm and costs less, but it goes through the machine a few times before it stops shedding and starts polishing properly. If you want it working on the next job, buy prewashed. If you are stocking up and do not mind washing them in, unwashed gives you more cloth for the money.

For detailing and general wiping, something around 40cm x 40cm is the standard and fits a belt pouch. For drying frames and sills, or for van and site work where you want more surface before wringing out, go up to 80cm x 40cm or 80cm x 60cm. Sizes here run from 40cm square up to 92cm square in scrim. The WCW Precision Microfibre Cloth comes in both 40x40cm and 80x60cm, which is a straightforward way to compare the two sizes in the same cloth before committing to a pack.

Most of them do. Packs of 10 are the common step up, and some go further: the sill cloths run to packs of 50 and the FaceLift® Fishscale Microfibre Cloth to 100. The per cloth price drops as the pack size goes up, so if you are buying for a crew or restocking a van it is worth going up a size. Every product page shows the pack options in the dropdown above the buy button.

Microfibre cloths machine wash and most of them tumble dry, and they generally work better after the first few washes once the finishing residue comes out. Keep fabric softener away from microfibre, because it coats the fibres and cuts how much water they can hold. Scrim washes too. Chamois is a natural sheepskin product and wants different handling, so check the individual product page rather than putting it through with everything else.

Sills and frames hold far more water than the glass does, and a thin polishing cloth just pushes it around. A sill cloth is a thicker, more absorbent weave built to pick that water up in one pass, which stops it running back down onto glass you have already finished. Most cleaners keep them separate from their glass cloths, because sills are also where the grit is. The WCW Microfibre Sill Cloth is the standard one here and runs to packs of 50.

For some work, yes. The Unger Chamois Large is natural sheepskin, holds water well and is gentle on the surface, and there are cleaners who have used one for thirty years and see no reason to change. Chamois sits between microfibre and scrim: more absorbent than scrim, less hard wearing than microfibre, and it needs looking after rather than being thrown in a bucket. If you are buying your first cloth, microfibre is the easier starting point.