Being a tight-fisted old git and ever reluctant to spend money, my
current chamois was bought five years ago - and is still as good as
ever.
Previously, they only lasted a few washes and it was a chauffeur of
the old school who showed me how to greatly prolong chamois life and
get the best out of it.
The secret weapon is an old washing wringer (if you can still find
one). A little one out of a washing machine is just the job. Mine came
out of a Hoover single tub circa 1955! When the chamois is new,
continually soak it and put it through the wringer to purge it of the
preservative it absorbs during manufacture.
1. Avoid getting chamois in contact with any form of car shampoo. It
rots them, so wash the car thoroughly with a hose removing all traces
of soap.
2. Never wring out the chamois by twisting it. This does as much
damage as impregnation from soap residue
3. When it's full of water off the car, sluice it up and down in a
bucket of clean cold water (never hot or warm). This releases dirt
particles and then put it through the wringer. As it comes out of the
wringer, stretch it out in all directions, lay it flat on the panel to
be wiped and pull it slowly across the panel as if it was a blanket.
4. When finished, hang it on a clothesline in the boot to dry out in
the dark. I learned this lesson more than 20 years ago from my mentor
and, like him, use a luggage elastic stretched between the rear shelf
supports / boot lid hinges.
As soon as you want to use it again, a quick immersion in cool water
will make it supple and absorbent for instant use.
The message here is use a wringer, flush chamois out continually in
cool/cold water and keep it straight without creases as it dries. With
this treatment and in my experience, the older it gets the better it
works.
Jonmac
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