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What kind of cloth have you experience best results with and why?

The old white T's started to dissolve on me or something and left some fuzzies in the last couple repetitions. Tossed it. I had a micro fiber cloth laying around so i said what the hell. Made it worse, i wasnt expecting that but yeah, no go on that one. So, with that, i was thinking before i go out and buy 3 different types of cloth to ask if anyone had gone through the trials of various cloth. Thanks in advance.

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久保
美智え

I use muslin. Pumice wears through it very quickly, but once you get to bodying it's great. Very smooth.

I do want to find a tougher material to use when filling.

Wonder Rags. No lint & they work very well as muneca covers.

I use old 100% cotton muslin sheeting. Attic sale $0.50 gets you a years supply of squares from a torn or stained white sheet (depending on the stain! ) Muslin works better than T-shirt material since it does not flex and stretch on the pad. It's also a bit tougher than linen.

I have not been able to find Wonder Rags. Weren't they discontinued? Seems I remember reading that somewhere. Maybe here.

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Waddy

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The best cloth for covers that I have used was linen with all the threads the same size, not the lumpy stuff.
Linen does not "lint" like cotton.

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Years ago I was given a good supply of old restaurant chair covers. They were pretty thick cotton but had obviously seen a lot of washing powder. Worked fine but after doing countless Hi Fi components I have none left. These days I'm using thin Linen, bought from a F' polishing suppliers.
I've used T-shirt material before, the better stuff has a slightly smooth finish with a slight sheen, 100% cotton. Sold as Kiddies T shirts. Maybe that's mercerised cotton? You could easily be fooled into thinking it was a man made polyester fibre. It has much less lint, even when used from new. In fact I didn't need to pre wash the stuff.
For the inner pad I just buy cheap washing up cloths from the supermarket, it's cotton cheesecloth.

I use felt for the core and by a medium count white cotton for the covers.

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Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

Again thanks for the quick replies. I will give a go of the things everyone has suggested.

Muslin
Wonder Rags (have to look it up.)
thick Linen

About the thread count, does the higher the better or the other way around? I would assume the lower the less its going to retain. Any insight on that?

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久保
美智え

I buy cotton rags from Lee Valley. About $22. per 5 lb. bag. I've tried many types of linen and other fabrics and these have worked best for me. Here is Lee Valley's description:

"Made from large pieces of top-grade, white undergarment material, these are all 100% cotton and treated both to increase absorbency (similar to a laundered cotton diaper) and to remove chemical residues and other contaminants."

I've tried all sorts of things and frankly old t-shirt cotton works just as well as anything for me. Some material does seem to be better than others though. Try a few old t-shirts out... I do like linen also, and it's a bit tougher and stronger.

For absorption, I prefer a ball of old wool in the center, and secure with a rubber band.

If you're getting flecks of material in your FP, it could be that the pad may be a little too wet.

Are you using oil?

You can buy old linen tablecloths and napkins off eBay if you don't mind a stain or two, which does not affect their function at all. There is something special about the way linen works for FP.

I am using mineral oil right now.

I have gotten good results from some very tight knit muslin cloth though. I just started with it and i can see the benefit of using this over t shirt material. I will be ordering some linen and check into getting some wonder rags for comparison.

Thanks for the great ideas with napkins and tablecloth material. I will keep it in mind when i run out of the stuff i am about to order.

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久保
美智え

Yeah, I got a box of enough linen to last for my building career for about $10 bucks.

Linen tight weave for outer core , inside cotton /wool? vy soft cotton diapers/ I brush on bodying coats with a taklon brush, and after a good build start FP . I/m switching from mineral oil /lemon oil to olive or walnut oil my pads get dry and on the final coats too much oil residues left at end I sand to 4k with micromesh or 3k with assilex and then use number 10 swirl remover .For a hand applied finish .Which IMHO looks better to my eyes than the embalmed waterbase enduro- var or cabinetamakers behlens rock hard varnish.