The Cloth

The Cloth - This is the second secret of this method!

I had done some polishing with the cyclo and the cyclo wool bonnets. With the bonnets you end up with a lot of polishing residue ("mud") that you must remove. I have used many ways to remove this black residue - lacquer thinner, flour, talc, corn starch. I also ended up with a lot of black all over me. Although these removal methods work OK with the sweatshirt cloth & Nuvite method you end up with almost no residue because you simply polish it off. You also use less polish! My hands get dirty (and what I touch with my hands) but no other messy stuff to clean up!!!!!! Soap, water and a brush and my fingernails even clean up.

The 100% cotton sweatshirt cloth that Tom sells works very well. I wash the cloth in my washing machine on HOT with an extra wash cycle. Nuvite is quite water dispersible and it does not leave much of a mess in the machine (I have a steel tub). I usually wash jeans afterwards and then check to see if I need to wipe out a "tub ring" (usually I don't) before I wash any delicates.

It is a bit hard to find 100% cotton sweatshirt material at a fabric store. I have occasionally found it but usually I find 80% cotton. The 100% cotton does give a better polish.

I spread the polish on the cloth with a butter knife. A VERY thin butter coat just over the pads (less than 1/4 teaspoon!) This keeps the polish from soaking into the cloth. I have also tried dabbing it directly on the aluminum skin with a sponge type "Q-tip" or finger. This also works well.

After 2-4 washes the cloths are pretty well used up. They need to be "fuzzy" when you use them.

The cloth is used OVER the top of a pad on the Cyclo polisher. I have tried many combinations for the pads to use UNDER the cloth. I am currently using a fairly firm foam glued with rubber cement directly to the cyclo's heads. Check here for all the methods I have tried and what has worked in different situations.

Note: Tom sells these cloths precut now - he calls them Cyclo wraps. If you want to make your own here is the information that you need.

Shirley's Hook and Tie method #1 - 8 polish spots per cloth
Quick and simple cloth preparation
I (Shirley) have a hard time holding the cloths the way the video shows (hands too small or too weak). Below are some pictures showing how I wrap the cloths.

	Cut the cloth to about 34" square
	Cut a small diagonal slit on each corner
	Roll up the extra cloth
	Put the slit over the motor
	Overhand tie it on top between the motor and the handle (If there is not enough length to overhand tie simply push the cloth between the handle and the motor - that will hold it in place) There is also a clamp you can buy at Home Depo to clamp the cloth instead of tying it.
	The next time I loop the slit over the handle (motor first so I don't have to hold the cloth that is dirty)
	This gives me at 8 polishes per cloth which uses up most of it.
	With a little more work you can get 14 polishes per cloth - see details below

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Shirley's Hook and Tie method #2 - up to 14 polish spots per cloth
14 polishes per cloth
This is another method with additional steps to prepare the cloth for polishing. You can get 14 polishing spots per cloth. The cloth will hold up well if you wash it. (I find I can use them from 2-4 times depending on what grade of polish that I have used)
A cloth 34" X 34" after washing (A square 1/2 the width of the material) works well. These shrink when you wash them so make it about 34" X 36" (36" the lengthwise on the cloth)

Prepare the cloth in the following manner:

	At each corner measure in 4.5 inches from the point, and mark a line 4.5 inches long diagonally across each corner.
	At the center of each edge of the cloth mark a line 4"-4.5" (depending on cyclo model) inches long 1 inch from the edge.
	Sew a circle around each marked line with nylon thread (you can do this without sewing but the stitching makes the cloths last longer). Use a fine straight stitch. Leave about a 1/4 inch between the marked line and the sewing line, but sew right to the ends as you sew the circle around the marked line.
	Cut with scissors along each line. You can stop the cut about 1/4 inch from the end of the line. (the last 1/4 inch will tear easily as you put it on the polisher) This sounds somewhat complex but is really rather simple once you have tried it. Very fast and crude work is the rule. If you make these up in a batch the sewing only takes a few minuets per cloth and keeps the corners from tearing off. You can use the corner slits of the cloth over both the motor and the handle positions and the center slits over only the handle position. If the ends won't tie just cross the ends between the motor and the handle. You get two addition polish spots in the middle of the cloth. Just rollup both sides and cross it on the top

Click to enlarge