Dr. Wack "A1" A1 "ALL in ONE" Microfibre Cloth 1 piece

One A1 "ALL in ONE" Microfibre Cloth covers every surface in the cabin

What is the A1 "ALL in ONE" Microfibre Cloth? A flat-weave working cloth made of 80 percent polyester and 20 percent polyamide with an overlocked edge, approved by the manufacturer for glass, displays, dashboard, upholstery, Alcantara, leather, piano black and vinyl. Not meant for wax on paint, for drying the car or for coated displays.

A1 "ALL in ONE" Microfibre Cloth is the working cloth of the A1 range from Dr. Wack in Baar-Ebenhausen. It has exactly one job: to lift the sprayed-on cleaner and the loosened film back off the surface instead of spreading it around. It's listed as the recommended accessory in the product information sheet for the A1 "ALL in ONE" interior & glass cleaner. Cleaner and cloth were developed as a pair.

Microfibre is a measure of fineness, not a brand name. A thread counts as microfibre below one decitex, meaning ten thousand metres of it weigh less than a gram; 0.3 to 0.8 is typical. For comparison, silk sits at 1.3 and cotton at 1.5 to 2.5.

So under the same palm there are many times more fibre ends touching the glass, and each one draws liquid into the gaps by capillary action. Day to day, that means the loosened film travels up into the weave instead of running ahead of the fibre.

The blend tells you what this cloth is built for. Polyester provides the edges and tear strength; polyamide is the part that actually takes water into the fibre — around three to four percent of its own weight under standard conditions. Polyester stays well below that. With 20 percent polyamide, the A1 "ALL in ONE" Microfibre Cloth deliberately leans to the absorbent side. You'll notice it: it picks the spray mist off the glass instead of leaving it sitting there.

On a flat-weave cloth, the edge is a decision in its own right. Where fabric is simply cut, the threads fray and leave exactly the lint that jumps out at you on freshly cleaned glass. That's why Dr. Wack overlocks the edge and lists it as a product benefit of its own in the information sheet. The seam here isn't cost-cutting, it's what keeps the edge calm.

Why one single construction can handle both glass and Alcantara comes down to the kind of work. Nothing gets cut back in the cabin; you're only picking up a loosened film. The scratch risk isn't decided by the fibre but by what it has loaded up beforehand. Everything further down about order and number of cloths follows from exactly that.

• Eight surface groups, one construction. The cloth is approved for piano black and painted trim, displays, leather and faux leather, Alcantara, textile and upholstery, dashboard plastic, vinyl, and glass inside and out. Until now, those eight groups meant half a range of specialist cloths in the drawer, each with its own fibre and its own edge.
• Two to three cloths for a complete interior. For a full clean, Dr. Wack sets out an order across five stations and explicitly recommends two to three cloths for it. A single one won't make it all the way from the displays to the door sills, because it fills up along the way.
• Around 300 wash cycles, tumble-dry up to 60 degrees. The manufacturer quotes about 300 washes, allows 60 degrees in the washer and dryer and rules out fabric softener and bleach. Worked out on 9.99 euros, that puts one use at a little over three cents.

Detailing1's tip from the shop: We often get questions about streaks on the windscreen that aren't down to the chemistry but to the order. If you do the dashboard first and the glass after, you carry the oils from the plastic dressing onto the glass with the same cloth. Polyester is the oil-loving part of the fibre and only lets go of them in the wash.

That's why Dr. Wack sets the order itself: displays, inside glass, outside glass, then dashboard, seats and panels, and last of all door sills and tailgate seams. Mark the glass cloth on one corner and never let it near the dashboard.

The glass only goes streak-free on the dry follow-up wipe

A loosened film that no dry fibre picks up dries back onto the glass as a haze, which is why the same cloth goes over the same area twice. Damp first, then dry.

Where the cleaner goes depends on the surface. Only glass can take the spray directly; everywhere else the cloth takes the liquid before it touches the surface. That way nothing gets into gaps, switches or air vents.

Textile, upholstery and Alcantara get the cleaner on the stain and are worked with pressure, no dwell time. Same for leather, faux leather and piano black, followed by a dry side. On upholstery it's pressure that counts, not quantity, because the cleaner works without dwell time and the fibre has to carry the loosened dirt away mechanically.

As soon as there's no dry spot left, the cloth stops working. For that moment, Dr. Wack plans a second cloth instead of wiping on. A soaked cloth no longer picks up film, it drags it across the glass in tracks — and that's exactly what most people blame on the cleaner.

The interior and glass cleaner from the same range is the partner this cloth was built for. Both are in the same product information sheet, with the cloth explicitly recommended as the accessory for working it. Combine the two and you're working with the routine the formula was designed around.

While the film is still damp, the fibre does the work. Once it's dried on, only the chemistry is working — then pressing harder won't help, but a second spray and a few seconds' patience will. On your first complete run, you'll notice by the outside glass at the latest that the first cloth is full. That's not a beginner's mistake, it's the reason for the two-to-three recommendation.

The cloth isn't built for wax, drying or wheels

The low pile of this cloth is designed for control, not volume, so its remit ends wherever bulk is needed.

Wax and polish residue need pile height. They have to disappear into the pile instead of staying between fibre and clear coat, and a flat-weave cloth doesn't have that room. For the final wipe on paint, the same range carries the deep-pile premium microfibre cloth. Two cloths from one maker, two different jobs.

For drying the car, it simply lacks the reservoir. After a wash, the roof, bonnet, boot lid and doors hold many times more water than an interior cloth can take. In practice, glass and interior cloths sit at 200 to 400 g/m², while drying towels start at around 500 and go past 1,000.

It stops at the bottom end too. A cloth that's been on wheels, door sills or wheel arches carries grit in its pile — fine, hard particles that end up between fibre and surface. After that it doesn't belong on a display or a piano black trim anymore, no matter how often you wash it.

Dr. Wack names one exception itself, and it sits right in the middle of the cabin. On coated displays, for example with an anti-glare layer, the cleaner-and-cloth combo isn't approved; there, the display manufacturer's care instructions apply.

A dried-on film of grease or nicotine isn't a question of the cloth anyway. The fibre carries away what's been loosened, nothing more. Even the antistatic, dust-repelling effect many people credit to the cloth is in the cleaner's data sheet, not the cloth's. The cloth does the handling, the chemistry does the work.

Three cloths per interior isn't a sales trick

With just one cloth you'll get stuck somewhere between dashboard and door sill, which is exactly why the product information sheet lists two to three cloths per interior.

For a rough once-over twice a year, a single cloth is enough, and that's the honest answer if a clean car is all you're after. If you do the whole interior in one go, though, it's three: one for displays and glass, one for dashboard, seats and panels, one for the sills.

If you buy on specs, here are the key figures straight up: 80 to 20 blend, overlocked edge, washer and dryer up to 60 degrees, no fabric softener or bleach, around 300 cycles, made in Germany. And if you've already got the matching cleaner on the shelf, this is the working cloth designed for it — not the next all-purpose rag from the DIY store.

For beginners, it's the calmer route. One cloth type for every surface takes away the question of which fibre is allowed on which surface and leaves just one rule: start clean, work in the set order, swap in time. Buy five specialist cloths instead, and you've got five chances to grab the wrong one.

What tips the maths in practice isn't wear but what the pile has picked up. A cloth that keeps handling plastic dressing will eventually still be fine for seats and panels, but not for the windscreen anymore. So its usable life is decided by what you assign it to, not by the washing machine.

In the end, the biggest difference comes from the fold, not the purchase. Fold the cloth once and only ever spray into one half; the other stays dry and is reserved for the follow-up wipe. Stick to that and you'll read the two-to-three recommendation differently: you're not buying cloths, you're buying dry surface. And in a car interior, that always runs out before the fibre does.

How to use the A1 "ALL in ONE" Microfibre Cloth

From the display to the door sill in five stations

The cloth goes through the washing machine once before it's allowed in the car for the first time. Dr. Wack explicitly recommends this wash so the microfibres reach their full performance. The same rules as later on already apply: 60 degrees max, separate from other colours, no fabric softener and no bleach.

The work itself follows a fixed order, because each station loads the cloth more than the one before: first the displays, then the inside glass, then the outside glass, then dashboard, seats and panels, and last of all door sills and tailgate seams. Reverse that order and you'll carry dashboard oils onto the glass.

Where the cleaner goes depends on the surface. Only glass gets the spray; there you wipe off damp and then follow up with a dry side. On displays and the dashboard, spray into the cloth instead of onto the surface. Textile, upholstery and Alcantara get the cleaner on the stain and are worked with pressure, no dwell time; leather and piano black the same, with a dry side after. The cleaner it's designed for is the interior and glass cleaner from the same range.

As soon as the cloth has no dry spot left, switch to a clean one. For a complete interior including the outside glass, Dr. Wack reckons on two to three cloths. After use, rinse it out in warm water and put it in the machine soon, in a fine-mesh laundry bag if washing with other items.

Notes: Washable up to 60 degrees, tumble-dry up to 60 degrees, no fabric softener and no bleach. The manufacturer quotes around 300 wash cycles. On coated displays, for example with an anti-glare layer, the cleaner-and-cloth combo isn't approved; there, the display manufacturer's instructions apply. The cloth isn't suitable for drying the car or for removing wax and polish from paint. A cloth that's been used on wheels or door sills carries grit in its pile and doesn't belong on a display or piano black after that. Store dry and separate from cleaning rags.