That's a tough one, when polishing I probably use 2 to 5 towels but that's depending on the size of the vehicle. For LSP I usually use 3 towels but it all depends on what product line I'm using if I'm using Zymol then it's at least 3 towels maybe even more like 5.
for polishing, I like to have 3 or 4. (front, back and both sides). I use the Cobra MFs for polishing, and tornado buffing towels (thanks chris @ eshine) for wax and sealant.
I use about 15-18 now. Used to be less but I found that if you just use each towel until its lightly soiled and then grab a new one right away it makes cleaning them later easier, instead of having like 8-9 heavily soiled MF's I have around 15 lightly dirtied ones that come out perfectly clean after a wash. I like to hang up a clean garbage bag in the garage and throw my MF in there after im done using one.
I use a lot of towels during a detail....maybe 20-25 towels a car...I use one for every panel during polishing to wipe it down...one for each door jam...one for inside windows and one for outside windows...one for each wheel...3 in the engine area....3-5 on LSP removal...and so on....I try to keep a minimum product build up on a towel...and getting them to grimy also...much easier to clean that way Al
