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Teflon coating for a car/automobile, p. 2




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Q. I have had the Teflon sealant done to my 2000 Lumina and it started raining a couple hours after I got done and it is still raining now, will the wax job be destroyed?

Kari S
K s tanner - Niagara Falls, New York
2004


A. Hi

I had my new Ion3 2004 Teflon coated Feb 1/03 and it was raining and snowing also roads were salted I wash it once or twice a Month and it still "LOOKS GREAT"

John Macdonald
- Canada Northern Ontario
2004


A. Hello, to all

I have been in the detailing business for over 13 years, and I got some answers for everyone. First understand in providing the best service a company must have extensive understanding of products they use and or suggest. Over the past 13 years our vehicles have had almost every type of polish, wax, and of course sealants applied to them.

The answer is yes to sealants better than waxes but they are not a cure all. They have a limited life span just the same as all waxes, however they protect longer. Remember this, sealants are applied by hand just like a regular wax (normally a little harder to get off though).

How long will a wax or sealant last ? In brief dirt bonds to a car though positive and negative charges and to help in breaking down this bond we use soaps. OK Here it comes.... waxes and sealants also bond to car through + and - charges so when removing the dirt you also remove some of the wax or sealant. The sealants, even though washing will outlast a wax. Again my hood has been through hundreds of different protectant type of products (1/2 on this side and 1/2 of that side). For the best results wash your regularly and wax or apply a sealant about every 4 to 6 washes. Also use a soap that is made for car washing.

James Bruckschen
- Houston, Texas, United States
2004



sidebar 2005

Kari S asked:

"I have had the Teflon sealant done to my 2000 Lumina and it started raining a couple hours after I got done and it is still raining now, will the wax job be destroyed?"

Yes, after 4.5 years of rain, it will definitely be gone and you need to have it reapplied. Man, you must get tired of all the rain!

Richard Aginfort
- Melbourne, Victoria, Australia




thumbs up signKari is not from Seattle, where it rains all the time, Richard; he is from Niagara Falls. But perhaps he is parked in the wrong place and is misunderstanding why water has been falling from the sky for 4.5 years?  :-)

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey



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A. Hi, Well I want to add my knowledge on Teflon coating to automobiles. Well it only a wax coat to vehicles to prevent them from light scars. But it's not that worthy as a scratch & hit makes the paint too loose instead of Teflon coating, more over touch up with the same color makes the vehicle as a patch due to Teflon coating. For small size personal cars it costs around Rs.3000/-(For my car Maruthi : Alto).

Ratna Prasad
- Hyderabad, AP, India
2004



Q. Hi,

I could see lot of responses pertaining to Teflon coating. If I recollect correctly 'Teflon' is a patented technology from DuPont. I have recently brought a car & would like to know is Teflon coating going to really help to preserve the car paint for longer duration of time.

Vishal D
software - Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India
2004

----
Ed. note: I'm not sure of the present patent situation, but certainly Dupont holds the trademark to the word Teflon®. But we don't know which readers have used Dupont licensed products or just generic PTFE-based products.

A. Hello All,

I am in the auto-paint refinishing business and I think its important to separate 2 things.

1. Teflon added to car paint, then painted onto the panel

2. Teflon being added to car wax/ polished, like Carnuba etc.

Dupont does, so its likely the case of No. 1, always is good to contact paint/ coatings manufacturers for more information.

Mike Lee
- Wolverhampton, United Kingdom
2004



Q. I Bought new Alto but had scratch in my new car, I heard that Teflon coating will remove scratch? Is it so? Because most of the comment I read in your site is saying Teflon Coating is worthless. So let me know Should I go for Teflon coating or not?

Rishi Anand
- Bangalore, Karnataka, India
2004



sidebar

thumbs up sign Hello Rishi. If I may have your permission to shoot all those who think it is worthless, then you will be unequivocally told that it is valuable. If I have your permission to hang all those who feel it valuable, then you will clearly be told that it is worthless :-)

Other than that, what can anyone possibly do to invalidate the dozens of divergent opinions you've already read on this page? :-)

The best thing to do would be to research the issue with a consumer testing organization like Consumer Reports [affil link to Amazon] or AAA though. Good luck!

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2004



A. Du Pont is selling a Teflon wax product. It is a regular wax product but with Teflon in it. I got one bottle of it for about US$5. I used it over my 2000 Mazda Millenia during the weekend. The result was very impressive. All the light scratches on the side doors are gone. The car is shining like a new car. And the car has special smooth feel when you touch it. I don't know how long this will last, but I felt this product does work.

Kevin Yang
- Baltimore, Maryland
2005



2005

Q. Based on my research through the internet, I got the conclusion as followed:

1. If teflon is used as an additive in a wax or a paint sealant, it will be useless because there is no way teflon can be bonded to the paint surface.

2. Teflon can be a good paint protection if it applies through a polarized system. This polarized systems requires Teflon paint sealant to be applied onto paint surface in 2 steps. The 1st step is to positively charge the paint surface using a certain chemical. According to the information on the internet, this step will also open the pores of the paint surface. The 2nd step is to apply the Teflon paint sealant onto the positively charge paint surface. Since Teflon has negative charge, Teflon paint sealant will create a strong bond with the paint surface that has been positively charged through the first step preparation.

However, please bear in mind that the polarized systems process only protect the paint surface. It doesn't remove any swirl / scratch mark or oxidation from the paint surface. Thus, the paint surface should be cleaned and well prepared first before applying this polarized Teflon paint protection. The window period to apply the second step is 2 hours after applying the first step. After applying the 2nd step, Teflon need at least 48 hours cure time to ensure that the bonding process is completed.

I found many brands that sell polarized Teflon paint protection. It seems many brands using the same method and materials. They even give the same warranty and claiming it can last for 5 years without any necessity to renew the process. This fact makes me wonder whether those brands buying the material from the same source / manufacturer and then resell it using their own brand or they buy the formula from someone or a company, then manufacture the product by themselves and sell it using their own brand.

Can anyone explain this to me? Has anyone tried this? How is the result?

Thanks,

Adi Sastromihardjo
- Jakarta, DKI Jakarta, Indonesia

----
Ed. note: Brand names were removed, Adi. This is a technical discussion board for technical issues, and we don't print claims and counterclaims that Brand X with secret ingredient A is better or worse than Brand Y with secret ingredient B. Anecdotal reports in public forums, often from shills pretending to be satisfied customers, are worthless. If you want a brand comparison you need to get it from AAA, Consumer Reports, or some other organization that actually tests the claims.

A. As a teenager, I detailed cars for a summer and we applied teflon. The trick was to apply with a buffer so it got stuck to the paint. Just wiping on and off wasn't enough. Even though it looked and felt great, it wouldn't last as long as advertised. My boss used to fry eggs on the hood with a flame underneath as a demo. I have to tell you that it works, but this was STRAIGHT teflon, not the products *With Teflon. I've seen tired, faded, worn out paint come back shining like new!

Greg Minkwitz
- Lewisburg, West Virginia, USA
2005



2005

thumbs down signTeflon coating and scotch guard interior are common gimics that car dealers use to get more money for the purchase of a car. They claim to have already applied said product to the vehicle and add their highly marked-up cost to the MSRP price.

I just looked at a car today and the dealer is asking for $1793 USD to cover the "Teflon Coating" on the car. I looked at the paint surface closely, and in the joints I could see wax residue. That's right, almost $2000 for wax!

The cost for a wax job should run $50 to $100.... if you don't argue about the excessive markup, you can see how much extra money they make.

Incidentally, the sales person told me that you don't have to pay for the coating if you don't want to. Otherwise they risk loosing a sale, and with our economy today, any sale for profit is a good sale.

William Heasley
Tampa, Florida, USA


A. Hi William,

I agree with you that Teflon is a gimmick used by car dealers if you have them apply the teflon onto your car for you. If you have a professional car detailer apply Teflon onto your car, it will be different. However, you have to assure that the teflon applied onto your car uses [removed by editor] method otherwise the Teflon would not be able to bond to your car paint surface. Check this web site to get some information [removed by editor]

Please bear in my that I have no affiliation or financial interest with that professional car detailer. I just got that information through my research on the internet and through a direct contact via phone with that professional car detailer.

So far, I am still convinced with his explanation but, I still need to see a real proof directly to satisfy my curiosity. Probably you want to try his product and let me know the result?

Thanks,

Adi Sastromihardjo
- Jakarta, DKI Jakarta, Indonesia
2005



2005

thumbs up sign I'll believe that you have no affiliation with the stuff you mentioned, Adi, but there's no realistic way anyone can know. And each supplier claims that only their secret process works and the other 999 secret processes are worthless. We are at the point where some actual findings from Consumer Reports [affil link to Amazon], AAA, or attorney generals' offices need to be posted or this protracted discussion is going nowhere but back and forth :-)

Again, this is a forum for technical discussion of metal finishing issues, not a place for posting claims and counterclaims from semi-anonymous pepple regarding whether secret formula 1 is better than secret formula 2.

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey


A. Ok guys, I think I can answer all these questions with the truth and with logic. Manufacturers started adding "TEFLON" to car polish because consumers are familiar with the "word". Nothing will stick to teflon, so its virtually impossible to get it to stick to the finish, UNLESS you physically (mechanically) bond it to the paint the same way they "bond" it to a frying pad. They "scratch" the metal with 1000's of microfine scratches, and then force the pure "PTFE" or (TEFLON-Dupont's brand name)into the scratches under head and pressure. Can you do this to your car? Probably, but you probably don't want to scratch the finish to do it, and you don't *have* to, to have a slippery coating. Someone said they could do it, by using a high speed buffer- problem with this, is that if it was truly 100% teflon, the buffing wheel wouldn't cause friction to create the heat (remember its TEFLON-no friction). + or - charges? Electromagnetically bonding something to your paint finish would hold about as well as rubbing a balloon with wool, and sticking styrofoam to it. By the way, the product that someone claimed was being "manufactured and sold BY DUPONT", isn't a "DUPONT" product, its an outside company, buying TEFLON from DUPONT, licensed to use the DUPONT logo... its not actually made by DUPONT. Look at the company name on the rear of the products. Its not Dupont. That doesn't mean its not a good product, but its not necessary to fool people into buying good products with names like "TEFLON", its just *easier* to do so.

Hutchens
- Williamsburg, Virginia
2005



2005

! Concerning PTFE coated cars.
It seems to be an excellent product to protect a car.
Its very useful for many reasons and good resistant against most chemicals.

But when it melts, burns, its a deadly product!
During this stage a similar products as cyanide is freed.

Regards to the all of you.

Rob Kemperman
- Landgraaf, Limburg, The Netherlands



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