Author Topic: `Teflon' cleaning products (Read 1271 times)

brick · « **on:** July 07, 2005, 01:37:21 am »

I remember Armor All coming out and it being the new wave until someone mentioned the stuff was only good temporariliy and may do more long term harm than good. I had never heard of teflon car wash or tire cleaner etc until recently roaming an automotive retailer. What's the word on this teflon stuff?

tpl · « **Reply #1 on:** July 07, 2005, 05:58:16 am »

Teflon ( Dupont tm) is Polytetrafluoroethylene and engineered plastic that is extremely stable ( under 400deg c when it decomposes with poisonous gases*). part of its stability is that it does not bond to anything on its surface** and therefore is "slippery".
What does it do for car finishes: makes car wash detergent appear to sheet off the surface without spotting.

* dont overheat a non-stick pan
** early Teflon frying pans had problems with the Teflon staying on the surface...

safristi · « **Reply #2 on:** July 07, 2005, 07:56:46 am »

Yeah howdeydoodat..get a non stickin' substance ta stick !!!!!!Duct Tape.....

?

...I remember puttin' in the early Teflon car oil additives in my MGB..."slick_oil or somesuch (k) from Crappy Tire) thought they did good!!!!!...Mind over sticky matter...who knows.....signed SLICK WILLY..

robsaw · « **Reply #3 on:** July 07, 2005, 03:30:26 pm »

"Teflon ... part of its stability is that it does not bond to anything on its surface** and therefore is "slippery"."

Which is the whole problem of the claims of all products containing teflon particles. By what miracle process do they "stick" to the surface of what they are supposed to protect when applied as part of a solution? The way teflon bonds is by being applied to a specially roughened surface in powder form using a high pressure "jet". It just won't stick to anything with any degree of success in a liquid emulsion.

Dupont for a time tried to formally and publicly discourage and disclaim the use of teflon in these applications but after lawsuits was forced to sell the product for purposes it believed to be poor applications since it couldn't prove their misapplication caused harm.

tpl · « **Reply #4 on:** July 07, 2005, 06:20:35 pm »

Right again Rob. Please visit this forum more often. seriously! sometimes the forum needs abit more science and engineering

brick · « **Reply #5 on:** July 07, 2005, 11:46:58 pm »

Thanks for the responses guys. Something about it seemed odd to me. I wondered, if the cleaning solution is coated with teflon how would the solution clean anything? If there is virtually zero friction between it and the surface to be cleaned how can it be effective?

safristi · « **Reply #6 on:** July 08, 2005, 07:37:49 am »

The secret ingredient ..."Nolfet....registered trade mark........made from Latex i believe !!!!