Teflon coating for a car/automobile, p. 2

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"

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.

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).

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.

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.

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!

Teflon 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.

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,

 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, 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.

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.