Wax+Teflon. Is it really so good?
 

Hi Dear fellow X5 Owners,
just recently came across an idea of polishing my lovely black horse with teflon. had a look through e-bay, googled 'teflon car polish' and actually not much can be found out there. Does it mean this is some new kind of stuff? Teflon has been invented in 1940's so I'm just thinking someone should have tried it on the paintwork by now... I generally like the idea of it- just polish your car once and then for at least a couple of months don't have to bother about redoing it. Sounds tempting, ha? Perhaps anybody has any experience on that?

3m professional care liquid wax for the win

I haven't used it personally myself. However, I have heard mixed reviews about it. Most people I have talked to said the application portion is pretty easy, but the removal/buffing can be rather time consuming. Yet, most of them say that the shine afterwords looks great.

Yet, I take that statement with a grain of salt. Teflon should have a pretty high temperature rating to "bond" to your paint. I doubt a standard sunny day is going to give you the temperature rating you need.

With it needing such a high temperature to bond to your paint, I am speculating that the extra shine is coming from the Teflon, but the durability and longevity of the wax job is coming from the quality of the wax. I doubt you would see an improved length of time in between washes and waxes.

Additionally, if there is a way for it to "bond" to your paint job, I would worry about build up from multiple applications and distorting the paint color. Depending on how it builds up on the paint work, the only way to prevent the distorting maybe to completely remove/strip the wax.

Just my .02 cents. Other members may have other opinions on the matter.

Don't know if you can get it where you are located but I like Griot's Garage Best of Show Wax: http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/...of+show+wax.do

Thanks for reply, Jeff!
From what I've seen in the description it talks about the nano-technology, which to means that the timy particles of teflon just fill in the small pores on the paintwork surface making it more smooth and by that less attractive to all kinds of rubish. As for the 'melting/bonding' temperature i think You're absolutely right- it's about 400 degrees C (one of the reasons why it's meant to be safe for frying pans), but I thinks it rather fills the microholes in the paintwork than bonds to it. And also as You've written I have also heard that if by mistake you put a bit of the stuff on eg windscreen or other glass then you're in trouble as it is virtually impossible to remove until it disappears itself after a very long time. I'm just thinking perhaps to try it on one part of the car, but then if something goes not right the car will look all spectrum of the rainbow :yikes:.
Anyway if I try I'll write the post about the impressions...
Rob

Is it wax and teflon or just wax by itself?

Looks like standard wax:
3M? Premium Liquid Wax, 06005, 1 Quart (US), 6 per case

I'm a fan of Zaino myself.

well it's great You have good experience with it. I have not heard of it in the UK. There are many waxes available. I've also heard good opinions about the german one called Klasse (also liquid like Yours). To be honest I use some cheap rubbish one as a paste every 2-3 weeks after the hand car wash and I'm quite happy with it- water does not stay on it, insects come off easier, it looks shiny. what else would one need? I've also used some gel on my windscreen to repel the water- works nice on motorways- no need for wipers, the water just runs to the sides-great fun! the downside though is that if you do use the wipers they will leave a thin white film on the glass for about 10-15 seconds, which affects slightly the visibility and due to that is very much annoying.

Aaaawh. Zaino... of course. Only good opinions about it everywhere. Is it easy to rub it in? I find my paste quite easy to use. Some people write in their posts that to do the polishing properly You need to spend a few hours on that. I've never had to spend that long- just about 1 hour is ususally enough with satisfactory effect. How long does it take you with Zaino? :dunno:

Wait, are you polishing a horse or a car? I'm no equine expert, but it might just kill the horse. (Crazy brits)