Teflon Coating on brand new car

[Ryan R]

So my friend just bought a white 2012 Mitsubishi Evo.
I told her to let me clean and decontaminate the paint and put better protection on it that dealer crap.
She said it was coated with the Teflon which brought me to this question....

Are any and all Contaminants now "locked in" between the paint and Teflon coating?
Never thought of this before...

[jfelbab]

Teflon is mostly a marketing gimmick designed to separate the uninformed from their cash. It is added to some waxes to ease application but teflon doesn't stick to anything unless it is heated to a temperature that would melt the paint off the car. Companies like to play off of name recognition.

A wash, clay and polish will remove whatever is on the paint.

[RTexasF]

Your intentions are good but leave her car alone. Your offer to do a nice thing could turn into a huge mess. Apparently she paid big bucks for that teflon crap so let it be and keep your friendship.

[Jons6.7]

Your intentions are good but leave her car alone. Your offer to do a nice thing could turn into a huge mess. Apparently she paid big bucks for that teflon crap so let it be and keep your friendship.

Agree 100%:iagree:

Wait till she comes to you to work on it.

[Ryan R]

Your intentions are good but leave her car alone. Your offer to do a nice thing could turn into a huge mess. Apparently she paid big bucks for that teflon crap so let it be and keep your friendship.

She said it was "free" lol. Nothings free at a dealership.

So claying,paint cleansing lotion and sealant could cause a mess?

Guess I'll follow your advice and let it alone

[Setec Astronomy]

Teflon is mostly a marketing gimmick designed to separate the uninformed from their cash. It is added to some waxes to ease application but teflon doesn't stick to anything unless it is heated to a temperature that would melt the paint off the car.

I'm sorry, I don't agree with that. After all, OID has fluoropolymers in it. The marketing gimmick is using the word "Teflon" which for the layman has the connotation of something like a frying pan coating, which it isn't. I believe the Teflon in the wax will give some short-term benefit, just like any crappy wax, or the short term effect of the fluoropolymers in OID (Teflon is a fluoropolymer, however that doesn't mean that all fluoropolymers are Teflon, because they aren't).


She said it was "free" lol. Nothings free at a dealership.

LOL--that reminds me of a guy I know who showed up with a new car because "they gave me $5,000 trade-in" for his POS that was worth about $2,000 and needed $1000 worth of work. I told him they didn't give him $5000 for it, and he started to argue with me until I explained to him they gave him $1000 for it and charged him $4000 more for the car than they would have because...nothing's for free at a dealership.

[ScottB]

they find a big enough oven to bake it on yet ??

[Ryan R]

Lol I laugh when I hear the commercials "we'll give you 5k for your trade no matter how much it's worth"

But back to main question....
If I would clay,non abrasive polish,and put a sealant on it what could possibly go wrong?
I must be missing something?
Not in any way saying anyone is wrong but I don't see what kind of harm this would do?

[Jons6.7]

Its not that doing what you list would be an problem, but then when a bird turd sticks and she forgets to remove it so it etches the paint. She thinks well if it had the teflon on it this would not have been possible thus its his fault for "removing" that great protection the dealer put on it, or did you not read that just by having Teflon on your car the birds stay away for fear the turd will bounce off and hit them.:xyxthumbs:

That's all we are pointing out.

[Ryan R]

Its not that doing what you list would be an problem, but then when a bird turd sticks and she forgets to remove it so it etches the paint. She thinks well if it had the teflon on it this would not have been possible thus its his fault for "removing" that great protection the dealer put on it, or did you not read that just by having Teflon on your car the birds stay away for fear the turd will bounce off and hit them.:xyxthumbs:

That's all we are pointing out.

Gotcha. Thanks Jon...appreciate the clarification..told ya I was missing something lol

[bill57]

Yeah, Ryan. You got the car stuff right. It's the female logic that you weren't considering.

[DealerDetailer]

LOL--that reminds me of a guy I know who showed up with a new car because "they gave me $5,000 trade-in" for his POS that was worth about $2,000 and needed $1000 worth of work. I told him they didn't give him $5000 for it, and he started to argue with me until I explained to him they gave him $1000 for it and charged him $4000 more for the car than they would have because...nothing's for free at a dealership.

So true. Working at a dealership I know this and have heard stories of how sales charge people.

Here's a tip for anyone who's thinking about trading in a car to buy a new one. First, DON'T tell the sales person you have a trade in yet. Second, test drive many cars and never set your mind on one (at least don't let the sales person know your set on one lol). Third, you've picked out your car and now negotiate the best price you can and both agree to it. Finally, now you can tell the sales person you have a trade in - have him subtract it's worth against the price you agreed to in step 3.

My older brothers girl friend just got a 12' GMC Terrain (in black :bash:) - She negotiate the price with both agreeing to it and then told the sales guy she had a trade in. She received a lower price than that of the same sub model at same price at a different dealership with this method.

[jfelbab]

I'm sorry, I don't agree with that. After all, OID has fluoropolymers in it. The marketing gimmick is using the word "Teflon" which for the layman has the connotation of something like a frying pan coating, which it isn't. I believe the Teflon in the wax will give some short-term benefit, just like any crappy wax, or the short term effect of the fluoropolymers in OID (Teflon is a fluoropolymer, however that doesn't mean that all fluoropolymers are Teflon, because they aren't)...

I recall reading this quote from Dupont a while ago. Maybe you recall seeing it as well.

According to G.R. Ansul of DuPont's Car Care Products Division, "The addition of a Teflon fluoropolymer resin does nothing to enhance the properties of a car wax. We have no data that indicates the use of Teflon fluorpolymer resins is beneficial in car waxes, and we have not seen data from other people that supports this position."
Ansul also notes that, "Unless Teflon is applied at 700 degrees F (371 degrees C), it is not a viable ingredient, and it is 100 percent useless in protecting the paint's finish."

Then Dupont's marketing group realized that maybe they could make some money with the brand name in a market they had overlooked and today they sell Teflon car protectants playing on the Teflon mindset people have from their non-stick frying pans. Not saying the products in the bottles doesn't protect but IME there are much better protectants available. IMO, putting the name TEFLON on the label doesn't make the product great, it just helps a mediocre product sell.

[Ryan R]

^^ thanks for the info...good to know...

I made sure to send a copy of that quote to my friend...

It's getting cold and crappy weather here in NorthEast PA so after the winter and nasty salty roads we're gonna go ahead with claying polishing and sealing the car.

In the meantime she already knows KEEP AWAY from the swirl o matics

FYI...the dealer "detailers" had the car for only 15 minutes to apply the Teflon coating...must be a big fast oven they got there lol

[bigaizsosexy]

Your intentions are good but leave her car alone. Your offer to do a nice thing could turn into a huge mess. Apparently she paid big bucks for that teflon crap so let it be and keep your friendship.


She truly believes she got a deal and you probably couldn't tell her otherwise....I agree with :iagree: