Saw some advertisements for DuPont's new Teflon line of car care products. Particularly liked the "Wind Tunnel" Tv ad where a technician in a heavy wind in a wind tunnel throws a bucket of soupy mud on a Teflon treated car which is immediately blown off the car and on to an accompanying technician, with a voice over of something like, "dirt just won't stick."

I don't for a minute believe that this Teflon line of products sheds dirt, however, does it minimize dirt accumulation better than other waxes or treatments? If it has any efficacy, it may be a partial answer to OEM brake dust problems and our dirty rear ends .

Here's a link to the products I'm talking about - http://www.carcare.dupont.com/produc...ts_default.asp

Has anyone tried them? Any difference in the amount of doo doo that adheres to your butt or wheels? Any reason not to try this product?

 

I don't know about the DuPont products, but a good sealant (Zaino / Klasse) will help prevent dirt adhesion. A wax will too, but just not with the same effect.

 

I saw that ad too and thought it was funny. However their main selling point is how slick it is, not now great it looks or how durable it is.

While these properties always drive all kinds of wax debates on which product is better, I'd be interested in seeing whether DuPont's product can stand up to providing that wet look that the best of the wax/polish products already do.

My MINI finish is always slick thanks to Meguiar's. Just keep it waxed every few months.

Richard

 

I've tried the wheel cleaner, and, unfortunately, it is pretty much useless. It didn't even budge the brake dust on my webspokes, and it didn't provide any noticeable reduction in brake dust accumulation. I think I'll stick with the Sonus wheel cleaner followed by Zaino like i was doing before.

 

You would think with all the fancy-pants technology of the 21st century that we could get some scratch proof, dirt resistent clear coat. Some transparent aluminum or something...

 

Amen. With reverse magnetic technology that repels dirt.

I too am a Meguiar's addict. However, I've never been satisfied with the amount of brake dust that so quickly accumulates. (I know, replace with EBC Green, but I have the original pads and don't really want to shell out the $ until they must be changed). Thanks for the heads up on the uselessness of the wheel app. Anybody have a wheel application that actually works?

 

Transparent aluminum?????

Bring home the formula AFTER you bring back the Humpback whales, Mr. Scott!!!

 

Teflon is great for fyring pans. Let us know if your scamabled eggs stick to the hood .

I'm currently happy with Zaino on the MINI and have used One Grand Blitz Wax for close to thirty years on other daily drivers and my Antique show cars.

 

(I think we discussed this before?)
I saw the commercials and was intreagued, so I immediately did more research. The wax is carnuba based so it won't last long. That's all I needed to hear.

 

I tried it on my wheels also. Doesn't clean well nor does it seem to help prevent dust accumulation.

 

The only thing you can do for the rear end is wax or seal it. Generally if you want to keep it looking as nice as the rest of the car you should ........... (insert wax or sealant) every 4-6 weeks. Just because with all the crap that's flying on it, it will eat through the wax that much faster.

For the wheels...

Last week I autocrossed my car and left the wheels without cleaning them for close to a week after that. My Silver R90s could have easily been confused for the anthracite ones, that's how dirty they were. Anyway, I tried something I picked up at Autozone a few days before... Simple Green MAX. I have to say after using it, and using P21s Gel Wheel Cleaner, I see almost no difference between the two in clean and cling. The only reason I like it better than P21s? I can go a mile and a half down the road and get this stuff for $4.99 and I have to order P21s from an online store or the local Buel dealer, and have it essentially cost 8 times more because there's half as much, and for that "half as much" I have to pay like $16.99 or something ridiculous.

After I clean with SG I put on a couple layers of Michelin Brake Dust Repellent. The first one or two times you use this stuff you won't notice a big difference. But after a couple of weeks of this process, you can definitely see one.

Mikey

 

Where do you get Michelin Brake dust repellent?

 

I have found it at almost every autoparts store I've been in. Autozone, Pep-Boys, etc.


Mikey

 

Thanks, I've never noticed it at my AutoZone, O'Reilly's or Advance, maybe I just need to take a closer look.

 

People have done tests of the michelin repellent (here or on mini2 I forget) and found it hardly does anything.

 

I picked up some this past weekend while I was at autozone getting other stuff. Always fun to try out something new. I only put it on one tire to compare to the others. I'll report back at the end of the week with results.

 

I don't know about "Simple Green MAX", but I have heard from several people that Simple Green stripped away the clear coat on their wheels with long-term use... Aluminum alloys, if I remember correcctly.

Compared to the cost of re-finishing your wheels, it might be worth it to order the P-21S in bulk once a year...

Simple Green is a degreasing agent and is fairly acidic, if I remember correctly (it's been a while). I use it occasionally (to get rid of what I have left in the bottle) on greasy engine parts, but I have found that 303 aerospace cleaner does a better job and isn't as harsh.

 

Thanks. Always good to have more scientific tests. Also perhaps try putting it only on half of a rim, that way you'll know that rim had the same amount of braking.

 

Here's my preliminary impression of the Michelin Brake Dust Repellent

Put it on one front wheel while the other wheels had the usual Z6.

Subjectively, it seems like it was about 50% less break dust. I was quite suprised actually that I could see a difference.

With the Michelin Brake Dust Repellent


Without


Not a very scientific study but definitely had a visible difference to my eye.

I think I'll try half the wheel next time and go for a longer period of time.