traffic film remover

[Jag_NE]

Hi All,

For many years now I have had my cars cleaned at hand car washes and have been happy with the results, partially i presume due the use of TFR.

Does anyone have a recommended source for this product and how it should be used as i would like to start incorporating it as part of the home was routine.

thanks in advance

[Magic919]

Plenty on eBay.

[Buff Mchugelarge]

Autoglym do their own TFR which is very good. Only ever seen it in trade volumes though?
Snow foam may be worth a look?
Pretty much the same stuff, for the same job in a different form and easily available too

[Jag_NE]

Magic919 said:

Plenty on eBay.

Yes mate I did look there but was curious as to whether it's all the same or not

[Magic919]

Just checked in the shed and Power Maxed is the one I've got. Will take off muck in a way that snowfoam cannot. Won't strip wax unless you go stronger than about 10:1.

[edo]

I use this stuff - created by a chap I know who has been detailing for many years and used his knowledge of trying many hundreds of products to come up with the best stuff you can buy.

The wheel cleaner is particularly good, as is the snow foam (same effect as TFR)

https://autocurators.com/shop/

[Jag_NE]

thanks all

[markcoznottz]

Ring your local autosmart rep, pay cash he might lose the vat on 25l. Just ask for tfr.

[psi310398]

If you have an agricultural store like Mole Valley near you, you can buy 5 litres for not very much (around £10). It is used by farmers to hose down their tractors and is the same stuff that you pay a massive mark up for to have delivered as a valeting product.

It dilutes up to 100 parts water to 1 part TFR for normal use. 50 to 1 for hard cases.

The only tip is not to let it dry on your wheels or paintwork.

Peter

[Justin S]

Be very careful on the stuff. Stronger stuff is caustic acid and is very nasty stuff. Also be wary on how concentrated you use it, as it will permanently damage rubber seals and anything else rubber. Seeing my MD's X50m , the roof bars are bleeding purple/ blue from using the usual handwash emporiums with TFR .
We also bought an ex-company Skoda , which was a pre-reg employee car, 5k miles and a year old . They use similar products at their HQ and it had turned our door rubbers white and they had to change them before I bought the car. It also ravaged the hub caps , which were also changed.
So, just be aware of the stronger stuff and how you use it. In the long term, it will sit in cavities and doors and rot them out over time as well. Short term, if you change a car regulary, dont worry, obviously.

[Stu08]

I wouldn't recommend some of the stronger TFR's as mentioned. They can damage trim and actually dull the clear coat over time (a long time but it shows how harsh it can be).

I'd recommend Bilt Hamber Auto Foam either directly from Bilt Hamber or other retailers (Google it). This stuff breaks down road film more safely and if you have a jet wash is excellent as a prewash part of your routine.

Mix it per directions; spray on lower half of car and bumpers using a pump handle spray gun (can buy 5L ones online which are perfect). Leave to dwell for 5-10 minutes depending on time of year (longer in winter) and jet wash off.

This is my usual routine in the winter when it's too cold to do a full wash, but I want to remove any road salt etc.

I use Clean Your Car as a distributor to buy from.

Edited by Stu08 on Sunday 17th September 20:08

[finlo]

Years ago I knew a guy who bought a shiny black TWR (or similar ) XJS and after a long dirty motorway trip asked one of his apprentices to give it a wash.
Young guy glugs half a gallon of "Comma truck wash" into a bucket and of he goes, voila probably the country's first Matt black XJS.

[KungFuPanda]

Don't most dodgy car washes use brick acid?

[Ian1383]

Hi guys I work for a chemical company that makes TFR along side other cleaners.

If you want to look after your vehicle DO NOT USE TFR they are made to eat everything and anything it comes in contact with. The sodium hydroxide (caustic) which is a salt and All salts will attack rubber,plastic and aluminium and also fade your paints.

Best advice is to search for cleaners that are “salt free” (caustic) free cleaners and leave the TFR for the trucks and plant machinery that it’s designed for.

Any questions feel to reply thanks Ian

[swisstoni]

Yes I used a certain branded cleaner on my black Range Rover a while back and found it dulled the finish on the plastic parts. This included door mirror, door bottoms and ‘gills’.

Fortunately I hadn’t done much of the car before I realised. I haven’t got around to trying to buff the finish back up again but it’s going to need a machine polish to do it.

Needless to say I have binned it

[227bhp]

Ian1383 said:

Hi guys I work for a chemical company that makes TFR along side other cleaners.

If you want to look after your vehicle DO NOT USE TFR they are made to eat everything and anything it comes in contact with. The sodium hydroxide (caustic) which is a salt and All salts will attack rubber,plastic and aluminium and also fade your paints.

Best advice is to search for cleaners that are “salt free” (caustic) free cleaners and leave the TFR for the trucks and plant machinery that it’s designed for.

Any questions feel to reply thanks Ian

Where we get our engine cleaner from they have two grades of TFR, what would the strongest one generally be used for?

[Summit_Detailing]

Autosmart Hazsafe XLS is excellent & can be diluted to whatever strength ratio you deem necessary.

cheers

Chris

[Tony427]

Ian1383 said:

Hi guys I work for a chemical company that makes TFR along side other cleaners.

If you want to look after your vehicle DO NOT USE TFR they are made to eat everything and anything it comes in contact with. The sodium hydroxide (caustic) which is a salt and All salts will attack rubber,plastic and aluminium and also fade your paints.

Best advice is to search for cleaners that are “salt free” (caustic) free cleaners and leave the TFR for the trucks and plant machinery that it’s designed for.

Any questions feel to reply thanks Ian

No idea who Ian works for but I have to agree with him, leave TFR's for heavy lorries, plant and machinery as by design they are extremely caustic and are chemically engineered to strip everything off paint and other vulnerable surfaces.

We import and sell lots of chemicals by the pallet, as well as manufacture some of our own, for automatic car washing , jet washing and forecourt uses and would not sell anything for use on a car's paintwork or bodywork that has to be subject to ADR transport regulations as only the most aggressive chemicals require ADR handling. So as a rule of thumb, check the MSDS sheets , if it says the product is subject to ADR transport stay well, well, away from them.

The only time we sell ADR product is for wheel cleaner's ( acids's) and oil/grease removal (alkali's) in industrial environments. If you have extremely tarnished, wheels with baked on brake dust, or a wagon body coated in cheese deposits then its safe to use them. And only then in strictly controlled concentrations, max 5% more usually 1%. Do not measure out the right quantity and then think, "well just a splash for luck" it will bite yer bum. Been there, done that.

Even then NEVER let them dry onto the surface.

Your car's paint, rubber, and shiny coatings with thank you.

Cheers,

Tony

[Caddyshack]

TFR is awful stuff...I used to Valet cars.

Only use snow foam or a pre-rinse imo.

TFR will make your plastics go grey