petroleum distillates

[mjoekingz28]

I have been comparing my various over the counter car finish products with the owner's manual.

In the manual, "....Do not use cleaning agents that are petroleum based, or that contain acid or abrasives."


Is this why many of you order waxes, polishes, sealants, LSPs over the internet?



I don't know the low down on this, but it is probably mentioned in the manual for a reason. Then, why are we being sold potentially harmful wax?


My second wax I still have, Mothers cleaner paste wax I have from about half my life ago contains petroleum distillates.....my first wax was the one on the tv infomercials that was for cars before the mid-80s....because of enamel versus base/clear.




Anyway, I have a practically unused can of Turtle Wax Ice that I will probably give away.


I'm just wondering is this just a certan carmakers' criteria or is all petroleum products bad for paint?

 

[mjoekingz28]

For what its worth, the no petroleum warning is under the 'washing your vehicle' heading and is not mentioned in the 'finish care' section.


So maybe they refer to not using gasoline to clean road tar? Maybe that is what they mean!

 

[Rolla07]

I never saw anything like that in my car manual, are they doing that now?

 

[njohnson]

Originally Posted By: mjoekingz28
I have been comparing my various over the counter car finish products with the owner's manual.

In the manual, "....Do not use cleaning agents that are petroleum based, or that contain acid or abrasives."


Is this why many of you order waxes, polishes, sealants, LSPs over the internet?



I don't know the low down on this, but it is probably mentioned in the manual for a reason. Then, why are we being sold potentially harmful wax?


My second wax I still have, Mothers cleaner paste wax I have from about half my life ago contains petroleum distillates.....my first wax was the one on the tv infomercials that was for cars before the mid-80s....because of enamel versus base/clear.




Anyway, I have a practically unused can of Turtle Wax Ice that I will probably give away.


I'm just wondering is this just a certan carmakers' criteria or is all petroleum products bad for paint?


I don't think all petroleum products are bad, but, there are different kinds, and probably more importantly at what concentration is it used. For an example, a cleaning product that contains 10 or 20% of petroleum distillates could be safe for the paint, but, one that contains, says, 40% could damage the paint.

The EPA has had the automakers cut down on the VOC in the paint, and painting process of the automobiles. I think the newer water-based paints are more sensitive to petroleum distillates than the older high VOC paints.
I was in the store a while ago, and I was in the car cleaning supplies aisle. I was reading the back of a NuFinish bottle. A store employee walking by saw me, stopped and said "You don't use that." When I asked why not, he said it is not good for the new paint on today's cars. He said his friend used NuFinish on a GM vehicle that was only a couple of years old, he said it cracked the paint all over the hood. Was too high in solvents, he said.

 

[njohnson]

Originally Posted By: Rolla07
I never saw anything like that in my car manual, are they doing that now?


I believe they are. I think I have seen it when it is explaining how to clean the interior of the car. Probably because the different materials used inside the car could be damaged by the petroleum distillates.