Picked up a car for a customer at one of the Nationwide Car Repair Centres in Perth yesterday.  Just before I drove the car away, I noticed one of the employees cleaning a Yeti.  He used a small bottle to spray a solution onto the paintwork and after a few minutes rinsed it off using a power washer.  The results were amazing.  The Yeti was pretty messy but all the dirt was removed without the use of shampoo, sponges, brushes or cloths.  The employee simply called the solution TFR (Traffic Film Remover) and that most car repair premises used this method to quickly clean the vehicle.  

 

I was wondering if any of the Yeti owners have heard of TFR or actually used it to clean their vehicle.  I was really impressed with the results but I'm not sure if regular use of this type of product would damage the paintwork as it seems to be a very strong solution.

It's basically acid, spray it on some bare metal and watch what happens, horrible stuff!

TFR removes all your polish as well as the dirt.

TFR is a generic name for a cleaner. It was originally mostly used in commercial washes for trucks etc. Spray on, wait, rinse off. 

 

Many are very acid or alkali and will damage chrome/plastic shiny trim and alloy wheels if not used carefully. Not all will, but its not something you want to just use without knowing what exactly you have. These are essentially truck washes - NO WAY it ever goes near one of my vehicles!

 

Another point to note is these are usually highly toxic products that really shouldnt be washed down driveways into your storm drains in the street, and then into the nearest stream, river etcc. They should be used where appropriate disposal of the run-off can take place.

Topic moved to the styling hole.

I use TFR regularly, it is an alkali version and includes wax, did not effect the Yeti Paint, or the Fabia nor did it effect the Audi for that matter. I can't remember it eating any alloy wheels or trim either.

 Using neat on alloy wheels is better than wonder wheels and is very effective, especially with a good rinse afterwards.

Bilberry Wheel Cleaner and Valet Pro Pre Wash is safer

many snow foam products started life as TFRs - some would still fall into that category

What products do you use?...you seem to be fairly knowledgeable

I use Valet Pro pH Neutral Snow Foam....very confident in its safe use and cleaning ability

I was one of the pioneers for ONR in the UK, so pretty much ditched all my foams and other stuff to use a low water option. We would have to completely detail cars in high-end London showrooms with uber expensive marble floors etc so splashing water around was not an option. 

 

Now I only do it for myself but still use ONR and other Optimum products. Every so often I get the foam lance out when SWMBO brings home her bus covered in muck. Bilt Hamber make superb cleaners and tick all the eco boxes. I started using their metal treatments on restorations of classic cars and their detailing stuff is brilliant.

 

Otherwise its FK1000 for winter use and Optiseal for all other applications. Being able to put an LSP on a car in under 3 mins just cant be beat

Edited 5 June, 201412 yr by Bigpikle

I fully agree with your product choices of Bilt Hamber and Optiseal...but I would be fairly nervous of using Optimum No Rinse

I highly rate Optimum Optiseal..its one of the easiest sealers to apply ever!!..Great on alloys

As for Bilt Hamber....absolutely awesome selection of products on all levels.

My favourite is Hydra Wax.....but used some Autobalm recently..forgot how good that is as well!!

ONR is misunderstood by many who havent used it. Its not waterless but 'rinseless'. I've washed literally hundereds of cars with it and its as good or better than any other shampoo. Good technique, the right wash media and it will wash a car in 25% of the time of a regular shampoo. You can also wash a black car in full sun without so much as a water spot

 

I washed my current car for almost 3 years with it and its never had a polish and is still 99% swirl free. The only marks are on panels where snow accumulated and had to be pushed off in winter. I'll admit the first few times I tried it were a bit of a leap of faith - you just need to remember that there is a reason its so widely used and praised.

Edited 5 June, 201412 yr by Bigpikle

Interesting. Thanks

Clicky

and

Here

Edited 5 June, 201412 yr by ChrisRs

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=116032

 

This was one of the first videos I did when I was uber careful - I rarely pre-spray now and frankly could do half the car in the time I did that front wing 

Its an alternative if there is no access to a PW or a hose

I often attempt to answer questions in this Forum on, "How to wash my car because I live in a flat or have to wash it in an urban street"

This seems to be an answer

Thanks for sharing

Edited 5 June, 201412 yr by ChrisRs

yep - perfect for that.

 

The other area is that the run-off from wash suds etc counts as a waste product if youre a business and strictly speaking is not allowed to simply run off into the street and drains. Most street drains go directly to local streams and rivers and having all the wash waste end up in drains is both potentially polluting and could get people in trouble...

yep - perfect for that.

 

The other area is that the run-off from wash suds etc counts as a waste product if youre a business and strictly speaking is not allowed to simply run off into the street and drains. Most street drains go directly to local streams and rivers and having all the wash waste end up in drains is both potentially polluting and could get people in trouble...

Presumably that is where the built chamber stuff comes in as it seems to be the only bio degradable stuff I've seen.

Reading the instructions (in the above links) I see no mention of using it in direst sunlight (or at least a warm day). Is it okay to do so in a hard water area with the danger of leaving water spots?

Presumably that is where the built chamber stuff comes in as it seems to be the only bio degradable stuff I've seen.

 

I meant Bilt Hamber (bloomin spell check...)

'Traffic film remover' IS a generic term for vehicle wash chemical, often biodegradable ( therefore OK in drains ) and often alkali ( not acidic ). Have used to wash cars, vans and trucks in 38 years working in the rental industry. Some may have wax in the product ( to give a shine), different strengths for dirtier vehicles like vans and trucks.

One firm I worked for had poorly trained staff which left all the trucks matt because all they did was spray tfr at pressure without rinsing in clean water! The boss wondered why his tfr bill was so high! When my ( properly trained) guys rinsed them off after chemical everyone was impressed with the shine......

Know your job.

We use TFR to jet wash our bus engines. Would never use it on a car.

Sent from my IPhone 5 using Tapatalk.

I have washed my car at work with TFR using a hot water Karcher and a foamer,secret is to rinse after a couple of minutes. I believe the TFR used was Autosmart Hazsafe.

Edited 8 June, 201412 yr by roman.w

I use Valet Pro pH Neutral Snow Foam....very confident in its safe use and cleaning ability

 

My brother spilt some of that on the his painted garage floor, stripped the paint right off the concrete, also the bushes at the side of his drive have lots of brown dead patches from splashes of the snow foam.  Neither of us will use it any more.

Strange that........I've been using it for Years

'pH Neutral' indicates non acid or alkaline.

I remain confident in its safety and cleaning ability

I used to do allot of vehicle cleaning in work and I left TFR on a brand new discovery 4 once till it went dry. I only done it once as it rippled the paintwork .. oops