I used stuff called Dry Wash 'n Guard on my Camaro with some fantastic results. It was a little expensive and it supposedly used some kind of special formula called "PolyGuard-3".

A couple weeks ago, I met up with a couple Zaino Bros. distributors at a Ford Motor Shootout (of all places). They said that the stuff I used was actually loaded with silicone.

Why is silicone considered bad for your finish if you get such great results? If it has something to do with re-painting, wouldn't you sand it off anyway?

Silicone is supposed to wreak havoc with paint jobs. A heavily siliconed car (armor all on tires and trim parts) will make a care a real bitch to paint. sanding only imbeds the silicone into the paint. My body shop buddies hate that kind of stuff. I don't even use wax, i just use polish.

John

I know of two shops that use the Dry Wash 'n Guard, and have no fish eye problems. I think if it contained silicone they would have had problems by now. I've also used it, but not in my shop, only at home. I called the co. and drilled them before I used it and they said "no silicone".
Austin

Well, maybe those Zaino bros. Distributors were trying to make a hard sell... They even said to contact the Zaino company and they would also say it contains silicone. Maybe it's just a competition thing.

If you did ever use silicone on your finish, are there any chemicals that can remove it completely?

Ya, you can get rid of it, BUT how hard it will be depends on what type of silicone it is. There are two general types -one will contaminate the surface its on, and the other is air borne and can contaminate things near it with out any physical contact.
Race Glaze is a product that contains silicone, but a good grease and wax remover will take it off.
Armor All is a product that has "free floating" silicone if a car that has recently used this in the interior, you will want to make sure any windows or openings to the interior are closed off or you WILL have fish eye problems. You will still want to use grease and wax remover a bunch of times to try to be rid of it.
Basically, a bottle of a "free floating" silicone in a body shop can cause problems even if its not sprayed! http://www.camaros.net/forum/eek.gif
If dry wash contains silicone it would be like the race glaze (rather easy to remove).

Austin

I'm the Quality Manager for an OEM painter of automotive and motorcycle parts. I can tell you first hand about airbourne silicone. It's a real bit$%. We've had booth loads of parts covered in fisheyes more times than I care to remember. One time we had to repaint a couple thousand dollars worth of parts, all because one of our preppers switched to a new deodorant!!! We had bad fisheyes on every part he cleaned in the mornings!!!

Deodorant, been there "Gilette Gel" is BAD. I actually used to have a list of soaps, hair sprays, deodorants, and hand lotions that contained silicones. I wonder what would happen if Pamela Lee stped by the shop. http://www.camaros.net/forum/biggrin.gif
Austin

I have to admit, I've been less than careful when using Armor All and probably other things that contain silicone around my car. Being as how my car is due for a paint job in the not too distant future, I'm now a little concerned.

How do you guys at body shops deal with the problem? Do you tack on extra labor expense if a customer unknowingly brings you a car with silicone on it?

I hear ya.

I found out only six weeks ago here at Team Camaro. I am bumming. I will demand a perfect paint job and I'll pay for it also, but...

The fact that I've almost washed my car using Mothers Detailing Spray is killing me.

Rick O

englemac, we don't charge any extra, but try to explain to the customer that we could have problems that might slow down the process alittle. It's hard to be mad, because the customer is just tring to keep their car look'in good. If we know there are any products in the car we tell the customer to take them home. If we see products in the car or trunk we place them in ziplock bags, and call the customer to pick them up. Unfortunately its just one of those things you have to deal with in the autobody world. There are products you can add to your paint to help, but the additives usually contain high amounts of silicone (to flood out fisheyes) so they "could" contaminate your booth and guns. We don't use any additives at our shop. You can usually tell when the chances are greater so you take steps early on to help prevent problems in the booth.
Austin