twistedman
New member
After reading all these posts discussing cleaning abilities, I'm going to try and tackle this issue from a different perspective
I don't believe that one should jump to the conclusion that a certain product has cleaning properties just because it removes the sharpie marks from a washer, whether it be Maytag or GE.
When talking about "cleaning properties", we should distinguish chemical cleaning apart from physical cleaning. I would categorize anything that uses a chemical solvent/cleaner under the category of chemical cleaning. These products would likely contain organic solvents, alkali cleaners, or possibly acidic (less likely) cleaners. The basis of a pure chemical cleaners is to use a solvent/cleaner to dissolve impurities (oxidation, ect.) and should not remove any layer of paint or clearcoat. A product that comes to mind would be AIO, or sometimes fellow Autopians like to use alcohol/water mix to prep a surface and that would be considered as a chemical cleaner.
Physical cleaner, relies on using fine particles to carry out mechanical abrasions and these products would remove paint/clearcoat. The key here is mechanical and strictly speaking, rubbing anything over a surface creates friction and will remove some material. An extreme example that comes to mind is that water from a stream is able to smooth out stones after a prolonged period of time.
Commonly, wax (not the sealant, but the real wax) is mixed with an organic solvent to facilitate application. There are a HUGE varieties of organic solvents and the ones used in pure wax is likely not meant to perform chemical cleaning, only to facilitate use. However, organic solvents has a tendency to have a varied spectrum of solubility-meaning that they will dissolve various other organic chemicals. Likewise, sealants and other car care products prepared are prepared in solvents and these solvents may partially dissolve various other compounds.
I hope I am explaining myself properly and please point out if I am wrong. Basically, I just want to say that rubbing SG, NXT, Zaino and whatever over a sharpie mark doesn't really indicate much as to their cleaning properties, or lack there of. Depending on the sharpie used, even water could remove some of the sharpie mark but would we really consider water to have the kind of cleaning ability that we associate with car care products? (Of course water cleans, but I am referring to a more vigorous cleaning property) In addition, the mechanical rubbing of products over the sharpie mark will create friction and possibly remove some marks. Lastly, it may just be chance that the solvent used in a product happen to be able to dissolve the sharpie mark (the ink is carried also in an organic solvent-the odour is the smell from a volatile organic solvent and that's why sharpie marks dry so fast) yet the solvent in the product will not be able to tackle impurities that we find on car finishes.
I hope this post is not long, boring and pointless. I believe most of you already know this and I just hope to point out some old facts that deserves some reclarification.
I don't believe that one should jump to the conclusion that a certain product has cleaning properties just because it removes the sharpie marks from a washer, whether it be Maytag or GE.
When talking about "cleaning properties", we should distinguish chemical cleaning apart from physical cleaning. I would categorize anything that uses a chemical solvent/cleaner under the category of chemical cleaning. These products would likely contain organic solvents, alkali cleaners, or possibly acidic (less likely) cleaners. The basis of a pure chemical cleaners is to use a solvent/cleaner to dissolve impurities (oxidation, ect.) and should not remove any layer of paint or clearcoat. A product that comes to mind would be AIO, or sometimes fellow Autopians like to use alcohol/water mix to prep a surface and that would be considered as a chemical cleaner.
Physical cleaner, relies on using fine particles to carry out mechanical abrasions and these products would remove paint/clearcoat. The key here is mechanical and strictly speaking, rubbing anything over a surface creates friction and will remove some material. An extreme example that comes to mind is that water from a stream is able to smooth out stones after a prolonged period of time.
Commonly, wax (not the sealant, but the real wax) is mixed with an organic solvent to facilitate application. There are a HUGE varieties of organic solvents and the ones used in pure wax is likely not meant to perform chemical cleaning, only to facilitate use. However, organic solvents has a tendency to have a varied spectrum of solubility-meaning that they will dissolve various other organic chemicals. Likewise, sealants and other car care products prepared are prepared in solvents and these solvents may partially dissolve various other compounds.
I hope I am explaining myself properly and please point out if I am wrong. Basically, I just want to say that rubbing SG, NXT, Zaino and whatever over a sharpie mark doesn't really indicate much as to their cleaning properties, or lack there of. Depending on the sharpie used, even water could remove some of the sharpie mark but would we really consider water to have the kind of cleaning ability that we associate with car care products? (Of course water cleans, but I am referring to a more vigorous cleaning property) In addition, the mechanical rubbing of products over the sharpie mark will create friction and possibly remove some marks. Lastly, it may just be chance that the solvent used in a product happen to be able to dissolve the sharpie mark (the ink is carried also in an organic solvent-the odour is the smell from a volatile organic solvent and that's why sharpie marks dry so fast) yet the solvent in the product will not be able to tackle impurities that we find on car finishes.
I hope this post is not long, boring and pointless. I believe most of you already know this and I just hope to point out some old facts that deserves some reclarification.