FW1 "cleaning wax" ???

**minty fresh** · 01-20-2002, 04:32 PM

hi, i want to clean the salt off from the underbody of my car at a coin-op DIY wash bay using their soap and nylon brush/hose.

is there anything underneath my car i should be worried about before scrubbing? will it scrub off the anti-rust coating? (it`s a new car) and/or would just straight up plain water pressure be better?

**Pats300zx** · 01-20-2002, 04:38 PM

I have always just used the plain high pressure wash. Its great for the wheel wells and undercarriage.

**minty fresh** · 01-20-2002, 04:56 PM

i`m kinda hesitant about using just plain water. it never gets the dirt off the outside of my car by itself (even with high pressre), i can`t see why it would for salt underneath.

i guess i`m worried most about scrubbing off whatever coating might be there by using a soapy brush.

**Jngrbrdman** · 01-20-2002, 05:10 PM

If the spray isn`t strong enough to get the salt off then it is definatly not going to be able to hurt any underbody coating you have down there.

If you use a soapy brush at a car wash then do the guy behind you a favor and spray it off when you`re done. You are going to fill that brush up with all kinds of nasty stuff.

**minty fresh** · 01-20-2002, 06:31 PM

erm... i think you misunderstood. i was never worried about plain rinse water from a high pressure hose harming any underbody coating.

it`s using a coin-op bay brush that i was concerned about with regard to any damage.

**Jngrbrdman** · 01-20-2002, 06:46 PM

I think it is going to be fine. Those brushes are designed to be easy on the paint so it won`t harm anything on the underside of the car. Depending on what the bristles are made of on the brush you may get some melted to the hot spots but I doubt it.

**minty fresh** · 01-20-2002, 06:56 PM

ahh ok, thanks for the info, just didn`t want to rub off anything i shouldn`t. the brushes there are the typical nylon bristled ones that foam up with soap and i will prolly rinse, brush and rinse again to avoid the heat problem.

**jkochis** · 01-20-2002, 06:58 PM

That brush is a lot less dangerous than the road debris, tar, etc, that litters the highways that you drive over at 65MPH.

**miraclemax** · 10-07-2010, 09:52 PM

I got a gas station demo of an interesting product the other day... calls itself FW1 Cleaning Wax. It`s a foaming aerosol spray that they claim (among other things) can be used to wash your car waterlessly and apply wax (claims carnauba) all at once... just spray on, wipe off and buff to a shine. Being very skeptical of their claim that this won`t cause swirls, I wasn`t entirely happy with the fact that the guy just walked up, sprayed the stuff on my car and wiped it off with his filthy rag without asking... but the truth is my car does need a wash, polish and wax pretty badly, so he didn`t really do any harm that won`t be fixed by the work I was planning to do anyway.

My question is this: How does the stuff do on glass and plastic?

For glass, he said water beads off, it shines and protects from fingerprints/smudges, and it doesn`t streak, and he applied it to a window to demonstrate. Seems too good to be true, but it worked. Has anyone noticed any drawbacks on glass? Any haziness or anything? Any reason not to apply to exterior and interior glass? If not, I`m looking forward to no more little handprints on my windows!

As far as plastic, here`s the background behind my question: I own a 2000 Maxima. After a few years putting up with the scraped up, sticky grey matte mess they called an interior trim finish in those days, I finally soaked the trim pieces in rubbing alcohol and scrubbed the crap off, revealing a shiny black plastic that actually looks pretty nice bare. There are only 2 small issues... it shows fingerprints and smudges like no tomorrow, and it gets light swirl-like scratches from regular plastic polishes (probably could`ve been avoided had I known that to start with, but it`s a done deal now).

So, with all the fillers this FW1 stuff must have in it to cover all the swirl marks it would cause in paint, and the fingerprint/smudge resistance the wax demonstrates, I`m thinking this stuff could be perfect for my trim! It says it works on and is safe for non-porous plastics, but I was hoping someone could confirm from experience how it does on plastics and/or let me know if you think I`m safe to try it on these trim pieces... ? Am I right in assuming that very shiny plastics are probably non-porous?

Also if anyone has any tips/recommendations for application, that would be nice. I do not plan to use this product as prescribed on paint. I do plan to wash all surfaces I do apply it to before application.

Any advice/help would be greatly appreciated!

MM

**Leadfootluke** · 10-07-2010, 10:54 PM

I can bet that the FW1 chrony would have been slapped on the spot if he did that to a car owned by most of the members here. It`s a joke and a scam and it`s sad people have detailed their dirty cars using this stuff thinking it will not mar it regardless of how dirty the finish/wash media is.

**bmw5541** · 10-08-2010, 07:44 AM

Originally Posted by Leadfootluke

I can bet that the FW1 chrony would have been slapped on the spot if he did that to a car owned by most of the members here. It`s a joke and a scam and it`s sad people have detailed their dirty cars using this stuff thinking it will not mar it regardless of how dirty the finish/wash media is.

Well said!!!!

**imported_gewb** · 10-08-2010, 09:14 AM

MSDS states FW1 contains:

isoparaffins petroleum hydrotreated HFP (Oil mist, refined mineral) 23%
petroleum distillates HFP 3%
ingredients nonhazardous >60
hydrocarbon propellant (LPG (liquified petroleum gas)) 12%

Regards,
GEWB

**miraclemax** · 10-08-2010, 11:10 AM

Originally Posted by gewb

MSDS states FW1 contains:

isoparaffins petroleum hydrotreated HFP (Oil mist, refined mineral) 23%
petroleum distillates HFP 3%
ingredients nonhazardous >60
hydrocarbon propellant (LPG (liquified petroleum gas)) 12%

Regards,
GEWB

Thanks, GEWB, but I need help translating that into English. What does all of that mean?? Is this stuff dangerous? Or is it an indication of effectiveness and/or product performance problems?

**Old Pirate** · 10-08-2010, 11:20 AM

Originally Posted by miraclemax

I got a gas station demo of an interesting product the other day... calls itself FW1 Cleaning Wax. It`s a foaming aerosol spray that they claim (among other things) can be used to wash your car waterlessly and apply wax (claims carnauba) all at once... just spray on, wipe off and buff to a shine. Being very skeptical of their claim that this won`t cause swirls, I wasn`t entirely happy with the fact that the guy just walked up, sprayed the stuff on my car and wiped it off with his filthy rag without asking... but the truth is my car does need a wash, polish and wax pretty badly, so he didn`t really do any harm that won`t be fixed by the work I was planning to do anyway.

My question is this: How does the stuff do on glass and plastic?

For glass, he said water beads off, it shines and protects from fingerprints/smudges, and it doesn`t streak, and he applied it to a window to demonstrate. Seems too good to be true, but it worked. Has anyone noticed any drawbacks on glass? Any haziness or anything? Any reason not to apply to exterior and interior glass?

As far as plastic, here`s the background behind my question: I own a 2000 Maxima. After a few years putting up with the scraped up, sticky grey matte mess they called an interior trim finish in those days, I finally soaked the trim pieces in rubbing alcohol and scrubbed the crap off, revealing a shiny black plastic that actually looks pretty nice bare. There are only 2 small issues... it shows fingerprints and smudges like no tomorrow, and it gets light swirl-like scratches (looks like a clearcoat that`s been through 100 spinning-brush-style automatic carwashes) from regular plastic polishes (probably could`ve been avoided had I known that to start with, but it`s a done deal now).

So, with all the fillers this FW1 stuff must have in it to cover all the swirl marks it would cause in paint, and the fingerprint/smudge resistance the wax demonstrates, I`m thinking this stuff could be perfect for my trim! It says it works on and is safe for non-porous plastics, but I was hoping someone could confirm from experience how it does and/or let me know if you think I`m safe to try it on these trim pieces... ? Am I right in assuming that very shiny plastics are probably non-porous?

Also if anyone has any tips/recommendations for application, that would be nice. I do plan to wash all surfaces before application.

Any advice/help would be greatly appreciated!

MM

Was this a full service station? because all gas stations that I know of won`t let anyone walk around their property and maybe running off their customers or cause damage. On some filler products I would stay away because your going to waste your time in working on the finish and it will just come off when you wash the car down the road, so way bother with it and just try to correct it the right way and save yourself the time and waste of money buying this product that someone just walk up to you and use on your car. Hopefully someone can answer your question.