Polishing with Pledge

[BlknBlu]

Viper Nation,

What are your experiences with using Pledge as a Car detailer? Also on the use of glass, plastic and metal or chrome. I applied it to my daily driver today and my powdercoated 6 spoke wheels and it looks fantastic and does not seem to streak. I searched on the NET and found no harmful exposure to using it.

Let me know your thoughts.

Bruce

 

[bluesrt]

i have been useing it for about 15 years, and also on my clearbra instead of the plexas highdollar stuff.. i do the whole car with it

 

[thompsonracing]

Never used it on the cars! I use it in the house and it leaves my hands greasy. I'm not sure if I'd get it on the paint.

 

[Martin]

Hmm - kind of reminds me of an old SNL parody...

Hulu - Saturday Night Live: Shimmer Floor Wax

 

[PaViper]

Don't mean to hijack, Eric, we still on for Thursday

 

[MarcRoth]

Been using for years on dumptrucks and the dirt doesnt stick as bad as not using it. Been a secret for years.

 

[BlknBlu]

Hmm - kind of reminds me of an old SNL parody...

Hulu - Saturday Night Live: Shimmer Floor Wax

I remember that. When I was applying the Pledge the can looked like it had a cover over the nozel so I tried to remove it with no luck. Then i accidently sprayed myself in the face. It did not taste like Shimmer....lol

Bruce

 

[Boxer12]

I use it for CF parts.

 

[Junkman2008]

Pledge is made for finished furniture and wood. Some finished furniture is painted with lacquer so Pledge is made to be used on lacquer paint. At one point in time, cars used to be painted in lacquer so that is why the old school guys would use it.

Would I ever use it? No way, because I don't have a clue what the MSD sheet for Pledge looks like. I also don't know if it will cause a nasty build up or be bad for my clear coat. I guess I'm more in the "stay on the safe side" group. Some guys use it because it is much cheaper than 303 or Adam's In & Out Spray (2 products that work much better and are safe for your car - not made for paint though). I know we don't have any guys here too cheap to spend some money on their Viper though...

 

[BlknBlu]

Pledge now advertises the use of thier product on paint finishes and plastics and glass. I would have to disagree on the Lacquer finishes. None of the Furniture in my house has a lacquer finish but I use Old English Lemon oil anyway (another story). I am not trying to defend the use of Pledge just looking for proof that it harms a finish.

I am a Griots user.

Bruce

 

[PDCjonny]

There's 10 zillion car care companies and products that are designed for use on automobiles but you want to know why not use furniture polish.
Check.

 

[Sellshomesdrivesviper]

Nope don't even use Pledge on my wood, that why I have a wife.

 

[Matt M PA]

It's loaded with silicones, so it hides minor scratches and makes a shine. It also offers no protection of any kind. If memory serves Pledge contains isobutane, propane, silicones and others.

For vinyls and rubbers...silicones are bad. A quick check at the 303 website covers this in detail.

 

[Junkman2008]

It's loaded with silicones, so it hides minor scratches and makes a shine. It also offers no protection of any kind. If memory serves Pledge contains isobutane, propane, silicones and others.

For vinyls and rubbers...silicones are bad. A quick check at the 303 website covers this in detail.

I remember reading that some time ago but I didn't remember where. Thanks for reminding me.

 

[Viper Grenade]

So good for paint, bad for rubber / vinyls?

 

[Dom426h]

It also offers no protection of any kind.

My niegbor who is a longtime carshow and detailing guru told me this and that some people used to get to a carshow then spay the entire car with pledge(no wiping, just soak it) to give it a super wet shinny look. Then get home and just hose it off. I thought this was

For vinyls and rubbers...silicones are bad. A quick check at the 303 website covers this in detail.

Well it says on the Pledge website that it is fine for vinyl. Who's marketing department are you to trust
Also, dont most armorall products include silicone??? They directly market towards using on vinyl/rubber

 

[Dom426h]

Some good info here:
Solvent and water based dressing - Car Care Forums: Meguiar's Online

and found this tidbit somewhere:

Good Silicone / Not so good Silicone:

a) Water - based silicone dressings, usually a milky-white liquid, (Polydimethylsiloxane (PDS)that doesn’t contain petroleum distillate; silicone oils, waxes, or solvents that can harm rubber and/or vinyl over time. Water-based dressings use a combination of natural oils and polymers to offer a non-greasy, satin finish. Some of these products also contain ultra violet radiation (UVR) blocking agents to help keep tires from cracking, fading and hardening. Most, if not all water-based dressings are environmentally friendly / biodegradable, whereas solvent-based silicone is not.

b) Solvent-based silicone dressings, usually a clear greasy liquid, (Dimethal (DMS) that contain petroleum solvents as a cleaning agent, they remove the elasticity from vinyl, rubber and paint; causing them to evaporate out of the substrate, leaving behind a dry inflexible surface. Most high gloss products are based upon DMS silicone oil, the difference between water and solvent based is in the carrier system used. Solvent based products use a hydrocarbon silicone to suspend the product. When you apply it, the solvent evaporates leaving the dressing's active ingredients (Silicone oil) behind; solvent-based silicone is not biodegradable.

 

[Bill Pemberton Woodhouse]

Dear Blk/Blu ,

Don't listen to those naysayers.................your car smells so lemony fresh. Whoops, I forgot your daily driver is a Lemon ( Ford ) ,ha. Just having fun , but somehow this just seemed too appropriate.

 

[Paul Hawker]

Harley guys been using Pledge for years.

Have never seen a claim of damage from using it.

 

[Fatboy 18]

Ive used it on interior parts in my cars and have used it on motorcycles too

I do have a funny story though, a friend of mine saw me polishing up my bike at a show we were doing over the weekend, he said to me 'How about cleaning my bike when your done', Well I was a bit board at he show so partly dusted over his bike and pledged the seat to a fantastic shine At the end of the day we took the bikes outside and went to drive off home, he got on the bike,sped down to the exit and braked.... The bike stopped but he didn't, he slid forward off the vinyl seat over the petrol tank and ended up with his nuts resting against the handle bars He called me a few names but did see the funny side

 

[GreenVenom]

Used it for years on my motorcycles looked fantastic, tried on a few cars but seemed to be smeary and not quite what I expected. Use lucas or griots on the cars.

 

[bluesrt]

the trick with pledge is after you swipe it in all where you want to, do the whole car and then do a final wipe, cause the first swipe will leave a very fine haze after it dries. final wipe will leave a nice shine

 

[gb66gth]

Ive used it on interior parts in my cars and have used it on motorcycles too

I do have a funny story though, a friend of mine saw me polishing up my bike at a show we were doing over the weekend, he said to me 'How about cleaning my bike when your done', Well I was a bit board at he show so partly dusted over his bike and pledged the seat to a fantastic shine At the end of the day we took the bikes outside and went to drive off home, he got on the bike,sped down to the exit and braked.... The bike stopped but he didn't, he slid forward off the vinyl seat over the petrol tank and ended up with his nuts resting against the handle bars He called me a few names but did see the funny side

That's hysterical!

 

[Flying Viper]

Don't mean to hijack, Eric, we still on for Thursday

If you did'nt mean to, then dont. Send him a PM

 

[Jon Mopar]

Pledge over time....isn't even good for wood. Ask any antique dealer that. Not sure why, but it turns finishes funny overtime (I've used it on a few old pieces, and now you can take your thumbnail and scrap the finish off). With that said, I doubt it would to anything to paint....although in direct sunlight, you would see smears and directional rubs marks (at least with a black car). my .02cents