What is mechanical decontamination
Written by: Vinnie van Rooij
Mechanical decontamination is the opposite of chemical decontamination. Whereas chemical decontamination removes contamination from a surface without any physical interaction, mechanical decontamination doesn’t require any chemicals and relies solely on physical interaction.
Forms of mechanical decontamination
Claying is a prime example of mechanical decontamination. During claying, the clay-material scrubs the surface clean by “grabbing” the unwanted particles, and pulling them away from the surface. The clay is slightly abrasive, which affects the surface slightly. The use of a claylube should help to move the clay over the surface and to minimize the amount of marring that is being created. Claylube usually doesn’t have any effect on the contamination itself. The polymer clay acts as the medium that removes the unwanted particles from the surface. This physical and mechanical interaction is a well known example mechanical decontamination.
Advantages of mechanical decontamination
Unlike chemical contamination, it is easier to determine which part of the surface is decontaminated, and which surface is left alone. In many cases the medium that is being used for the decontamination process can be cleaned and reused, the chemical that might be used for chemical decontamination is very rarely re-usable. Making mechanical decontamination often the cheaper option in the long run.
Another case might be that mechanical contamination hardly differentiate between different types of contamination. Meaning that clay will just remove anything from the surface, regardless of the type of contamination. Chemical decontamination can be made in such a way that the chemical only attacks a certain type of particles.
Different related articles
Carpet stripes are lines in the carpet that give the impression that some parts of the carpet ar darker/lighter then the area next to it. This can be achieved by bending the fibers one way or the other. The only purpose of this is that it can look nice to some people. Customers might be impressed and like the effect....-
Paintwork can, in some cases, become oxidized. Making it turn matte and slightly fade color. If untreated, it can eventually cause the lacquer and/or paintwork to completely fail. It is most common on red cars, but it can happen with every color....
-
It is often asked on detailing fora and social media: "what is the best TFR, Fallout Remover or Engine Bay Cleaner". Off course there is a difference between certain products and brands, but it is important to know what you are asking. In this guide I will try to explain what the problem is with this question unless it is asked more in-depth....
-
A primed pad will outperform a non-primed pad in cutting. So a primed pad should give a great polishing result on your car, but prime your pad for the goal you’re looking for....
-
Snowfoam is a particular way of pre-cleaning before washing the car with a washmitt or similar. Snowfoam will loosen up dirt and will move a lot of the dirt when it is rinsed off....
-
The two-bucket method is possibly to most known and most used technique used by detailers and professionals, to wash a vehicle. It is one of 3 different types of washing a vehicle that are widely considered to be safe and correct ways of cleaning a surface....
Links to this article
There are no external links to this article. Yet.