What is a Traffic Film Remover
Written by: Vinnie van Rooij
A traffic film remover is a product that is specifically designed to remove “traffic film”. This is a very fine layer of dust, grime and even oils that cover your car and are notoriously difficult to wash off. A traffic film remover can be wax-safe, but many ar not. This is not a product for the weekly wash, but more to be used once every couple of months. “Traffic film remover” is often shortened to TFR.
Contents
What is Traffic film
Traffic film is a very small layer that accumulates on the surface of a vehicle over time. This layer consists out of dirt, dust, grime, oils, tar, rubber and even iron oxide. Some of these particles are fairly easy to wash off and can be removed during the weekly wash. Other particles are very difficult to remove and require a very strong product to have effect. The Traffic Film Remover is a product that is specifically designed to do just that.
Basic ingredients for a traffic film removers are often solvents. Certain acids can be added to improve cleaning power, a popular one is citric acid. These ingredients all combine into a product that is fairly harsh, but effective.
What types of traffic film remover
There are many different products on the market, although they all differ slightly from each other, you can categorize them in 2 different ways.
The pH-level
- pH-neutral
These are often considered wax safe, but don’t have to be. If they contain citric acid (enough to clean, but not enough to lower the pH) they can still have a negative effect on the layer of wax. - Alkaline
These often have a negative effect on most protective products. If a manufacturer has spent a lot of time in fine tuning the ingredients, it is possible to have very little effect, however this costs a lot of time and money and might not be worth the investment. - Acidic
Although most protective products would be negatively affected by this, ceramic coatings aren’t affected at all. Which makes this a good chemical deep-cleaning product on ceramic coatings.
The harshness
- Wax-safe
A traffic film remover that removes a lot of dirt, but doesn’t have any effect on a layer of wax. - Non wax-safe
A traffic film remover that removes everything, including wax. Will often have a negative effect on several types of protective products.
Common misconceptions
Although traffic film removers are nothing new, they have some myths around them.
- They are not enough for complete decontamination
- They usually have little to no effect on iron oxide (fallout)
- They do not all have a negative effect on wax, but the ones that don’t, often have less cleaning power than the ones that do
- Most traffic film removers are based on solvents, and not cleaning agents such as surfactants and emulsifiers
- Traffic film removers are often very harsh, so protect your skin and eyes, and rinse off thoroughly
- Traffic film removers are not designed to be used as a shampoo or a weekly wash
- The removal of wax is a necessary step before a protective product is (re-)applied or before polishing. Wax is a hard type of protective product that is made from a large portion of natural ingredients. It has a limited lifespan and needs to be removed after a certain period....
- Clay is putty-like substance that is used to remove contaminants from a surface. Clay removes particles that can't be removed by washing or are difficult to remove with chemical cleaning....
- Cleaning a dashboard is no rocket science, but there are tips and tricks that can make the job a little easier. Some will help to clean easier, others will prevent you having to clean another area later on....
- Professional Valeters and Detailers is a trade association in the United Kingdom, that offers a large directory of accredited detailers in their network. By vetting each detailer/valeter in their network they are able to offer a very wide range of skilled and proven detailers in almost all areas....
- If you are starting up a business, it is important to market your business, otherwise people will not know you exist. But how do you do this? How do you make them aware of your presence and service, and then make them come to you? It is something that is difficult for any business. This is why there is big money in marketing. However, there are some reasonably simple steps you can take to get things started....
- Smartwax is an American brand of detailing products located in California. The brand was established around 2003 and has a fairly wide range of products that is being offered via several different resellers....
[…] If you want to read more into this, be sure to check out the following link for more information https://www.detailingwiki.org/detailing-miscellaneous/traffic-film-remover/ […]
[…] When you apply this, make sure that you wash off the film remover straight away, as it can do damage to the paint or leave a stain when it’s going to be left alone to dry. For the same reason, it’s never ideal to use a TFR when you’re in an area with direct sunlight or it’s hot outside. Read more about TFRs in this url: https://www.detailingwiki.org/detailing-miscellaneous/traffic-film-remover/. […]