[Living_Quiet]

For the most part I would imagine any 'chemical' readily available to buy would be fairly safe and diluted, but I had a scientist friend look into the MSDS on some (the smell caught their attention) and they are kinda of alarming.

I.e one sealant contained methanol and petroleum distillates. It had specific target organ toxicity, reproductive toxicity, germ cell mutagenicity and carcinogenicity.

What do you guys think? A lot of these products are spray based, therefor atomized and most likely inhaled to some extent.

[KirkH]

Originally Posted by Living_Quiet

For the most part I would imagine any 'chemical' readily available to buy would be fairly safe and diluted, but I had a scientist friend look into the MSDS on some (the smell caught their attention) and they are kinda of alarming.

I.e one sealant contained methanol and petroleum distillates. It had specific target organ toxicity, reproductive toxicity, germ cell mutagenicity and carcinogenicity.

What do you guys think? A lot of these products are spray based, therefor atomized and most likely inhaled to some extent.

Consumer products are almost universally safe. If you want to be sure the product is safe, get one made in California. They have to follow strict state regulations.

"Off the truck" products, or professional detailing products sold in bulk to professional detailers and car dealerships can definitely be dangerous. Those products are always labelled carcinogenic on the label and in the product marketing info. They are also labeled for volatile organic compounds (VOC compliant.)

I am up to my elbows in these products every day so I try to use gloves with the strong stuff and I use Chemical Guys products from Cali as much as I can.

I have respirators and they are definitley needed for tools like the Tornador that nebulizes chemicals.

[OVRKLL]

Originally Posted by Living_Quiet

For the most part I would imagine any 'chemical' readily available to buy would be fairly safe and diluted, but I had a scientist friend look into the MSDS on some (the smell caught their attention) and they are kinda of alarming.

I.e one sealant contained methanol and petroleum distillates. It had specific target organ toxicity, reproductive toxicity, germ cell mutagenicity and carcinogenicity.

What do you guys think? A lot of these products are spray based, therefor atomized and most likely inhaled to some extent.

As KirkH says, you need to wear the proper PPE for the chemicals you are using to be safe. If you do this, you should be alright. Most will tell you what kind of PPE is needed for full protection.



Using a GOOD respirator is well worth the money, and change out the filters after heavy use. Especially if you are using airborne chemicals, painting a car can be bad for your lungs considering what is being used like clear coat etc. Even if there is fine dust, you need to have a respirator.
I use this when using muratic acid and water to clean my concrete drive-way...haven't had any problems.



Gloves and eye protection along with a long sleeve shirt, pants and shoes. That's what I wear when I spray my yard with pestilence.
And just like coming home from the gun range, wash your clothes separate from other clothes.


Safety First...like they say, Safety is no Accident!

[Living_Quiet]

Thanks for the thoughtful responses guys.

How come you rarely see the detailers wearing much more of anything than gloves? At least in the lines that I use, I can't recall a video where someone is using a respirator or eye protection.

So many of these chemicals are presented as worry free.

[KirkH]

Originally Posted by Living_Quiet

Thanks for the thoughtful responses guys.

How come you rarely see the detailers wearing much more of anything than gloves? At least in the lines that I use, I can't recall a video where someone is using a respirator or eye protection.

So many of these chemicals are presented as worry free.

For me I barely wear gloves even because i sweat so much and they also get water in them just working with buckets. The skin on my fingers is constantly peeling off.

I don't need eye protection. I've never sprayed myself in the eyes. The only time I use a respirator is when I am painting bow ties, wheel scratches, etc.

But the main reason I dont use eye protection or respirators is that except for Meguiar's Super Degreaser, i don't use dangerous products. No purple power (sodium hydroxide - lye). No bleach.

[Emoto]

My advice: Don't drink the detailing products.

[Skyjogger]

Ive been a Chemical Manufacturer for my entire life and im the 5th generation so ill chime in.


A tad bit of misinformation here but that's ok. California requirements are now nationwide and almost every chemical manufacturer has already either redone or properly labeled there chemicals. Just buying something from California doesn't mean safe.


We sell pro detail products off of a truck and some are aggressive but some are very mild depending on what you want to do. If your cleaning a big-rig aluminum Trailer we will sell you some aggressive chemicals to get road grime off. But I seriously doubt you would buy a 55 Gallon drum of this to wash your car.



The chemicals we sell to Pro guys are obvious pro chemicals and a normal car guy would never ever buy them unless they know exactly what they do. We go to many car shows regionally and test our Products next to adams and Chemical guys and some of our stuff works better.



We dont have near the amount of money in marketing they do but you will find if you bring stuff to a lab its all basically the same stuff.



That being said there are some new things on the market Ceramic, Sio2, ect. But we dont currently manufacturer any of those so I cannot comment. Im a huge car person hence why im on a Camaro forum I use alot of the major brands too and Ill be the first to tell you it really doesn't matter who you go with there all basically the same product with different levels of marketing supporting them. Ive met with many of the major suppliers and i can tell you without naming names some dont even make there own products. Some have them shipped in from China and Mexico where there are zero regulations. Some of those brands have been mentioned on this thread.



Just because something is sold in California doesn't make it better. And just because something is a name brand doesn't make it better either.


I'd recommend Meguiars for home car stuff they have been doing this along time and maybe P&S. you really cant go wrong most of its the same

[Skyjogger]

Just to further illustrate how marketing has become the big thing Chemical Guy's has 11 car shampoos. What in the hell those are all the same product with different fragrance and color with different pricing. Nobody needs 11 Car Shampoos I don't care what your washing. P&S has 1 Car Shampoo that works very well.


Car Detailing doesn't need to be complicated.

[KirkH]

Cool, good info!

I buy some stuff off the truck (Malco, TransMate, etc.) and I buy some stuff from the warehouse places (Megs, CG, CarPro.) I would agree that much of it is the same, but there are some products that just work better than the others, so it's not all exactly the same.

For me, a lot of it comes down to price. If I can buy locally off the truck, I do, but if the warehouse place is significantly lower in price, I order it from them.

I am working 7 days a week, 9 months a year, so I use products that have proven to be top performers for me. Some are better than others.

[KirkH]

Malco (off the truck), for example, sells a lot of products with cancer warnings, reproductive hazards, inhalation hazards, etc.

Chemical Guys don't sell any products with those warnings.

I can't think of any Malco product that is significantly better than CG products except Malco Aqua Spray Wax. That stuff is awesome for a drying aid.