Pledge review

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R2D2

MB Enthusiast
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Mar 23, 2004
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C350
In the cause of science I decided to put the claim that Pledge household polish is good on cars to the test. I know some of you thought I was being brave, but here are my findings.

I bought Pledge Classic multi surface spray polish. For those who don't know my car is already quite shiny and protected so I decided to clean half of my bonnet, a bumper, a wing and a door with Pledge and leave the rest of the car protected with AutoGlym Resin Polish in order to be able to compare.

The Pledge needs applied in very small quantities as a little goes a long way. I spread the polish (having sprayed a little onto a cloth) then buffed it up with a clean cloth. The immediate results were impressive because the paint looked completely clean and had a non streaky finish and a very good shine. I tested out the finish by asking family members and no one could tell which side was AG and which side was Pledge. So the immediate result was excellent because the £3 can of Pledge produced a good finish and with very little effort.

Unlike your furniture though , your car gets driven around and gets wet and dirty. When I washed the car both sides washed just as easily and both dried OK, however, I think the Pledge finish was less durable and I needed to reapply it to maintain the shine. When reapplied the shine was good but whereas the Super Resin Polish hides small imperfections and scratches the Pledge side didn't. Given that all the car was already polished with AG before I started this test, I realised that the Pledge was cleaning the surface and removing the AG and therefore the scratches were more visible on the Pledge side than the AG Only side.

I also used pledge on the headlights and exhausts and I have to say it was very good on shining up both.

Conclusion; Using Pledge on your car will not make your car dissolve and turn it Pink. As a quick fix it will produce a good finish which is streak free as long as you don't use too much polish.

It is very good on headlights and exhausts and I will continue to use it on both. It is pretty good on painted plastic like bumpers (why that should be different from painted metal I don't know). However, on paint it is not as good as AG as it cleans surfaces revealing marks hidden by a good polish. I also suspect that multiple coats will go streaky over time.

When the experiment was finished I washed my car twice and the reapplied AG SRP all over it. The Pledged surfaces required more buffering as I guess there was Pledge residue. A freshly polished AG surface is shinier and looks better, in part because it has fillers in it.

So should you use Pledge on cars? Yes- on lights and exhausts, Yes- to remove water marks, which it is good at, Yes- as a quick detailer or Yes if you can't afford better or don't have the time to perfect a shine. However, it is not a filler, it is not as durable and it will periodically need cleaned off or else I suspect it will get streaky and messed up.

It's OK as far as it goes but I'm pleased to get back to my AG finish. HTH.
 
I have used it on bike fairings and it does well on them, especially the white bits!
 
Very brave and very interesting, thank you.

I used it years ago on motorbike plastics and recommended it for such but the recent change in formula doesn't work as well IMO.
 
This is a super bad idea- I will just say two words-hologram Central. If you would like me to get on the tech to why it's bad in so many ways, let me know and I'll write out a disitation.:(
 
To be fair my one coat didn't smear or swirl but I could see that an accumulation would.
 
This is a super bad idea- I will just say two words-hologram Central. If you would like me to get on the tech to why it's bad in so many ways(

Because you sell expensive car waxes...??
 
I used Lemon Pledge back in the sixties when there were very few products for automotive interiors ;)

Pledge contains silicone polymers much like automobile specific products.

Ed A.
 
Because you sell expensive car waxes...??

Do you ever make a post without trying to be arrogant or sarcastic or actually helpful?


You could have a proper detailer prepare a car and put it next to one used with pledge or any similar product and it will look better and the appearance last longer and make it easier to clean next time.


Just because you don't see the point in things doesn't make you right! All you do is put people down or troll....
 
Do you ever make a post without trying to be arrogant or sarcastic or actually helpful?


You could have a proper detailer prepare a car and put it next to one used with pledge or any similar product and it will look better and the appearance last longer and make it easier to clean next time.


Just because you don't see the point in things doesn't make you right! All you do is put people down or troll....

Actually I think your post is the aggressive trolling one. No one is pretending that three pound of Pledge is the same as an 800 pound detail but unlike many who may have a view, I actually know because i've actually used it. Now back on topic please.
 
Many times diesel man makes comments about over priced detailing products....
Pledge has silicone in it so if you ever come to repaint a panel good luck in the paint not reacting!


Infact walk in to a paint shop and say I just sprayed silicone on my paint and want you to repaint it bet they tell you to piss off lol


Also I never mentioned a 800 quid detail! I bet a car with 100 quid of products that anyone could use looks a thousand times better than a car that has had pledge used on it lol
 
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What Dm has done in the past is irrelevant to here and now as I restated last week that we weren't having "running battles" on the forum. If any member tries to be disruptive then it will be dealt with. Dm's post was not on it's own offensive but your response was over the top. On topic. I am neither advocating or not advocating Pledge, I was just testing what people had claimed about it. How did you get on when you used it?
 
I put a few coats on the CLK and it did a good job as a QD like product once perfectly clean.

It won't produce swirls, those are inflicted by poor techniques not products. I can see hologramming becoming an issue if you apply too much but again, as R2D2 states, a little goes a long way.

It's not a product I would use long term as it is not as durable as wax or sealant but in the interest of trying it I used up my tin of Mr. Sheen (original) with no issues.
 
I tell you what ,I have just cleaned my coffee table with Autoglym Hd and it
is blindingly shiny...now wheres my sunglasses?
 
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I put a few coats on the CLK and it did a good job as a QD like product once perfectly clean.

It won't produce swirls, those are inflicted by poor techniques not products. I can see hologramming becoming an issue if you apply too much but again, as R2D2 states, a little goes a long way.

It's not a product I would use long term as it is not as durable as wax or sealant but in the interest of trying it I used up my tin of Mr. Sheen (original) with no issues.

I agree entirely. Also anything is removable by washing, claying, or polishing. Oh plus one could use ipa.
 
What Dm has done in the past is irrelevant to here and now as I restated last week that we weren't having "running battles" on the forum. If any member tries to be disruptive then it will be dealt with. Dm's post was not on it's own offensive but your response was over the top. On topic. I am neither advocating or not advocating Pledge, I was just testing what people had claimed about it. How did you get on when you used it?

I apologise for being aggressive.

I haven't used it and wouldn't used it for the above reason that I stated nothing will stick to silicone... For a re spray you will have to go down way below base coat to get any decent finish without reactions....



Have you ever tried to drive a car that has silicone spray on the dash on a sunny day? Then tried to clean it off?!

Even IPA won't fully shift silicones lol
 
I hear what you are saying but pledge or mrsheen isn't neat silicone and Marty and I both just washed it off. I won't be routinely using it but I'm not scared of using it either
 
If I fully machine polished my car, done a 50/50 of the bonnet with one half having a coat of Mr. Sheen (£2?) and the other half with my Zymol Vintage (£2k+ wax) I doubt the majority of people would be able to tell the difference.

The LSP (last stage product, wax or sealant) adds about 5% to the finish, the actual shine/depth comes from the prep - polishing.

P.S. I only have 6oz of Vintage not the full retail pack at £2k. :lol:

EDIT: on poorly finished paint, the Mr. Sheen would look better.

I also had a my bonnet and roof resprayed on the CL and both were taken right down to the metal and refinished properly. So even if the last owner did use silicone, it wouldn't have caused that much grief with the finish, the body shop should be competent in their work to not worry about silicone being present.

All just my 2c. :)
 
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Jesus, it escalates on here and goes back to zero quick. I have no argument in me and people are obviously more then welcome to do what they want to there vehicles. I'll get a video on on the weekend of what happens on my demonstration bonnet. All will be done under, halogen, halide, rupes swirl finder, 3m sun gun and if the suns out the sun itself. The idea is making paint look as good in direct sun light as it does in indirect sunlight. But no queries, we will see what the video shows:)
 

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