Its long but please read. Ok so I work as a lot attendant at a dealership near my house and this summer is my second year. I just got back this week from school and we are now carrying new detailing products from a different company (Valvoline Carbrite) and as I was looking at them all I saw that gave us wheel acid. Knowing how bad alot of wheel acids are I looked at the label and saw it was a 10% hydrofluoric acid concentration. One guy who works there full time now uses it nonstop even on brand new cars! And here is the worst part, when he is doing a detail he soaks the entire wheel in it and scrubs the wheels w/o gloves, mask, glasses or anything!!! I have continuously told him how bad that stuff is and how it can cause some serious health problems but he simply will not listen. I am seriously worried that something very bad is going to happen from this and I don’t know what to do. I am thinking about going to the manager or owner who I know personally and telling them about this stuff to get it out of there. I am wondering if anyone has some good articles or sources about the dangers of hydrofluoric wheel cleaners, thanks.
They dont care. Trust me. I used to work at a dealershp. They want the fastest and most efficient cleaning products so they can get a fast turnaround time. Also you wouldnt happen to be talking about "Sterling" would you?
It’s very commendable of you to be concerned about the health and safety of your colleagues. I have been trying to raise the awareness of the health risks posed by using HF but most people either do not or care not to believe it. There are specific ordinance to enforce Hydrofluoric acid hazard spill control / exposure and treatment methods and specific materials, most of which are just not going to be in the enthusiast or even mobile detailer's toolkit, non-compliance can result in heavy penalties. HF also has the unique ability to dissolve almost all inorganic oxides. In the human body, hydrofluoric acid reacts with calcium and damages nerves, bone, and several organs including the heart and kidneys. Normal alkaline materials don't neutralize the effect of HF. You need an alkaline material that contains calcium; it is recommended to have Calcium gluconate available when handling HF. - Hydrofluoric acid - Hydrofluoric acid - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
its very commendable of you to take this approach towards the use of wheel acid at the workplace. trust me, i feel your pain. i work at a dealership as a detailer, and a few of my guys insist on using "buster" wheel acid on every wheel as well. i've even seen it used on paint! while i would love to not have to use it at all, i honestly feel that in the dealership setting, sometimes it a necessary evil. dealership suppliers dont have access to such great products that we do like Autoglym Custom wheel cleaner, P21S Wheel Gel, or even Sonax Full Effect. correction, they are not willing to pay a premium to utilize these products which are better and safer, when they can get a 5 gallon container of wheel acid for like $55 bucks. people like you and me are the eexception in dealership settings. we're a rarity for lack of better terms....being those who KNOW BETTER. everyone else, its more or less the blind leading the blind, and its a VERY HARD uphill battle to educate your coworkers andchange their minds and processes. trust me, i've been trying for multiple years, and lately have pretty much given up. people in dealership settings simply dont know any better. they dont know that there's more or better or safer products, methods, or ideas out there about detailing. case in point, try explaining to a run of the mill dealership detailer that there are more pads out there than white twisted wool and black finishing, he'll look at you like you have ten heads, lol. same goes with stuff like wheel acid, its been a staple of dealership work for so long, that its hard to talk people into using anything else. its all about dollar signs and productivity levels. not quality and safety. lol sterling. used that before, ill admit. i believe trans-mate makes that product if i remember correctly. is HF the active ingredient in it?
Haha!! I think you are right. It might of been Trans-mate cause we used product from them carbrite, and ardex. Now buster, that is some crazy shit!! It's thick like carmel, strong as all hell(makes MEGS WB look like water) and it burns if you leave it on your skin too long. I just looked up the MSDS for sterling and HF is the active ingrediant in it just like Megs WB. Funny thing is, sterling looks and smelled like Megs WB also.
