Dynamite Traffic Film Remover - The Pre Wash With Many Uses

The ultimate citrus-based pre wash… but that's not all!

Dynamite Traffic Film Remover is one of our most versatile detailing products. Not only can this next-generation pre wash be used as the ultimate dilute-to-suit pre cleaner to safely tackle bugs, heavy grime and traffic films before you contact wash, but it can be adapted to a whole host of other deep-cleaning and degreasing tasks, too.

Versatility is the key with this heavy-duty, citrus-based cleaning agent. So, let’s take a closer look to see what it’s all about…

What is Dynamite TFR?

Dynamite is a powerful cleaning agent that uses advanced surfactants and degreasers to pull bonded grime away from surfaces, lifting potentially harmful particles and encapsulating them in the solution. This allows heavy grit and grime to be rinsed away without touching the surface underneath, eliminating the risk of them causing scratches and swirl marks.

This product is what’s known as a pre-cleaner - a specialist detailing product that’s used in the pre wash stage to remove heavy particles that may scratch if dragged across the more sensitive surfaces during your contact wash. This process is designed to be completely contactless; you essentially spray a suitable dilution of Dynamite over the whole vehicle exterior, leave it to get to work for a few minutes, and then rinse away the grime trapped in the solution.

As Dynamite is for use over your whole vehicle it won’t harm any part of your car. It’s safe to use this solution on paintwork, glass, vinyl wraps, rubber, plastic trim and wheels. It also won’t strip or degrade any protection layers such as waxes, paint sealants and ceramic coatings, making it the ultimate product for a fuss-free pre wash.

So, this product was initially developed to help you achieve a swirl-free pre wash. But what’s also important is that Dynamite is supplied as an ultra-concentrated cleaning solution. This means it can also be diluted to different ratios to perform a number of other cleaning tasks around your vehicle.

Why is Dynamite supplied as a concentrate?

This concentrated solution should be diluted for each task. The reason isn’t only to save you money along the way (1-litre of Dynamite makes up to 10-litres of powerful cleaning solution, after all) Diluting your Dynamite is more about having the correct amount of cleaning agent in the solution for the area you’re cleaning.

Cleaners that we use for the safest detailing are essentially designed to dissolve grime in their own solution, surrounding particles and making them safe to remove by rinsing or wiping. The only part of the solution that can carry out this task this is the cleaning agent itself. But any proportion of cleaning agent in the solution can only hold on to so much grime before it’s, what we call in detailing, spent. With this in mind, it makes sense that the more cleaning agent you have in your solution, the more grime it can surround. So, a stronger dilution of cleaning agent is best for heavier soiling, while a slightly less potent solution is best for lighter cleaning – otherwise you’re just wasting your cleaning agent.

If for example we’re looking at a contactless pre wash on a filthy van that’s caked in contamination, it may require a 1:6 dilution to remove all the grime safely. However, a detailed car that’s been protected in the past may only require a 1:10 dilution for a spot of light maintenance.

When it comes to cleaning other areas of your car - say your wheels or engine bay - we can use Dynamite in a different way. Here it’s not a contactless cleaner as such, because we’ll use a little agitation to make the most of the degreasing and deep-cleaning abilities. Agitation, in this respect, isn’t a case of mechanical cleaning, or physically scrubbing away the grime, it’s simply a means of making sure that your cleaning agent makes contact with every little nook and recess, so it can do its job. The action of agitation also helps to refresh the solution at the same time. Basically, you’re moving away any spent solution – or solution containing the maximum amount of grime – and moving in fresh cleaning solution to work on any grime that remains. This is why, away from the pre wash stages, agitation is the most effective way of making the most of all your cleaning products.

The good news is that diluting Dynamite is easy – a 1:10 dilution is 10 parts water to 1 part Dynamite Concentrate, a 1:5 is 5 parts water, a 1:2 is 2 parts water and so on.

If you’d like to make life even easier, not to mention get perfect application every time, our Pro Bottle and Foaming Pressure Sprayer both have large bottles that are marked in increments to help you get the perfect dilution. Simply pour in your Dynamite, top up with water and you’re ready to go.

How do surfactants and degreasers safely clean surfaces?

We’ve already said that the cleaning agents in Dynamite pull grime off of surfaces and trap it in the solution itself. So, the real question is how do they achieve this? Well, it’s all to do with how these surfactants and degreasers combine with water to work in harmony on a molecular level.

Dynamite is a combination of anionic surfactants used to break down soiling, non-ionic surfactants used for degreasing and water. The surfactants are what’s known as polar molecules: one end is attracted to the grime (the head), the other to the water in the solution (the tail). When the surfactant makes contact with grime particles on the surface the head locks on to the particles, but the tail pulls against it because it wants to get to the water. This is how the surfactant molecule physically pulls dirt from the surface and the reason why they simply can’t work without water. If there’s no water to pull on the surfactants, essentially all you have is the cleaning agent and the grime. It’s also why we never let any cleaner dry on our cars, it doesn’t remove the grime for starters but it can also lead to staining.

After the grime is free and floating in the solution, millions of surfactant molecules surround it, preventing it from attaching itself back to the surface. When this happens, you rinse or wipe it away.

As for the degreasers, these work by taking large fatty molecules and breaking them down into smaller fatty molecules that can be surrounded in the solution. In other words, they take fats and oils and make them into a manageable size for the other surfactants to remove.

Where can I use Dynamite when cleaning my car?

This product has many uses depending on the dilutions you choose. Here's a few of the best tips and tricks for using Dynamite from our professional detailers...

Pre Wash (Contactless) 1:6 – 1:10

From the very beginning Dynamite has been developed for use during the pre wash stage. Now, we all know that it’s important to carry out a full pre wash, using a pre cleaner, before your contact wash on every detail, no matter how clean your car seems to be. The reason is simple, any stray dirt particles, no matter how small, have the potential to inflict swirls and scratches. Using Dynamite is essential to make sure they’re shifted before you make any contact.

What’s also important is to pre wash no matter the time of year. We’ve heard many say that Dynamite is a pre wash for really dirty cars, particularly in winter. And, while that’s true, it’s important to use this product during the other three seasons too. There may not be quite the concentration of salt and heavy grime on the road in spring and summer, but the hotter months come with their own detailing challenges. When it’s warmer we see far more bugs on the road, and acidic bug splatter can damage your paintwork just as much as traffic films. Using a pre wash all-year-round is the only way to remove all types of potentially harmful contamination.

When it comes to diluting your Dynamite for use as a pre cleaner, around 1:6 will be enough to tackle the filthiest cars and vans, while 1:10 is ideal for lighter grime on protected paintwork. Application is just as easy as dilution - simply spray on, leave for a bit while it breaks down the grime (without letting it dry) and then rinse. Easy.

Cleaning Wheels (1:2)

Dynamite is great in a 1:2 dilution for use as a wheel cleaner. The best thing is it can be utilised on all wheel finishes and it won’t strip away any wheel coatings, sealants or waxes.

Wheels tend to suffer from the most exposure to the worst types of contamination, this includes heavy grime, salt and brake dust. The good news is that they’re all the types of contaminants that Dynamite will happily power through with a minimum of effort

When cleaning wheels a little agitation is needed to make sure that the solution is getting to every are, and that it’s refreshed when needed. But the process is very simple and it’s best to work on one wheel at a time before moving onto the next.

First rinse down your wheel fully. This quick pre-rinse removes any loose grime and makes sure that your cleaner is getting to work on the bonded stuff. It also cuts down on product wastage because you’re not using up your Dynamite on grime that can be removed by water pressure alone.

Next apply your Dynamite liberally over the whole wheel. Get plenty on there being sure to get it in all the recesses as much as possible. After that you can lightly agitate the solution into the barrels with a suitable wheel brush, such as a Barrel Brush or a Microfibre Wheel Brush (as we’ve used here). Once the inner barrels have been agitated, move on to the more awkward recess, the faces and behind the spokes using a Plush Wheel Mitt. And then finish up with the lips, nut recesses and any other areas using a scratch-free Detailing Brush.

When every surface has been agitated, you can safely rinse away the grime and move onto the next one.

Engine Bays (1:2 – 1:1)

With a strong 1:1 solution you can tackle the dirtiest, oily engine bays with ease. This is where the heavy degreasing action is used to shift the greasiest stains on any material you’ll find in your engine bay, and of course, the underside of your bonnet.

If it’s a modern bay you’re cleaning, the process is pretty effortless. Modern cars usually have a host of plastic covers to protect the most vital components. So, as long as you don’t poke your pressure washer right in in there and blast away, and avoid parts such as batteries, air filters and alternators. You can simply mist you washer over surfaces without the risk of causing damage.

Simply apply your Dynamite liberally, brush into all areas using a soft Detailing Brush (or Hog Hair Brush) and then rinse away the residue. The key to the process here is making sure your cleaner makes contact with all the little nooks and recesses, so take your time to agitate thoroughly. In this case we’re using a foam attachment on our Foaming Pressure Sprayer to whip up the solution some lingering suds but Dynamite works just as well if you simply spray it on.

For older engine bays, and modified bays with exposed components, you may feel that a little more targeted use is in order. So, in these cases we’d avoid the pressure washer and spray a little Dynamite directly onto each small area. Then you can agitate and wipe with a Microfibre Work Cloth.

Fuel Flaps, Door Jambs & Shuts (1:5 – 1:3)

The fact that Dynamite is dilutable makes it suitable for surface-safe cleaning on all sorts of commonly forgotten areas. Grimy door jambs and boot shuts are some of the most overlooked parts when detailing, along with those inevitably fuel stained flaps. Dynamite can tackle all these safely, and with ease.

A 1:3 dilution will be enough to deep-clean the greasiest areas and fuel stains, and general deep-cleaning only requires a 1:5 dilution. These areas are best with targeted cleaning so either spray your solution directly onto the area and then agitate lightly with a Detailing Brush, or spray onto your brush instead and work the solution in that way. Once agitated you can wipe away the grime with your Microfibre Work Cloth.

Chassis Underside Cleaning (1:1)

The area that suffers from the most exposure to the most harmful contamination, not to mention the one that’s hardest to clean, is the underside of the chassis which includes the inner arches, brakes and suspension components. Now, while a lot of these parts you don’t actually see, periodic cleaning is still important to prevent the early onset of corrosion, which can be brought on by corrosive elements such as heavy grime and road salt. Why do you think that during many a detail we get the wheels off first? It’s to make sure we have the access for the most through clean on the dirtiest vehicles.

A ‘half and half’ or 1:1 dilution of Dynamite is great for these areas and - aside from on more sensitive components like posh brake calipers where you only want a little light agitation with your Detailing Brush – you’re not going to do any harm with a little mechanical cleaning. Scrubbing plastic arch liners and suspension with a stiff brush like our Rubber Scrubber Tyre Brush will help draw out and break down any stubborn grime. A long bristle brush like our Arch Blaster Arch Brush is also useful for shifting mud and getting right into all the nooks. In these areas you apply your Dynamite directly and liberally, and scrub away thoroughly before rinsing and wiping.

Dynamite Traffic Film Remover Concentrate is available in 1-litre and 5-litre bottles.

For more top detailing guides and product spotlights check out the Guides Section Of Our Blog.