Seriously; has anyone ever tried to buff a car finish with tooth paste?

You might think this is a really stupid question, and then you go to buy a jug of compound and see the price of it, when you use it unless it was a real top shelf high price system product you really are not to happy with the result.
Brushing my teeth this morning with my 3 dollar tube of paste I really wondered if it could work and if anyone ever did it. Its non toxic and maybe minty.
So I mixed it with half water and made a nice slurry out of it and put a foam pad to it, it don't cut to well but it does polish out sort of nice, Crest pro whitening, anybody else do this make their own or just want to have a good laugh, add to it. By the way now the shop smells nice and minty fresh.

 

And your ride will never have a cavity. Stu

 

I'm gonna guess it's too fine to do paint with. And by the time you buy enough to do a car with it's gonna cost more than the real deal.
As a side note, we did use toothpaste for cleaning small scratches and haze off helmet face shields back in the 70's. Worked pretty well.
Larry T

 

just buy the real stuff.

 

compound isnt that expensive for what it is. you can pick a tub up for as cheap as £5 also, wouldnt it only work on white cars

 

Yes but I only do it with Mint green and Pearl White cars.

 

Seriously, are you serious? I guess it would work on the grille teeth

 

toothpaste is an abrasive

I've cleaned water ring marks left by gl***es on wood tables

it might work on cars but use real automotive products

 

use to polish model car paint with it

 

This guy is very interested in this thread.

 

This guy goes through 43 tubes of Colgate a week!

 

It's not working!

Seriously, modelers discovered it years ago, very fine abrasive worked well on model cars. I am guessing a lot of the newer gels etc. are non abrasive.

 

I have used regular Colgate to polish carved Alabaster sculptures, and to rub out the occasional scuff on a car when I didn't have any compound handy.
You have to have the surface wet sanded to at least 1200 grit first though...

Since Colgate sands/polishes stone so well I don't think I would use it on teeth!

In large amounts the sweet smell can get overwhelming so work in a ventilated area.

 

It might work good on whitewalls

 

Are you pals with McGuire or something?

Toothpaste works well as a metal polish (so does cola... gadzooks! not a "real automotive product" either! ), never tried it on paint.

Our garages are full of things that work because they work, not because some marketing ***hole stuck a designer "Real Automotive Product™" label on it and jacked up the price. If something works don't knock it.

 

About 1978 I had a white 58 ford 4 door that I was selling.

The paint was badly oxidized and after washing and cleaning up the car it still looked bad.

A neighbor came over and suggested that I wash it again using a small rag and Comet cleanser.

It worked beautifully and after I sold it I would see it from time to time.

The old man who bought it washed and waxed it often and it looked almost like new.

I have used it since and have had mixed results. I always try it in a place that doesn't show like under the hood or in the trunk area.

It works well on old original ford paint but really takes off finish fast.

You have to watch sharp edges and I only use it as a last resort.

An other time I came out in the morning to find that kids had spray painted something on my Wifes white Ford Aerostar.

Again a neighbor suggested that I remove the spray paint with carburator cleaner. He suggested that I try it under the hatch back to make sure that it wouldn't hurt the finish.

Again it worked fine and after using it the Aerostar got the only wax job ever.

Both of these suggestions are in the last resort catagory and might not work at all with modern paint.

****

 

ive heard stories from old time paint and body guys that they use to use toothpaste back in the day on lacquer paint. i would imagine that urethanes are too hard for it to be any real use. good compound really isnt that expensive and if used right it doesnt take that much compound to do a whole car.

 

If you have a set of aluminum rims with a heavy oxide on them try Gojo hand cleaner with pumice, they should sell a power ball with Gojo.

 

How many ozs. are in a tube of toothpaste?? Maybe 5?

No. 7 Polishing Compound 10 oz.
No 7 Rubbing Compound is a strong, abrasive clean for restoring shine ... $3.99

 

I know the old ladys douche powder won't buff one out.........

 

Works great on clear plastic.

 

We used to do rear windows on convertibles with it, the vinyl or plastic ones. Removed those fine marks from cleaning them.

 

Or MacGruber for the kids out there.

I hear Preperation-H keeps your exhaust clear and obstruction free.

 

I've used tooth paste on chrome emblems when I didn't have anything else handy. Works but never struck me as the ideal answer.

 

Don't remember anything about tooth paste. I know some that used tooth Powder. The final rub for Lacquer was always corn starch. I think all the high tech new products for all the new paints are still based on what we used to buy at the corner market. so it's hard for me to scoff at any home remedies, if they get the job done.

 

I don't know about paint, but it sure puts a nice finish on valves.

 

Back in the day tooth paste was used on main bearing shells of flatheads, and was said to be a good micro polish.

 

FRANCISCO...do you realy think one can of wax cost more then 20 tubes of toothpast...NANOO NANOO get back in your spacecraft! O and don't forget to FL*** behind the bumpers...POP.

 

nothing like a crest shine and a minty fresh paint job lol

 

Sooo, Should us old timers replace silicone gasket cement with Fixodent?