Bon-Ami (Was RainX, etc.

[Larry C Leung]

I HOPE it's NOT made from Feldspar. On the Moh's hardness scale, it's
rated 6.0 in all of it's varieties (potassium, calcium, sodium)
[Spaulding and Namowitz, "Earth Science", D.C. Heath and Co.]. Most glass
(flint, crown) has a hardness of 5.5. Pyrex is a little harder at 6.0. I
don't know what auto glass is, but it's likely to be close. So either
auto glass is say, 6.5, or Bon Ami (means Good Friend in French) doesn't
really have Feldspar. (Perhaps Flourite (4) or Apetite (5) or something
like that). 

LL - NY 

On Mon, 16 Apr 2001 17:26:49 -0400 Kelvin <kelvin at ptdprolog.net> writes:
>DAWSON-MD commented...
>
>>A few years ago the TV show "Shadetree Mechanic" toured the R&D 
>facilities
>>of a large wiper manufacture (Tricon?) where they used BonAmi to 
>clean their
>>windshields. I have used it successfully since then, it will really 
>take the
>>road film off. BonAmi is the ONLY brand to use as it is made from, if 
>I
>>remember correctly, a corn by-product. 
>If I recall correctly, Bon-Ami is made from powdered feldspar, a soft 
>
>mineral that usually gives granite its color, and calcium carbonate, 
>an 
>even softer mineral (and both are softer than almost every kind of 
>glass, 
>even old fashioned soda-lime glass). The manufacturers of Bon-Ami 
>almost 
>went under a decade or so ago because of lousy marketing but managed 
>to 
>revive the product. It's invaluable as a windshield cleaner but also 
>in 
>your house where it will clean porcelain and stainless steel without 
>scratching them. In other words your bath tub and sinks will last 
>years 
>longer if cleaned with Bon-Ami.
>
>>Comet and other brands are made with
>>fine abrasive mineral particles, ie. liquid sandpaper!
>Aptly put. They do, in fact, usually contain very fine silicon 
>dioxide, 
>otherwise known as sand, or when fused, glass, plus a range of 
>bleaches 
>and other aggressive chemicals.
>
>Kelvin Kean