Hmm, is it okay to use Dish washer soap as the soap or is it too harsh on the paint/clear coat?

 

NOT GOOD!!!!!

You need to get special soap for cars.. By using Dish Soap you remove the wax from your paint... not good...

SB

 

Actually, if you want a clean wax bond, then yes, use dish soap. It removes all the alkaline and wax (esentially stripping your car bare) from the finish. Keep in mind though, your car is COMPLETELY unprotected. If you're going to do dish soap, make sure you plan the rest of your day to wax and polish up the car. I usually do the dish soap in the beginning of the summer or late spring

 

Isn't part of the Zaino process a washing with Dawn to get off whatever wax is there?

 

Yeah, Zaino wants you to wash with Dawn before you start the Zaino process. It is supposed to strip whatever other wax was on the car before Zaino. But like others have said, it's not a good idea to use dish soap regularly. Spring for some decent car wash soap. I like 1Z Perls, and while I don't care for most of their stuff, Griots Garage makes some nice car wash as well.

 

I agree with Loco. Use a speciality soap (or even a product, like Meg's Step 1 Paint Cleaner) to strip your old layers of wax, not Dawn. Two problems with dish soap: 1) They're 'degreasers,' so they make your paint extremely dry and prone to cracking, and 2) they don't necessarily work to remove most modern synthetics.

Here are a few of the many articles out there on the matter...
http://www.web-cars.com/detail/wash.php
http://www.properautocare.com/remexwaxorse.html

 

If you wash your car enough, like me, you don't need soap.

 

as some have said it will strip all the wax and stuff off, so your car will go back to just paint. It wont hurt any gel/clear coat or paint. Some people seem to think it does as they arnt use to the car looks with no wax on it.

I wash my car usaly once a week, sometime more (if i was it before a car show, or after a trackday/autox) with 'car soap' on top of that once ever month or so i wash the car with Dawn dish soap. I wet it down, wash it 3 times with dish soap (rinse in bettween) and then dry it off.

This helps get sap, old wax, oil, road goo, ect off the surface of the car, and lets the new wax bond to it much better.

IMO : wax is there to collect all the crap and dirt from the road so it doesnt touch the paint. So when you put new wax on old wax, your just sealing in the dirt.

Im sure its a little different if you follow one of the wax systems, like mothers with the prewax cleaner, wax and then wax sealer.