i like to wash my car myself, and wondered if anyone else here used dishwashing soap? i've read mixed reviews online about it, and was wondering if someone could give me a definite answer.


thanks

 

Dawn has been used regularly in the professional detailing community for as long as I remember. This only applies to the original blue Dawn (not the concentrated). Though Dawn is safe for the surface of cars, it is known to strip any protectant such as wax or sealant. So after you wash with Dawn, you would have to wax again.

Do not use any other brands of dish washing liquid.

 

Dawn is great...


...when you want to strip your car down to the clear coat. I do this couple times a year and then follow it with a clay bar... followed by two coats of Tech Wax 2.0.

If you have wax on the car... just use regular car wash soap.

 

Just get car wash soap. You should only use Dawn for removing wax and sealant. Excessive use of dish washing soap can dry out plastic trims and moldings.

 

been using it for 7 yrs
od

 

I use Palmolive. It's safe for my hands.

 

You should wash it with car wash soap first then dish soap if you plan on clay barring/waxing. Car soap is formualted with a mild wax in it to cut down on small scrathes. If you use dish soap your car will be sqeaking clean but the paint will have no protection.

 

Never tried dishwashing liquids to clean my car. I should try it and it's cheaper than those car wash cleansers.

 

do you actually read the threads you post in?

 

Detailing soaps are just expensive dish washing soaps...
Many riders here even use wood liquid wax ("Pronto legno vivo" made by johnson SC ) to wax the clearcoated parts of their bikes with excellent results.

 

What's wrong with using concentrated dawn? Can I just use less of it, or is it strictly prohibited?

 

Regular Dawn itself already has a high enough alkaline mix in it, which also acts as degreaser. Any more, you may be damaging the rubber seals and trims in the long run. Dawn is often used as a degreaser (cleaning animals and birds after oil spills), which obviously takes off oil from surfaces- Hence the reason your hands are dry after dish washing.

I would not try any other brands because some contain bleach and abrasives.

 

Right, I only plan to use it once so I can clay bar the paint, then, polish and wax.

 

ahhhhh...not sure about that...ahhhhh...let me think very very hard...ahhhhh....let me get back to you, okay!

 

Shouldn't be a huge problem.