The Dawn Wash (let's be a little more clear)

[Neo62381]

I don't know about ever using laundry detergents on anything any time soon;-) (no pun intended)
I definateley know what you mean by rinse issues.
One thing I really like to do during a dawn wash, especially on a really messed up vehicle is clay, for some reason all those many contaminants just seem to "release" into the clay just a tad bit easier.

I really feel like the more experienced detailers here on this board, are looking at me shaking thier head going "stupid kid". But FWIW when I'm working on the reaaaly nasty looking cars, that have seen NO love whatsoever....It really does make the job a tad more easier. BUT....I would NEVER use Dawn on ANY THING in more than semi-decent shape!

[Accumulator]

Originally Posted by Neo62381

I really feel like the more experienced detailers here on this board, are looking at me shaking thier head going "stupid kid". But FWIW ....It really does make the job a tad more easier...

Maybe some are doing that, but not all If something works for you I wouldn't care what anybody says. Heh heh, similar to the dire warnings about Dawn, I remember people saying that putting wax on my Jag's rubber trim would mess it up ("the petroleum distillates will degrade the rubber")...after 20-some years of doing it there are no problems at all. Go by your own experience when you know something works, just be careful when doing outside-the-box experiments until you're sure it's OK.

[Deanski]

Ah for Christ Sake! Come on...It's only a soap/detergent!

What the hell, are you all going to wash the car every damn day with this? No?? Didn't think so. Move on!

You're not going to watch your trim and rubber dry out.

If you use it just to nock-off some heavy dirt or strip oils and waxes only so often, you're not hurting a damn thing. You are going to still clay and polish correct? Christ-O-Mighty, what a lot of whinning about Dawn. If I was Artie Lang it would be more like this: WAHHH Dawn's going to dry out my rubber WAHHH it's drying out my plastic WAHHHH my tires just melted WAHHHH. (GO SEE BEER LEAGUE) [shamless plug].

Now go and find something else to discuss.

Regards,
Deanski

[blkZ28Conv]

Show some emotion why don't you Deanski.

[Deanski]

Originally Posted by blkZ28Conv

Show some emotion why don't you Deanski.

You know, it's just funny to worry about washing a finish with a detergent once in a while or just one time. After all, it's not acid.

WAHHHH

Deanski

[Setec Astronomy]

Yeah, it's kind of funny that people are concerned about washing their car with a detergent that people put their hands in every day (including women with their clear-coated paint jobs--on their nails), but they don't seem too concerned about using the decon systems which actually have very harsh alkaline cleaners as well as ACID cleaners.

[blkZ28Conv]

Here is a good post from several years ago featuring Mr. Chemist from Mother's.

http://autopia.org/forum/showthread.php?t=42742

[Setec Astronomy]

Originally Posted by blkZ28Conv

Here is a good post from several years ago featuring Mr. Chemist from Mother's.

http://autopia.org/forum/showthread.php?t=42742

Oh great, another ****ing contest.

[blkZ28Conv]

Originally Posted by Setec Astronomy

Oh great, another ****ing contest.

Actually not. Some valid chemistry was presented for those that desire to learn rather than shoot from the hip.

[TigerMike]

Originally Posted by Setec Astronomy

Yeah, it's kind of funny that people are concerned about washing their car with a detergent that people put their hands in every day (including women with their clear-coated paint jobs--on their nails), but they don't seem too concerned about using the decon systems which actually have very harsh alkaline cleaners as well as ACID cleaners.

My thoughts exactly.

Not that washing with DAWN is a good idea for every wash, but 1-2 times a year is NEVER going to hurt a thing. I always thought it was funny to read about how bad people think Dawn is....

Kinda odd that folks think Dawn is horrid, yet have no problem taking harsh compounds to their paint that actually DO remove a certain level of clear and/or paint. How twisted...

[Setec Astronomy]

Well, as usual, here and in the thread that BlkZ28Conv linked, and every other Dawn thread, this has been beaten to death, and if anything, serves to reinforce that the marketing guys really DO have a real job, since they have people convinced that a detergent with the same ingredients is good for one application but not another, that the same MF towel in a different color is a different towel, and that a Mercury is really a different car than a Ford.

Hey, but that Charlie's Soap "cleans everything from false teeth to diesel engines!" It must be made from some special stuff that the big chemical companies can't duplicate...or is it just that they are using the reverse marketing tactic, suggesting you buy one product for everything instead of an individual product for each use...hmmm....the world is full of mysteries...

[Zet]

You fail to notice that many here is asking WHY to do the wash with Dawn.

It probably won't hurt washing once with Dawn before a detail, but why do it? IMO it doesn't clean any better than a car wash soap. If you re-read this bit from Procter & Gamble: "Your car surface and the dirt that gets on it are a lot different from the food soils and dishes that dishwashing liquids clean effectively". You will notice that P&G are saying that Dawn isn't designed for the kind of dirt that gets on cars, it is designed to remove food soils. Anyone struggling with food soils before a detail

Sure it will help to remove oils if you wanted to do that, but a APC dilluted correctly will work a lot better for this purpose. So again, why use Dawn? Also as DennisH posted, Dawn contains additives that replenish oils in the skin, and a kind of wax to help sheet water from dishes, why would you wan't to add those additives and conditioners to the surface of the car?

Sure it's cheap, but this being Autopia I wouldn't think the goal were to try and find the cheapest way to clean our cars...