dawn liquid dishwasher soap

Trouble said:
With all due respect Chris. That article sounds like a bunch of gobbly-gook. It seems to me that the ones you always hear promoting using a dedicated car wash soap, are the very ones selling automotive detailing supplies

All I can say is I've been washing my personal car for 17 years every 2 weeks with Dawn and waxing every 2-3 months and am happy to report all of my seals are intact and my paint is immaculate and beads like nobodys business. My painter who commands as much as $75,000 pr vehicle uses Dawn too. If anyone would know about dishwashing liquid damaging paint, I assure you he would

Untill someone can provide some solid data that proves dishwashing liquid causes all these issues I see on the net, I'm going to always consider it just someone blowing smoke a.k.a. internet follklore a.k.a. someone who really doesn't know what there talking about

Kind regards,

Trouble :-B
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I just found it interesting...I didn't write it. For the record it's UV rays that manufacturers try their best to protect paint from, not detergent...but that's another thread. My personal experience with continued dish detergent is more brittle fender well plastics and a dull, but squeaky clean surface. That's fine for my dinnerware, but I want my car to look wet. And sure there are gimmicky products out there, but I don't think car wash shampoo makers are out to get us. Instead of asking for proof of damage, I'd rather know the "benefits" of using a product. I can't think of any benefit to using Dawn as your go to wash product, unless you're trying to save some coin by using what you have under the sink. The guys that use it to strip, I'm not talking about you...I'm saying with Zip Wash & Wax for $6 a gallon there is no reason to use dish soap over car wash regularly. I know a lot of people that have that "if it works" mentality, but I don't subscribe. We had discussion on another forum whe one guy was advocating using regular car wash as a rinseless...and another where a guy was using no rinse floor cleaner as a rinse less wash and loved it. Even when Dr G (organic chemist and Optimum Car Care founder) explained technically about different polymers for indoors and out, and how different floor surfaces and automotive coatings needs are the guy still said "oh, well it works fine for me."

To sum up, you can use Dawn if you like, but I prefer to use a dedicated automotive cleaner.
 
Hello, Well, I was surprised to read all of the responses here from the professional detailers.. I think it was Trouble--though not sure, who referenced a web site about dish soaps vs. car soaps, and I finished reading it.. Dr. Az--the chemist in Australia recommends---not to wash our cars with dish soaps as they will cause rust on metal areas like scratches etc...
My sister has returned the Dawn to the kitchen---ha.!! where it will be used for the purpose it was manufactured for. After all, she still wants me to go out and hand wax her corvette which I enjoy doing.!!-best to all of you, softoa.
 
I have applied Collinite to the stainless kitchen sink and it lasted through about 5 Dawn assaults. Which tells me that a low ratio does not strip a durable wax.

Yes Bunky, it appears to be more costly. And just what is the ratio (for stripping) of Dawn to water? Does anybody know?

CG does the job thoroughly and safely and is inexpensive.
 
If you like to use a dedicated car soap to wash then that's fine by me and if you like using dawn then that's fine also by me. Use what you like and want. I still be using a car soap for regular washing and once in a while use dawn for those problem areas when I need it. Remember it's detailing, not rocket science. Enjoy your detailing day!
 
Dawn

softoa said:
Hello, It seems a while back, I read on this site something about using Dawn---my sister is using it on her 05 Corvette to wash her car.. I've used BFire system on it last fall when she got it .. What does Dawn do---? Is this detergent what is used to get rid of the wax on a car? ,, seems like thats what I recall? thanks, softoa..
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Yes Dawn and Joy will definately remove the wax.
 
My guess as Mr gloss pointed out a low ratio Dawn will not strip wax , at least not right away.

And at a higher ratio it will strip wax . Now that makes everyone right and noone wrong doesnt it?:D

The personal attacks on this thread are ugly.

Im going to repeat Mr gloss question...."And just what is the ratio (for stripping) of Dawn to water? Does anybody know?" and what ratio is Trouble using to wash his car?

The answers will be revealing.
 
detailchick said:
My guess as Mr gloss pointed out a low ratio Dawn will not strip wax , at least not right away.
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I think this applies to many less than ideal car care techniques. One trip to a car wash does not mean it will look trashed. It obviously does not given people are repeat car wash users. It is the cumulative effect that counts but who knows about Dawn. I like nice smelling soaps so I do not use Dawn.
 
One should also point out that on the Dawn website it clearly states that their product should not be used to wash cars.

Can I use Dawn to clean things other than dishes?
Dawn is so effective in cutting grease on dishes that over the years, consumers have used Dawn on other greasy messes around their homes, from cleaning kitchen messes like grease build up on the stove range hood to oily spots in the garage. Dawn is not recommended for window cleaning, car washing, body wash or washing hair.
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....just my $.02
 
Wow....awsome discussion!!

Well, as a avid Dawn user both on my own car and on every client car I detail, I can honestly say that I've never witnessed it doing any harm. Except to wax and sealants that is. Especially after 2-3 washes with it. There is so much opinionated and undocumented folklore into this product that I've come just about to the boiling point of giving up talking about it any further. I have no paint dulling, trim deterioration and no corrosive effects to this date. I also think the hot environment that I'm in has a much accelerated effect on these items than most too. And, if I did, I'd love to see how someone could link it to Dawn. If someone can provide me with 1 schred of evidence I would love to digest it. I would think that with such strong opinions that some have taken over the years about this anti-Christ of this product that they would have seen something with their own eyes to document the barage of negativity.
 
While we are all free to have our own opinions and make our decisions on how we talk to people, we have to accept the consequences of those actions/opinions.

Trust me, I like a heated (luke warm) debate and a lot of knowledge can be shared with such discussion. However we (PAC) are not going to allow personal attacks on this forum, so please respect that. For the time being I will ask the other mods to keep the discussion open.
 
RaskyR1 said:
One should also point out that on the Dawn website it clearly states that their product should not be used to wash cars.



....just my $.02
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Similar to how Woolite states that woolite shouldn't be used in situations where it can not be flushed off with copious amounts of water... Just saying... ;)
 
th0001 said:
Similar to how Woolite states that woolite shouldn't be used in situations where it can not be flushed off with copious amounts of water... Just saying... ;)
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Not saying using Dawn is a bad thing, just wanted to share what they had listed on their own web page, for whatever reason it may be. ;)

Admittedly I have used Dawn from time to time to strip off LSP or to prep a surface, but I would never use it as a regular car wash on my own car. There are SO many other dedicated car wash soaps out there that do a better job and are much more gentle on the paint IMO.

David, I don't think they were suggesting harm from using it to clean glass, but I can only imagine the soapy mess it would make if you mixed dawn into a spray bottle for cleaning windows....



Rasky
 
th0001 said:
Roots how have you been sir?
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Todd, I've been doing well - thanks for asking. The kids are getting older and getting into a lot more activities which tend to be pretty time consuming - so I've missed the chat nights for a while now. Maybe sometime this summer I'll be able to catch up with you guys on Tuesdays.

Hope all is well with you!

-J
 
Trouble said:
All I can say is I've been washing my personal car for 17 years every 2 weeks with Dawn and waxing every 2-3 months and am happy to report all of my seals are intact and my paint is immaculate and beads like nobodys business. My painter who commands as much as $75,000 pr vehicle uses Dawn too. If anyone would know about dishwashing liquid damaging paint, I assure you he would

Trouble :-B
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I'm happy to report that my car is still beading after 8 or 9 Dawn washes and 3 months since my last LSP. My seals are all still intact and so is my glass

I thought I might offer to send 3 cans of this LSP I use to 3 different parts of the Country for you guys to test. Then I thought, why waste my money

If anyone would like to try this wax, drop me a PM, and I will direct you to the proper source

Your trusted confidant,

Trouble :-B
 
I don't understand why someone would use Dawn on a regular basis to wash their car. Seems to me that as cheap as car shampoo is, you know the car soap should be specifically formulated for automotive use, whereas Dawn may or may not be.

Seems like it would be the same as using Dawn to bathe and wash your hair in....you could do it, but it may not be the best option.
 
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