Dish Soap Residue????

Beemerboy

Beemerboy

Just One More Coat
I was watching the neighbor yesterday wash his car with dish soap...and couldn't help to wonder if there was a residue left on the car after they rinsed it off...When you wash dishes you use hot water to get the residue off...so I'm guessing that some is still left on the car since its cold water that you use....my next thoughts was if some one now lays a coat of wax or any other LSP...then you are rubbing in soap residue at the same time.

What are your thoughts on this??
 
Very good point. I hadn't thought of that when trying to dissuade people from using dish soap for their vehicles.

I'd think that it would be pretty tough to get off too. It always takes a long time to get off of my hands when I wash them in the kitchen sink. I've never used it to wash my vehicle, so I can't be 100% sure.
 
I used DAWN dish soap on a black car in order to remove all the wax that was previously on it ,then while the car was still wet ,I clayed the paint using it as lubricant,of course when I finished I rinsed the car and dried it to receive a cote of polish and sealant.
The sealant didn't seem to have any problem bonding with the paint though,it has been 3 weeks and water still beads like the first day.

So I (with my untrained eyes)didn't see any adverse effects using the dish soap .:)
 
distrbd said:
I used DAWN dish soap on a black car in order to remove all the wax that was previously on it ,then while the car was still wet ,I clayed the paint using it as lubricant,of course when I finished I rinsed the car and dried it to receive a cote of polish and sealant.
The sealant didn't seem to have any problem bonding with the paint though,it has been 3 weeks and water still beads like the first day.

So I (with my untrained eyes)didn't see any adverse effects using the dish soap .:)
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The clay removed everything that was on the surface...including the soap residue....what I was saying if you didn't clay then there would be a reside left on the car
 
a QD or polish will remove the soap residue, but I doubt the clay alone would do the trick, it's only meant to pick up surface contaminants
 
audiboy said:
It always takes a long time to get off of my hands when I wash them in the kitchen sink. I've never used it to wash my vehicle, so I can't be 100% sure.
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Almost without fail, I've noticed that every cleaner I've used in the kitchen - dish soap, Soft Scrub, Clorox Spray & Wipe etc, seems to take forever to rinse off my hands. But at the same time, unless I've used waaay too much, or didn't fully mix the soap with water, it rinses right off whatever I'm cleaning...literally 'squeaky clean.' I don't think you can judge whether or not something rinses off cleanly by using something soft and porous, like your hands or automotive interior leather etc as your test medium.

So unless you apply the soap directly to the car's surface, then try to rinse it right off without doing anything else, I don't see why it wouldn't rinse away cleanly.
 
As far as rinsing with cold water and a residue being left behind? i never experienced this first or second hand... the main factor would be how much soap was used in the first place to leave the residue or how well the washing technique was performed.

(excuse me while i clean a few cob webs out of here) were going way back.
As a youngster i was taught in our house hold to rinse with cold water.. 2 reasons,
1 cold water cuts down on the suds in the drain
2 it kept the electric bill a tad bit lower.

I asked the wife what she does her answer was she will rinse class and crystal in cold water everything else she will use a luke warm water... no reasoning behind why she does it that way.............. i backed slowly out of the room as to not startle her.:D


I am one of those hold-outs that belive if i were going to do a full body scrub on a veh that was NOT maintained the cut of a dish soap works wonders over all my other products i carry. I also resist the "add a little bit more" syndrome.

This opinion is not up for discussion unless you can SHOW (not tell me) a detailing product works as aggressive and as fast. also i do not want to take this post off on a tangent.
 
For many years, I never had any problems using Ivory liquid dishsoap for washing cars. It worked just fine, even on black vehicles. I never noticed wax stripping or any residual residue. It would sometimes streak if left to dry on a vehicle prior to rinsing, but this would be removed once rinsed and dried with a chamois. Of course I should also add that I would use maybe, at the most, 1/2 oz of soap (two-three capfuls) in a five gallon bucket. Even though I see no physical difference in the end result, today I use car wash soap if for nothing else, the visual professional appearance.
 
dave0mary said:
Beemerboy said:
...When you wash dishes you use hot water to get the residue off...

Rinsing your hands - or car - with COLD water gets more residue off because cold doesn't cause as much sudsing action.:idea
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Really? I know the reason for using hot water is to disinfect and help dry the dishes, but I didn't know that cold water would rinse off more residue....any links to sites that state this?
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There's a surfactant in the soap that helps it cling to the surface of what's being washed.Thus making it easier to clean.
The new dish washing detergents that are scented has less of this surfactant so it does not cling as well. Hence you use more detergent to clean the same amount of dishes but hey it smells good.
Hot water does cut it better but hot water is used to rinse dishes for sanitary purposes(restaurant lawsuits).
 
Dish wash soap is probably the number one worst thing you can wash your car with! Don't ever do it.
Nothing worse for your clear coat than the crap in dish soap.
 
Well when I first met my wife she washed her car with Top Job...which I think is used to clean floors, so years ago when she told me she would wash with dawn, I thought well at least a step in the right direction...

I would think there would be a residue, I see how little is needed in the sink and how long it takes to rinse off...perosnally I don't think once in a great while if you were to use it, that it would cause any great harm, you probably just need to re-wax it...

I am suprised Dawn hasn't released a car wash soap...
 
Since the top coat is Polyurethane I'm not sure that it is as fragile as some think
I have used gasoline and diesel fuel before to remove tar.
I just wash and wax after and no problem

I would be more concerned with the vinyl trim and I'm not talking about those large plastic pieces that clad the side of some vehicles but the trim pieces like to protect from doors on the side.
My Corvette has these down the whole side and I treat them regularly with a vinyl dressing
 
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