Washing up liquid - would you ever clean a car with it?

C

chockymonster

New member
Personally I will never use the stuff to clean a car, in my mind it's meant to clean dishes :)



A member on another forum has suggested using fairy washing up liquid prior to claying, AIO, High Gloss Sealant and then Pinnacle Souverän Wax.



What are your views on this?
 
~One manâ€â„¢s opinion / observations



Zanio suggests you use Dawn dishwashing liquid the first time you use their products as a one-time surface prep. I think there are better purpose made products (Prepsol) for this task, but each to his ownâ€Â¦



Detergents:

Washing-up liquids should not be used on a regular basis for vehicles bodywork as their concentrated detergent soaps and usually high sodium / high alkaline content will emulsify, breakdown and leach out oils naturally found in your paint, and also any oils you have applied in the way of a polish or glaze.



Generally avoid the use of household cleaning products for automotive detailing as they are formulated for an entirely different type of cleaning. âہ“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. We don't recommend them for cleaning your carâ€Â�. Proctor and Gamble



~Hope this helps~



Knowledge unshared is experience wasted [each one / teach one]

justadumbarchitect / so I question everything/ JonM
 
I will use Dawn as part of a full detail, but not for weekly washings. Seems to work fine, but I wouldn't doubt you could get good results just using a paint shampoo prior to a full detail.
 
My own deeply-held suspicion, uninformed by any knowledge of the chemistry involved, is that these different cleaners are fundamentally the same. What's different is the marketing hype.



That said, I use car-washing detergent for washing cars (just in case!), but I always feel like I'm being ripped off by the soap salesmen.
 
Guilty as charged, your honor! My only excuse is that this IS the newbie forum! :D Besides, most topics on here get discussed over and over again.



Do you have any chemical evidence to submit?
 
DetailKing, thanks for those links. My earlier searches on this topic never came up with anything so germane.



We hobbyists deal with anecdotal evidence, and there is very little hard scientific information available. Maybe that's why those discussions tend to get emotional.
 
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