Dawn vs. Polish

S

stoneweed1

New member
I've read post where people will start from scratch and wash with Dawn and then clay, polish, etc.....



I idea behind using Dawn is to remove the wax, polymer, sealant, etc.



From my understanding, polishing will also get rid of any wax, polymer, sealant.



I am wondering if there is a need to Dawn if you plan on polishing since it sounds redundant
 
Its a step that doesn't hurt to do. Doing a Dawn wash once or twice a year isn't going to hurt you at all. It may not be absolutly necessary since you are going to be polishing anyway, but what can it hurt? It will get the wax and sealants off and leave just the swirls in the actual car to deal with. Why deal with polishing off a hundred layers of wax and sealant if you don't have to? You have to wash before you polish anyway so you might as well use Dawn and start getting that wax off right off the bat. That's my view anyway.
 
Every spring I wash all my cars with Dawn to remove wax buildup as well as other things that may have attached to paint over the winter. I then go through the clay bar, polish, wax etc. Just my .02 ;)
 
I am of the opposite opinion (always the Devil's Advocate :)).



I hardly ever use Dawn for any anymore. I would prefer to use paint cleaners and SMR's. The only time I use Dawn is when a client just wants a cleaner wax. Then I Dawn to save time. Any other time, I use regular wash, and then use the cleaner wax to complete the cleaning.
 
Completely unnecessary if you are polishing.



A normal car wash soap will remove the grime and dirt.
 
for efficiency, i would assume that if one is polishing, then there shouldn't be a need for dawn. instead one should use the best car shampoo for the wash, and then dry the car and then clay and polish. The polish should get rid of the buildup and other stuff its supposed to take care of, so i would use a good car shampoo and let the polish do the deed.
 
I used to dawn before polishing, but then I thought about it and realized I didn't have to. I now wash with car wash soap, clay, polish, then after polishing, i wash with dawn to remove any oils that are in the polish, then Z away. The dawn wash might not be necessary after polishing, but I find that I usually have to wash after polishing because I have dust from polishing all over the car. Since I'm washing it again, why not dawn just in case there are any oils left on the paint? Just my thoughts. :)
 
2wheelsx2 said:
I am of the opposite opinion (always the Devil's Advocate :)).



I hardly ever use Dawn for any anymore. I would prefer to use paint cleaners and SMR's. The only time I use Dawn is when a client just wants a cleaner wax. Then I Dawn to save time. Any other time, I use regular wash, and then use the cleaner wax to complete the cleaning.
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I agree... I'm not a fan of using Dawn or any other detergent on my paint. I'd much rather use a good pre-wax cleaner, which does a much better job of getting the paint ready for waxing.
 
Two and a half months after waxing with Meg's #26 liquid, I wanted to put # 20, so I washed with Dawn. I could see that there was still some wax on the car. So, I tried APC+ diluted for wax removal and that just made it shmear. I decided to give the car a quick once over with Meg's #9 and that seemed to do the trick. I have no confidence in the ability of Dawn to remove wax.
 
Jngrbrdman said:
Its a step that doesn't hurt to do. Doing a Dawn wash once or twice a year isn't going to hurt you at all. It may not be absolutly necessary since you are going to be polishing anyway, but what can it hurt? It will get the wax and sealants off and leave just the swirls in the actual car to deal with. Why deal with polishing off a hundred layers of wax and sealant if you don't have to? You have to wash before you polish anyway so you might as well use Dawn and start getting that wax off right off the bat. That's my view anyway.
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I pretty much agree with this. Dawn does seem to work for me when I use it with warm water. Yes, polishing will also remove anything left on the paint which yo will probably also do, but don't your polishing pads get filled up quicker if you are removing wax and trying to remove a little paint?
 
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