How much dawn do you use?

I don't use Dawn anymore on my car. I used to use it before a full detail, but now that I use a polish, or a cleaner like AIO or GEPC right away, those products would clean any old LSPs right off, eliminating any need for Dawn.
 
Every vehicle that I detail gets a Dawn wash. It's readily available, it's cheap, and it gets the job done quicker and easier than using a standard carwash detergent. I will even spray full strenth apc (13 ph) to areas that need it. There's a 2 minute window before etching takes place. I do about 200 vehicles a year and it saves me tons of time. I also use a 2500 psi powerwasher so nothing stands a chance of being missed. I wouldn't recommend using Dawn as a maintenance wash because of its stripping power.
 
Web Docta said:
I actually called up Zaino ( the Company ) today and inquired about their products. I spoke to someone named "Kevin" and he specifically recommended that I wash with Dawn before using their products.

However, a lot of folks here are totally opposed to using Dawn. I'm very confused. :confused:
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You know the show "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?", where the contestant requests the audience's assistance? The audience votes for one of the 4 choices. It is always good to go with the majority response. The majority of Autopians say, "No Dawn on cars, EVER!"



Charles
 
I'd be curious to know , if even available, the actual stats regarding how many car owners who wash their cars themselves do use dish washing detergent. It could be the majority, but may be not. I'm not sure.
 
Ya know, I don't recall anybody *ever* posting *first-hand knowledge*, let alone anything based on controlled testing, that using Dawn actually caused some kind of problem. Yet people *have* posted about all kinds of bizarre problems supposedly caused by products/procedures that work fine for other people.



I wish somebody would get a panel with rubber trim on it and wash it a zillion times with Dawn so we could see if there really were any detrimental effects. But even if there weren't, I suspect somebody would say that it was just a fluke; this :argue over Dawn will probably go on forever.....
 
My personal opinion: I see no evidence whatsoever that Dawn causes damage to cars. I wash rubber products with Dawn in the kitchen, and have had no problems. I still think it is possible that Dawn COULD do bad things for your car, and for that reason I'd probably give it a pass.



Also, I also see no real reason to use Dawn. It is not going to get any car especially clean (in terms of removing dirt and dust). If you want to remove wax and sealants, there are plenty of products that do that quite well.



I think the most prudent strategy is to use a good quality car wash (like NXT) for getting your car clean, and a good quality paint cleaner to remove old wax and sealants. Dawn may or may not cause problems, but why mess with it?
 
To steal Accumulator's line, I'm zipping up my flame suit for this one.



I think a little info is a dangerous thing in some cases...car washes are formulated to clean without removing wax, and to perhaps leave some gloss enhancers on the paint. Dawn is formulated to be "tough on grease" or something, and we know it's going to have an effect on wax. So people are advised not to use Dawn on their car, because it will affect the wax. Now, put this into the circle of 5 yo's whispering around the circle, and it comes out that Dawn is bad for your paint, which is NOT necessarily true.



PS I'm not saying it's not true (cuz I haven't tried it); it just sounds like an urban legend to me.
 
after driving my car around during our 15 day rainstorm here in Los Angeles I need something that would pack an an extra punch when I washed my car. I tried the simple green mixed in with my regular car wash and it worked GREAT.



Im sure the dirt produced by rain doesn't compare to those of you that have to deal with snow and salt but IMHO i thought the simple green worked great.



Give it a try, couldn't hurt. Yes, I waxed the car afterwards.:xyxthumbs
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Dawn is formulated to be "tough on grease" or something, and we know it's going to have an effect on wax. So people are advised not to use Dawn on their car, because it will affect the wax. .
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How do we know what affect Dawn has on wax or sealants? Is there any hard evidence (and I'm talking about more than just extrapolation from what Dawn does in the kitchen) that Dawn will actually take off SG, #16, etc? I KNOW that a good claying and paint cleaner will accomplish this task, but am less convinced about Dawn.



Even if Dawn doesn't do any harm (which, I agree, is an open issue), I don't see any real advantage to using it.
 
Uncle, I am making a presumption that Dawn will have some effect on waxes/sealants, but no, *I* don't have any test data to back that up.
 
In your defense, I think the assumption that Dawn removes existing product is probably on stronger ground than the assumption that Dawn does some kind of serious damage to your car's finish.
 
Well, forever the people who make car washes have pounded it into my head that using products that aren't specifically designed for automotive surfaces will remove my wax. Maybe it's just marketing hype.
 
I was going to wash with Dawn but since there is no definite answer to the safety of using it, would using the NXT wash be strong enough? Or would have need to purchase something else before claying? I want to clay, polish and wax my new 3 month old car for the first time and I'd rather keep it simple and not have to purchase anything online. Thanks for any help you can provide.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Well, forever the people who make car washes have pounded it into my head that using products that aren't specifically designed for automotive surfaces will remove my wax. Maybe it's just marketing hype.
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Mike, I do think it is a reasonable assumption that it will remove SOME of what you have on your car. I just don't KNOW that it will remove it all.



Sickman - Washing with NXT and then claying makes perfect sense. But, why polish? If you have a new car without any surface problems, you can probably just go straight to the wax.
 
White95Max said:
I don't use Dawn anymore on my car. I used to use it before a full detail, but now that I use a polish, or a cleaner like AIO or GEPC right away, those products would clean any old LSPs right off, eliminating any need for Dawn.
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Are you saying to work out the swirls with #80 through AIO is better then a clean, cleaner/wax free surface after a Dawn wash?
 
The Uncle - thanks for your reply. Reason for the need to polish is because the dealer, and then the tint shop, put swirls on the SUV, and it is black so they are quite noticeable. Unfortunately didn't know about Autopia when I bought it and that dealer washes are a no-no until now.
 
Sickman, in that case, your plan makes a lot of sense.



If you use a polish and clay, it will certainly remove any waxes or sealants that were on the car when you took delivery.
 
Soap is alkaline and cuts grease. Any soap or detergent should by its nature have a high ph and disolve grease, parrafins, waxes. Dawn is a name for one high PH soap/detergent. It probably is highly effective for cleaning surface grease off a painted surface... So, what we are talking about is ensuring surface grease is removed, but not paint....There are probably many degreasing agents which would work as well as Dawn, but maybe harm the paint in another way. I have used Dawn, clayed and polished, with no harm to my paint or trim whatsoever. To harm the trim, IMHO, a different family of chemical would be needed. Chlorinated Solvents..... I love this thread, but I think Dawn, Joy, and probably Gold Class Car Wash come pretty much from the same spigot, but in different solution concentrations.....
 
Dawn MSDS #1

Dawn MSDS #2

Water, surfacant, alcohol. Well that wasn't very exciting.



Lets compare that to some automotive specific cleaners. Surely there's going to be a huge difference.



Prizm car wash MSDS

3M car wash MSDS

Pearl car wash MSDS



Water, surfacant, alcohol. OH MY GOD!!! They've even got the same PH! The HORROR!!!



Yes folks, a little research and one finds that:

1) Dawn isn't an evil product with anti-paint properties

2) Car specific cleaners aren't any different than Dawn

3) Grease cutting cleaners are really all the same.
 
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