Should I use soap when washing the car?

Yeah, Guess my Name really likes to show off the hot weather he lives in. :mad: I am surprised he hasn't bragged about it being Britney Spears home state.
 
I think anyone who lives in the Northern Midwest should forget about detailing in the winter. It has been cloudy or rainy 6 days out of the past seven up here. I have 4 coats of Klasse Sealant glaze on now. I don't think I will get a chance to put a Blitz coat on anytime soon before it snows next week. Let's hope the SG holds up until April. :mad:
 
Cinci has a pretty clean forecast for this Saturday so I will be doing my winterizing and addressing some small scratches. I won't be doing anything revolutionary just applying some heavy duty protection.
 
Both car and 4Runner are ready to go. We will be lucky to have a spot of snow out here. It's the rain that can get our cars. Rain, rain and more rain!



Zaino, no problem-O
 
ah, britney :)



i'm going to use the PPCL to strip my old wax and redo my Klasse this weekend or next in prep. for winter.
 
I think I know the answer, but this popped up on another forum and I was questioning it. The guy who wrote up the How-to-Detail your ride thread mentioned this.

Soap is absolutely unnecessary if you maintain the level of cleanliness. The wax should do the job of keeping the car clean and easy to work with.
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He followed it up by saying to wash your car with soap before applying a base of Wax. But after the wax [NXT2.0], even if your car is dirty, just spray the contaminates off and dry it with a cotton towel.

The following reply from another member was:
water and the softest towels u can find & no soap!,,,thats wat I always do..good write-up!
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And when I asked if he could explain why soap is not good for your car, his reply was:
it washes off the clear coat and wax over time..think of your car as your face...would you put all that crap(harsh detergents and soaps) on your face?..I wouldnt...just water and the softest towels..
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I know it probably isn't worth my time to reply, but I can't imagine washing a dirty vehicle, even if it has wax on it, with just water and a cotton towel.
 
So the guy doesn't use soap to wash his face, GROSS!!! I wouldn?t take advice on washing a car from a person with such poor hygiene.
 
There is so much misinformation out there, but you came to the right place for the best info.

1. Doing what that hack recommended will do nothing but scratch your clearcoat.

2. Car wash soap will not wear away your clearcoat.

3. Car wash soap will wear away your wax. Use a sealant like blackfire wet diamond that will last longer then most waxes.

4. Car wash soap acts as a lubricant when washing your car. It also helps to break down the dirt.

5. Use the 2 bucket method (2BM) when washing.
 
Yeah, I know Bryan ;)

Just posting what I read on another forum.

I am working with another guy to write up a proper way to wash a vehicle to get stickied by the admins. It's a non-detailing oriented forum.
 
Wow, what is out there is my worry when some folks post something like that and some poor fellow follows the poor advice this person posted.
 
zoomzoom mazda5 said:
Wow, what is out there is my worry when some folks post something like that and some poor fellow follows the poor advice this person posted.
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The benefit of the doubt would assume that he has his paint corrected to perfection with some hardcore protection, and it never gets bad enough to require anything but a "rinse." Even so, at no point, even if it isn't dirty, would I wash it with water and towel try. I would link the post, but I don't think it would be conducive for him. I just think no soap, even no car soap, is an obscene idea.
 
I believe, what he is recommending is called a "Dry Wash", and is performed by some dealerships who try to take short cuts. This is a prime example oof how to marr your paint's finnish.

This is the reason that I keep comming back to TID. There in no bad information here.
 
gmblack3 said:
There is so much misinformation out there, but you came to the right place for the best info.

1. Doing what that hack recommended will do nothing but scratch your clearcoat.

2. Car wash soap will not wear away your clearcoat.

3. Car wash soap will wear away your wax. Use a sealant like blackfire wet diamond that will last longer then most waxes.

4. Car wash soap acts as a lubricant when washing your car. It also helps to break down the dirt.

5. Use the 2 bucket method (2BM) when washing.
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very good information and advice - especially #4

The goal of washing is to loosen the dirt and then wash it away using a combination of water, soap, and agitation from your wash mitt. You want to use as little force/friction as possible to avoid dragging particles across the paint that may create scratches.

Don't use "harsh detergents" but use a wash specifically designed for washing cars. They are made to loosen the dirt but to be more friendly to any wax coating. Dish soap (Dawn, etc..) or other detergents are designed to break down oils, fats, and grease. Not good for your wax protective coating.

Clear coat is essentially a pigment free paint. Soap is not going to wash it off the car.
 
Washing

Rolls Royce and the Bentley Motor Company in the 1930 used to recommend washing automobiles bodywork with just plain low pressure water. While this is a very safe method, water is not enough of a solvent to cut the road dirt, grease and oil or the protein base of stubborn spots, like bug remains

The soaps available back then were very alkaline, but soap technology has come a long way since then, and most car washing concentrates contain surfactants and polymer surface lubricants to avoid surface scratches and safe detergents that will remove road grime, grease, etc.
 
Do you have a link? PM if necessary please!

Car soap acts acts to break the surface tension of water. In effect it makes water wetter, giving the water more lubricity as well as allowing the water to penetrate and encapsulate even the smallest dirt particles. So strong soaps will break down waxes or sealants faster, but nothing (that I know of) that we sell.

By not using soap you are actually causing more surface abrasion, like using a super fine grit sandpaper that will remove the wax or sealant faster.

The problem, of course, is that while everybody is an expert very few even know what a swirl free finish looks like. If this person has been washing cars for years this way and knows that he gets the paint clean (which enough ABRASION will) then he will be convinced he is right.
 
Leadfootluke said:
I think I know the answer, but this popped up on another forum and I was questioning it. The guy who wrote up the How-to-Detail your ride thread mentioned this.



He followed it up by saying to wash your car with soap before applying a base of Wax. But after the wax [NXT2.0], even if your car is dirty, just spray the contaminates off and dry it with a cotton towel.

The following reply from another member was:


And when I asked if he could explain why soap is not good for your car, his reply was:


I know it probably isn't worth my time to reply, but I can't imagine washing a dirty vehicle, even if it has wax on it, with just water and a cotton towel.
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Wow, just... wow!:w00t:

I bet that guy doesn't have too many friends if he doesn't use soap? His buddies probably call him "Pigpen"... or "Stinky":wizard:

The next thing he'll probably post is another "soap-less" car wash technique, like recommending a 6,000 PSI pressure washer or something like that.:out:

Thanks for posting this Leadfoot'... some scary stuff out there.
 
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