Soap

W

Web Docta

New member
How important is the type of soap that you use to wash your car?

I've basically been using "Dawn" to wash my vehicles.
 
You might want to stop using Dawn. It will remove any wax on your car you may apply and also remove the oils in your paint. Get yourself a good quality car wash soap. You can try Meguiars Gold Class or Meguiars NXT wash. I like Zymols car wash. Try a search for car soaps or go in the reviews section at the top of the home page and read reviews about loads of different soaps used by members.
 
In addition, Dawn will dry out your rubber door seals. Once you get some car wash soap, I'd highly recommend a product like 1Z Gummipflege (Better hurry - Check the Autopia Store) to revive your dried-out seals.
 
At the local auto part store they have an assortment of washes. I think it is PRO that makes a wash that says it has a wax in it, whats everyones take on this type of product?



Also i think i saw a turtle wax wash with wax capsules in it, i already have turtle wax company on my banned list so that one is out.
 
You might save the Dawn. Zaino recommends it for removing any and all previous waxes before you use their product line; so that you start fresh with whatever product/s you choose!
 
az57chevy said:
You might save the Dawn. Zaino recommends it for removing any and all previous waxes before you use their product line; so that you start fresh with whatever product/s you choose!
Click to expand...

I was just thinking the same thing!

BTW, nice car.
 
Web Docta said:
:D

It's amazing what I DON'T know about detailing. [/B]
Click to expand...



have read that comment more than once since becoming an Autopian.



also, your comment is dramatically more poignant because i uttered those very wordsafter about the same number of posts. give or take a few.



just be careful. detailing can become an addiction.:D
 
Most of the washes with wax don't have much wax at all. Almost just a marketing gimmick. And anything that *does* have a lot of wax in it might cause issues with glass, rubber (tires), etc. and also with the bonding of any subsequently applied products. I'd stick with washes that pretty much just *clean* and rely on other products for other results.



Opinions differ on this topic, but *I* find that using high-lubricity/high quality shampoos makes a big difference- far less wash-induced marring. Some shampoos seem especially well suited to certain LSPs; they clean well without stripping the protection.



I like Griot's Car Wash and Meg's #62 myself.
 
These two threads are informative on this topic -- got them from DetailKing:



http://autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?threadid=36785&highlight=dawn



http://autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?threadid=42742&highlight=dawn



The gist is, that no one has ever seen any problem or damage caused by use of non-car detergents. Of course, common sense indicates that you use a product that leaves nothing behind: no hair shampoos with conditioners or medications; no car shampoos with "wax"; etc. Hence the focus on Dawn dishwashing liquid -- Dawn is yer basic basic detergent.



I think the technique you use is more important than what you mix in the water.
 
I just went out to the garage today and I realized that I have been using Kirkland Dish Washing detergent ( I practically live at Costco ) instead of Dawn....thats probably even worse. :o
 
Just an update:

I put the dishwashing detergent back in the Kitchen and I found a bottle of Turtle Zip Wash/Wax in my garage. Today I washed my Blue '94 Caravan and my White '99 Ford E-350 Super Duty van and I used my new MF towels to dry everything.

I have to say that the MF towels made a big difference, especially on the windows. The Turtle Zip Wash actually looks like it did put some sort of wax on the finishes because both vehicles look a lot better now than they ever did with just a washing.



Both vehicles will eventually get detailed but for now they look acceptable. :D
 
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