The Dawn Wash (let's be a little more clear)

N

Neo62381

New member
I know a lot of people are against doing a Dawn wash, and there are varying opinions. I like to do a Dawn wash, on vehicles that are really contaminated and dirty, BUT only before polishing. I figure, If I can do any damage, it isn't going to be THAT much, with ONE wash, not to mention, I'm going to be polishing the paint anyway.



Everywhere I have looked where people talk about doing a Dawn wash, all they say is "Washed with dawn" or "Do a dawn wash, followed by." But, It never really gives specifics. There seems to be this grey area, that I would like to find out more about.



Questions such as:



1. Normal car wash soaps are diluted 1oz. per gallon, would it be the same with Dawn? More? Less? If so, why?

2. Does it have to be Dawn only? Are there other dishwashing detergents (possibly cheaper) that could be used as an alternative? One's with less, or more cleaning ability maybe?



:nixweiss



Open for a good healthy discussion!
 
I personally don't use Dawn anymore, because it's too harsh and just isn't designed for car paint. Dawn's lubricity isn't designed like car wash shampoo's, which are specifically designed for cars. It doesn't sud very much, therefore contributing to possible swirling if one is not careful.



If I was trying to remove the old wax on the car, I would just do a regular car shampoo wash, followed by a good claying, followed by a good polish. By doing this, your paint will probably be even cleaner than compared to using Dawn.
 
Even though I never use dawn to take off the wax, I did it one time and it had a lot more suds than any car wash i've ever used.
 
Thanks for the replies guys:-) My intent behind the dawn wash, is not to strip wax or anything of that nature, but more to remove some of the bonded contaminants, and other stuff that is just stuk in or on the paint. I use this step ONLY before polishing the paint, So I'm not worried too much about wash induced marring. Kind of like G35stilez uses a dawn wash on abused vehicles before heavy polishing.
 
Well, using Dawn once in a while definitely won't do any bad to your car, I just think that it's probably not going to be as effective as using, say, clay, to remove the bonded contaminants that you are talking about. Do you plan to clay in your detail job?
 
Of course, however, I have found that on really neglected cars, especially on some of the lower panels, even after washing the clay can become so contaminated that it is actually a waste of clay, and can mar the paint very easily.



edit: this is just considered a step to help save the clay a bit, without shelling out the bucks for an expensive solvent. Inwhich I would think that a dawn wash wouldn't be more harfull then using a solvent on your paint, to remove the really baked on stuff.



300th post..... w00t
 
As Patrick said...Dawn is more of a degreaser..it will pull the oils out of rubber..trim plastic....and any other plastics...can cause drying of the rubber..discoloring of trim...





the reason Dawn is perscribed as a wash for say Zaino..is mainly to remove oils on the paint from waxes and polishes...



AL
 
Dawn wash IMO is pointless. If you wanna remove the LSP, then buff the paint, it wont take a compound and cutting pad to take it off, if its strong enough to cut paint, I'm pretty sure you gunna take off the LSP first.
 
If you are going to polish/glaze the vehicle anyways, why use Dawn. If you are not going to polish/glaze then use a good car shampoo/wash.
 
I completely agree. The Dawn wash is more harm to the car than it is good. :2thumbs: Here's my reasoning . . .



-Why bother using Dawn to strip wax? If you're doing a Dawn wash you're likely claying and polishing afterward which will remove all the wax/sealant on the car anyway.



-Dawn is a degreaser and will pull oils from the plastic/rubber trim causing it to discolor or prematurely crack/degrade.



-Why bother using Dawn on neglected cars? First Dawn does not provide the lubricity a true car wash soap does. So, you're likely instilling marring. Even if you're going to be polishing afterward you could possibly be making the paint worse necessitating the removal of additional paint. Just spray the car down with an effective cleaner like Meguiar's Body solvent to loosen up the grime before washing.
 
I use Dawn for the initial wash of vehicles I don't really care about, it works OK and I'm not gonna waste a decent shampoo on, for example, my mechanic's 250K mile loaner or a rental.



I don't get the kind of wax-stripping that DavidB recently reported, but Dawn is cheap and effective (though lacking in lubricity).



If you want to do a super-strength wash, I'd go with AutoInt's "A" (alkaline part of ABC system) instead, it works a lot better for this than Dawn. Not as cheap or as commonly available as Dawn though.
 
I don't mean to hijack the thread but what about adding a little bit of dawn to your car shampoo? I've seen some people do this to give their shampoo an extra kick for super dirty cars.



I was thinking to do this for my brother's car since he always goes in the country and his car was so filthy that i was afraid to dry it because of small dirt particles on the surface.
 
I thought plastic and rubber are actually -made- from oils...?



I'm not saying for sure, I'm saying that's what I thought...
 
lp2137 said:
I don't mean to hijack the thread but what about adding a little bit of dawn to your car shampoo? I've seen some people do this to give their shampoo an extra kick for super dirty cars.



I was thinking to do this for my brother's car since he always goes in the country and his car was so filthy that i was afraid to dry it because of small dirt particles on the surface.
Click to expand...



yeahhh i also do this for really dirty cars.
 
I have used dish soap, at times, for over 13 years. Never noticed any problems. Working at a used car dealership my reasoning is to remove fillers and oils, to see condition of paint, and to have a clean surface if the car needs some paint touchup.



As far as removing wax, it will remove a layer, but definitely not all.



Decon systems are approved for vehicle wash and dwell and are much more aggressive than dawn.



Also listen to some threads on tree sap or tar removal. Everyone has a solvent or product with solvent in it and they say to apply to paint and dwell.



I think Dawn wash has it's place, but a good car wash soap is cheap enough.
 
A Dawn wash (~1oz per gallon for wax/oil/silicone removal) will do absolutely no harm to any vehicle exterior components. Dawn will strip the surface dressing (sheen) from plastic components but not the internal intrigrity (structure) of these components. These components are exposed to much harsher daily assault by their exposure to the environment than an single Dawn wash will ever impact on them.



The Dawn washing procedure should only be needed if one does not plan/need to clay and polish after washing. If one is going to clay or just polish prior a new apllication of a LSP, there is no need to Dawn wash. Just use your regular vehicle shampoo.



Dawn/Suds/Lubricity. Dawn suds very well and even though suds do not equal high lubricity, some of the increase resistance when washing with Dawn is due to the stripping of the wax/oils/silicones from the washed surface. Using proper washing techniques, soft wash mitt/towel, a good cleansing and high surfactant shampoo will decrease the chances of self-induced swirling more so than a high suds producing shampoo. Suds do look great and add to a false sense of security.



Dawn (blue) is recommend as a household available product for this degreasing task because it has been shown to have the least amount of cosmetic additives (i.e. hand softeners).



A small bottle of Dawn(blue) is usually less than a $1. Dawn is also a great tire cleaner.
 
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