Dish Soap

04MustangGT · 03-28-2007, 09:45 AM

Hi all,

Who here uses regular dish soap to wash their cars?

I don't know if it's true or not, but an old friend of mine told me back a few years ago that dish soap contains sodium and can eventually scratch the surface area of a car. After that I started to only use regular car shampoo.

Has anyoneelse here heard of that?

S281SC · 03-28-2007, 10:26 AM

The degreasers in dish soap remove wax.

ZAXJAX · 03-28-2007, 04:05 PM

Dish soap will remove waxes and any other residue on your paint. It's not highly recommended that you use it. It will not scratch the paint

gt96stang · 03-28-2007, 04:46 PM

i use it when it's time for a wax.. strips everything off before i put new coats on.

Jim D. · 03-29-2007, 03:25 AM

Even if you're going to wax, I say keep the dish soap in the kitchen... unless you've got some extreme dirt, and even then I'd question its use.

Using a quality car wash cleans safely while helping to prevent water spots. I like Mothers California Gold, but I also hear good things about Meguiar's Gold Class and some of the other premium brands. Less expensive washes at 4 bucks a gallon just don't feel right to me.

94darkhorse · 03-29-2007, 05:41 PM

These guys have it covered. I don't use dish soap myself.

kenv · 03-29-2007, 06:44 PM

Only use dish soap if you want to take the wax off the car. The best is Dawn. Otherwise, only use soap formulated for cars.

mitmaks · 03-31-2007, 12:43 AM

its bad for your clear coat, I do not use it

Juztang · 03-31-2007, 12:57 AM

There is really no need to use dish soap. It is hard on all the plastic and trim pieces. If you are wanting to strip old wax off, a polish will do that just fine.

mygt500 · 03-31-2007, 05:50 AM

Never use dish soap unless you are wanting to strip off all old wax and start with something else. Some dish soaps have abrasives as well and that can scratch the finish.