Benefits of Dawn Soup

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Detailed the Acura in signature on Saturday since it was a beautiful sunny/no humidity day. In the past I have used Meguiars car wash soap, Armor All car wash soap & others. Well Saturday was the first time I used Dawn Platinum dish soap & let me tell you -- washing/clay baring & waxing with 476s Collinite was never easier. My one friend often tells me about the benefits of Dawn soap with different applications. Try it if you never have before waxing your car/truck/suv/etc...
 
As someone who has detailed numerous vehicles Dawn isn't paint friendly. Maybe as a one time thing to strip everything off and start fresh.
 
Dawn strips wax, it really isn't an ideal car soap. If I'm looking to strip wax a clay bar is a better alternative. It is also an abrasive soap, something I would rather not use on a regular basis to wash one of my vehicles. Used enough times it might even dull automotive paint.
 
Dawn is good for a one time wash when you want to take off any wax or sealant there is on the surface. Continuous use however will eventually lead to deterioration of the surface and especially the plastic trim.
 
Originally Posted by dishdude
Nice timing for this topic, I just had some Dawn soup for lunch.



I missed that. Better be close to a lavatory.
 
I use dawn soap to clean chromed metal parts. Does a good job in lifting off oxidation and any old light brown to orange rust. Won't remove the black rust that has eaten through the chrome. Chrome wheels, chrome trim, etc......Dawn will Do. All in all, dawn is a pretty aggressive cleaner.
 
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I have a bottle of Dawn soap in my detailing cabinet in my garage. The only time it ever gets used is when I'm planning on doing a full paint correction.

I'll use it right after I've done any kind of iron removal (Iron-X, Ferrex) to get any leftover chemical/loose iron off the paint
I'll use it immediately following a claying, to strip off any loosened grit and any remaining clay, etc..
I'll use it immediately following a compounding but prior to applying a coating/sealant/wax to insure the surface is stripped clean.

Outside of that, I don't really use it unless I need to really remove something from the paint that won't come off with a traditional 2-bucket wash.. which is almost never.
 
I've used Dawn recently to prep for a new type of wax. I was drilled to not use it when I was growing up on cars.

The favorite soap mentioned in an old auto body book I've read was Westley's or Blue Magic Car Wash. This was of course used before a car was prepped for paint.
 
Dish soap (soup?) is strong. If a dirty beater needs a good cleaning, I use it.
Otherwise it is whatever I got at Costco.
 
Originally Posted by dishdude
Nice timing for this topic, I just had some Dawn soup for lunch.



Maybe that has been your problem all along... Eating things you shouldn't... Keeps messing you up in the head and elsewhere
lol.gif
 
Originally Posted by bbhero
Originally Posted by dishdude
Nice timing for this topic, I just had some Dawn soup for lunch.



Maybe that has been your problem all along... Eating things you shouldn't... Keeps messing you up in the head and elsewhere
lol.gif



But I read a headline saying there were benefits
grin2.gif
 
Originally Posted by dishdude
Originally Posted by bbhero
Originally Posted by dishdude
Nice timing for this topic, I just had some Dawn soup for lunch.



Maybe that has been your problem all along... Eating things you shouldn't... Keeps messing you up in the head and elsewhere
lol.gif



But I read a headline saying there were benefits
grin2.gif




Exactly.... Don't believe the headlines
lol.gif
 
Originally Posted by 97prizm
As someone who has detailed numerous vehicles Dawn isn't paint friendly. Maybe as a one time thing to strip everything off and start fresh.


I only use it on wheels … baby oil to break free all the brake dust and Dawn to wash that off …
While washing the rest ...maybe Turtle wax wash to give them a tiny amount of protection
 
I may use it on wheels and tires on occasion, although Sonax Wheel Cleaner has been doing a great job and I haven't used Dawn since. However, I will use Dawn to clean body parts, like a bumper, prior to paintwork.
 
To mirror what others have said, it is sometimes recommended to strip prior coatings yo prepare fir a new one. I've used it for that. I had read to only use original dawn, not other more concentrated or different variants.

There's a detailed from Dallas in YouTube who speaks about pH-balanced soaps as not fully cleaning a vehicle. They recommend purple power soap fwiw.

I'm not aware of how Dawn would damage plastics or rubber, at least compared to any other soap, but since it's a reasonable degreaser, I wouldn't doubt its ability to extract whatever oils or plasticizer type agents might be in rubber seals and whatnot.
 
They make a great chicken noodle. One of my favorites.

As for the soap, it's a once in a great while wax stripper. No more than that.
 
Originally Posted by SevenBizzos
As for the soap, it's a once in a great while wax stripper. No more than that.
And carnauba wax only. It won't really strip synthetic sealants and such.
 
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