Simple Green & clear coat

[Tempest]

I've got a guy on another forum that is saying that repeated washings with SG will hurt the clear coat:

Quote:

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Simple Green will remove the essential oils from clearcoat and repeated use will likely damage the clearcoat on a car... Repeatedly degreasing the surface will remove oils from the clearcoat, drying it out over time.

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I quoted the 1:32 recommended on the SG site, and that it will strip wax.

Any truth to this...just doesn't add up to me?

 

[9c1]

"Essential oils" what the h&(( are those? Not in paint or clear coat. Maybe in the sealer or wax, but the aim is to remove those anyway.
All that said, the strongest chemical I would use on my paint is dishwashing soap -- Joy or the like. Even that I would do it sparingly. Clay removes wax and sealer well wnough for me. I can’t imagine why one would want to use SG on the exterior of a car, but that’s just me.

 

[ScottB]

If I'm not mistaken, SG has a formula for wheels - that includes clear-coated units.
I've used it - but not over long periods of time as regular auto-soap seem to work fine for me.

 

[Mike-in-Orange]

I'm sure he didn't mean "oils" as in clear coat is oily. Any good polish will introduce oils into the paint to keep it "healthy" for lack of a better term and prevent oxidation on single stage paints, and stave off clear coat failure on base/clear paints. Using anything harsh on a regular basis, whether Simple Green, Dawn, etc will in fact dry out the paint, rubber, plastic, etc on any car and do more harm than good in the long run. Once a year won't hurt anything though.

 

[bretfraz]

Why wash a car at all with Simple Green, or any similar product? I don't understand the benefit.

SG is quite a strong alkaline, pH about 12. Even diluted its still going to be on the "hot" side. A high quality shampoo will do just as good a job plus be safer on rubber, plastic and parts like stainless steel trim.

There are no "oils" in a modern clearcoat paint job but there are plasticizers and other components that provide a level of UV protection. Repeated washings with SG or other aggressive cleaner will dry out those components and will lead to a dull finish. Eventually the plasticizers will dry out and possibly lead to clearcoat failure. How long and how many washes to get to this point is unknown (far too many variables involved). The point is, why even go there?

 

[Tempest]

According to the SG Site, it has a pH of ~9.5, which is pretty mild.

What are the pH's of other car care washes? How do these products vary from SG, Dawn, etc. in their aggressiveness/dilution?

 

[CBDFrontier06]

I can't imagine why it would be necessary to use it on paint, but I do use it on the entire engine, wheels, tires, fender liners and on the non-painted plastic air dam on my truck if it's covered in bugs. Been using it for years on a variety of cars and have never had an issue. I just think there are better options for painted surfaces.

 

[Saab9000]

Wax consists of oils and fats. Dishwashing detergent and SG are very good at cutting oils and fats, thats what they are designed for. So unless I am intentionally trying to strip the wax from the finish, I never use them. I only use a car specific wash with wax in it.

 

[Syntec-Man]

simple green is good for the wheels. never try it on ur clearcoat! use a claybar and dawn dish soap as the lubricant i suggest you dilute the dawn 1:20

 

[fillitup]

I just saw today simple green car wash maybe it something new?

 

[Tempest]

Quote:

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never try it on ur clearcoat!

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Again...why? Especially @ a 1:32 ratio. How is this stuff so much worse than Dawn?

To be clear, I only use this to strip whatever is on the car in order to apply Rejex, which needs clean paint.

 

[Syntec-Man]

when you say strip wax. do you mean as in floor wax or car wax. simple green is used to strip floors aswell

 

[Tempest]

I have a feeling it will strip any kind of wax. But I'm talking car wax here.

I don't see how something this mild is going to hurt thermally cured, crosslinked automotive paint.

 

[Syntec-Man]

give it a try! 1-.0 is weak stuff

 

[Mike-in-Orange]

Quote:

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I have a feeling it will strip any kind of wax. But I'm talking car wax here.

I don't see how something this mild is going to hurt thermally cured, crosslinked automotive paint.

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As an occasional use product, no it won't. Neither will Dawn, if used only occasionally. But either one, if used regularly, is too harsh and will dry out not only the paint, but rubber and plastic trim as well and cause premature failure of all. The problem is that people get in the habit of using this sort of product, and it simply is not the best choice.