I'm planning to do a full detail of my car in the coming months and have some concerns. I would like to wash with dawn like some have said then follow with a clay bar then use a detail spray to get the clay residue off. After that I plan to polish, seal, glaze and wax. I think this is the right way to do this but I am concerned about the dawn dish soap damaging moldings and trim. I might just avoid direct use of it on my moldings and trim since my car is never that dirty anyway. My question to you guys is have you seen or heard of this happening and if so what have you done about it. Thanks.
Washing your cobra with dawn dish soap
- Thread starter y2kpony
- Start date
There ar eplenty of people who wash their car with dawn before a full detail as it strips all the old wax off the car. However In your list you do not need to hit the car with detail spray to get rid of the clay residue. In fact the detail spray will leave a residue all its own. If you want to get rid of any leftover clay then either wash the car again with regular car wash or an IPA wipedown.
x2.
I generally use a few ounces of Adam's All-Purpose Cleaner for my strip wash, but I know others who use Dawn without any issue. There is no problem with polishing right over clay residue. (I always do - It's one less step, which saves time.) I recommend putting dressing on your vinyl and plastic trim before you polish, which helps ensure no discoloration of those areas if you accidentally hit one with polish. I do an IPA wipedown after polishing, to remove polish residue and ensure the paint is ready for sealant. (Note that IPA isn't any better for your moldings and trim than dish liquid, so I recommend avoiding them during the wipedown.)
X10000
In most cases Dawn is overkill.
A couple of suggestions. If you're worried about clay residue get a NanoSkin Mitt or towel and use it during the wash process. This too will eliminate a step and eliminates the necessity to use dawn since clay or NanoSkin strips the paint of wax anyway. One other suggestion, like Norton said- do trim prior to polishing, tape it up then start your polishing and correction process. This protects the pads and the trim.
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Thanks for the replies guys. When you use the all purpose cleaner (which I happen to have), do you just add it to water or do you add it to water and regular car wash. Also is this hard on any bumper letter decals such as the cobra on the rear bumper. They are cheap to replace but just curious. Thanks again.
This is definitely advisable, but I can never get the tape to stick after applying the dressing. (I'd appreciate any tips on how to overcome that... :??
I end up polishing around things carefully to protect the pads and the dressing saves me from any errant polish.I usually add a couple of ounces to my regular car wash. A decent quality shampoo helps clean and "sheet" the dirt away, while the APC takes care of wax. (No matter how much beading I have on my initial rinse, the final rinse always has almost none, so it seems to work.) I don't have any experience with decal letters, so I hesitate to advise on that, but I doubt the diluted APC will harm them.
To answer you question regarding your vinyl inserts, Adams APC will not harm them at all. Though, I always recommend neutralizing and not leaving any APC/degreaser on any surface as then hard streaking/hazing/discoloration can occur.
This is definitely advisable, but I can never get the tape to stick after applying the dressing. (I'd appreciate any tips on how to overcome that... :??
You can do it one of 2 ways- either curl the tape under the lip if its available or clean the trim, tape it up, polish adjacent area in question then finish by dressing the trim. I don't think there is any "perfect" method.:shrug:
why does it always have to be "dawn" :shrug:
RC
RC
Like they say "all Dawn is dish soap but not all dish soap is Dawn!!"
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