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Every now and then a thread will come up about stripping wax from the surface of a vehicle...especially when one does not know what products have been used on a customer's car before. A lot of those new to detailing jump on the old standby, Dawn dishsoap.
I won't rehash all the arguments back and forth on its merits but basically Dawn or other dishwashing soaps are high alkaline products designed to cut kitchen/household grease, oil, and biological material. Yes, they are designed to do so with little agitation as the cleaning power comes from the strong solvents in the soap...similar to a "touchless carwash." Yes, Dawn will thoroughly remove sealants, waxes, glazes, polishes, fillers, and other above-surface film layers from the paint. Yes, with repeated or extensive use it may damage or fade exterior plastics, vinyl, and rubber.
And that's the key...repeated or extensive use. I would never recommend utilizing Dawn as your everyday wash solution. I would not recommend using Dawn multiple times on the same vehicle. But as a detailer who has many cars brought to me without an extensive vehicle history and sometimes directly from other detailers it has a purpose. Few products clear away a 10-step Zaino application or multiple layers of Meg's # 7 from a car like Dawn.
But in the process, as Mike P. likes to point out, you can be at times moving further from your ultimate goal (if only slightly or temporarily) of a 100% showcar finish. As a detailer you need to always be open to new ideas and products. A marine-detailer friend of mine (high-end yachts mostly) recently gave me a pre-soak product he uses to remove waxes and other products applied to marine vessels and asked me to give it a try and lend some feedback.
The product is Pure Oceans Citrus Soap. This product is sold thru West Marine and is an all natural citrus product that contains no phosphates or other harmful ingredients. The citrus-based cleaner is very effective in removing oily residues, waxes, etc. Here's a pic...
I had used the product on a 2006 BMW 325i I recently detailed as part of a Lease Return Package and had a good experience. Never one to doubt the possibility of a "one-hit wonder" I broke it out again on this week's Lease Return Package vehicle...a 2007 BMW 535i.
Car had several coats of wax on the surface and beaded heavily when first brought to me. Decided to use the Citrus Boat Soap over Dawn in the Gilmour Foam Gun.
Pre-soak...
After soak pic (water sheets heavily, doesn't bead, and puddles rather than running off) demonstrative of the heavy oil-removing properties of this soap...
Funny, the Aquapel window treatment still beads and probably would require agitation but as purely a spray on/rinse off product I've been converted. Now I can join Mike P. and the rest of the guys in the No Dawn Party and officially recommend against dishsoap and for another cleaner...
I won't rehash all the arguments back and forth on its merits but basically Dawn or other dishwashing soaps are high alkaline products designed to cut kitchen/household grease, oil, and biological material. Yes, they are designed to do so with little agitation as the cleaning power comes from the strong solvents in the soap...similar to a "touchless carwash." Yes, Dawn will thoroughly remove sealants, waxes, glazes, polishes, fillers, and other above-surface film layers from the paint. Yes, with repeated or extensive use it may damage or fade exterior plastics, vinyl, and rubber.
And that's the key...repeated or extensive use. I would never recommend utilizing Dawn as your everyday wash solution. I would not recommend using Dawn multiple times on the same vehicle. But as a detailer who has many cars brought to me without an extensive vehicle history and sometimes directly from other detailers it has a purpose. Few products clear away a 10-step Zaino application or multiple layers of Meg's # 7 from a car like Dawn.
But in the process, as Mike P. likes to point out, you can be at times moving further from your ultimate goal (if only slightly or temporarily) of a 100% showcar finish. As a detailer you need to always be open to new ideas and products. A marine-detailer friend of mine (high-end yachts mostly) recently gave me a pre-soak product he uses to remove waxes and other products applied to marine vessels and asked me to give it a try and lend some feedback.
The product is Pure Oceans Citrus Soap. This product is sold thru West Marine and is an all natural citrus product that contains no phosphates or other harmful ingredients. The citrus-based cleaner is very effective in removing oily residues, waxes, etc. Here's a pic...
I had used the product on a 2006 BMW 325i I recently detailed as part of a Lease Return Package and had a good experience. Never one to doubt the possibility of a "one-hit wonder" I broke it out again on this week's Lease Return Package vehicle...a 2007 BMW 535i.
Car had several coats of wax on the surface and beaded heavily when first brought to me. Decided to use the Citrus Boat Soap over Dawn in the Gilmour Foam Gun.
Pre-soak...
After soak pic (water sheets heavily, doesn't bead, and puddles rather than running off) demonstrative of the heavy oil-removing properties of this soap...
Funny, the Aquapel window treatment still beads and probably would require agitation but as purely a spray on/rinse off product I've been converted. Now I can join Mike P. and the rest of the guys in the No Dawn Party and officially recommend against dishsoap and for another cleaner...
. I like Dawn because it's cheap, and I only use it ~5-6x/year (not often) when I detail. Saves me from having to feed more $ into the not-so-sneaky business tactic of "Trying every single (one of our multiple versions of the same/similar) product to see which works best for you" euphemism 
. 
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