The Nissan Path

Is it OK to use dish washing liquid? I've been using it for years and never noticed any damage but my friend says it strips the wax off. And that I should buy a special car soap. Is that true?

yes, it is absolutely true!!

Harsh detergents like dish soap or laundry detergents no only strip wax, they also dry out door weatherstripping. Not good if you plan to keep your ride for a lot of years.

dish soap is for dishes only.

I use Meguiars Gold Class car wash. Please no dish soap.

whenever we have a sandstorm, or generally when driving across desert country, we cover the front part of the car entirely in a gel to it doesnt get sandblasted over long driving distances.

when we're feeling cheap, we just use dishwashing liquid. it works fine, and we wash it off after a day or so with no effects till now on the paint.

If you're in a pinch and have nothing else, use some shampoo. Seriously, It's PH balanced.

Before you go wax you're car, you can use dishwashersoap, so, u'r shure you start on a clean surface...but ... use it for regular mainenance...? Your paint is not protected this way...

I didn't really think car washing soap was that expensive to begin with!

I'm the guy that the online auto detailing shops like to see coming but I have a wee OCD problem. For folks who want to take good care of their car and not spend a fortune doing it there are great products out there by Mothers and Meguiars and I'm sure some other brands as well. Dish detergent tends to be harsh and have degreasers which will counteract some benefits of waxing a vehicle. If you are going to wax and then wash with a dish detergent, quit spending all the time to wax a car.

Zymol has great cleaning products and car wash concentrate. You can pick up their basic line at your area Wal-Mart. They do have a top end line, however the basics from Wal-Mart work best.

Ive used washing up liquid on some oil stains and diesel marks on paintwork before as thats what they are designed to do, remove grease.

But theres nothing like a good quality car shampoo with a wax to make your ride look good. also helps with bird poop and other residues like fly splats!

JonX wrote:Is it OK to use dish washing liquid? I've been using it for years and never noticed any damage but my friend says it strips the wax off. And that I should buy a special car soap. Is that true?

That's a good idea! You can use that of course, no doubt since it's proven right? But I think it depends on the paint type used on your car. Down side of it is dish washing liquid aren't formulated for use on a car's paint and may strip off the protective wax but you might also wanna try using shampoo with 1 bucket of water and a baking soda you can easily shine your car's chrome.