Dawn Dish Soap: Does it really destroy your paint

Washing a car with Dawn dish soap is said to destroy your car paint. But does washing your car with Dawn dish soap really damage your car paint?
Simply put: Will washing a car with Dawn dish soap damage your car?
The simple answer is no it won't. But is a simple answer enough to go against the countless opinions that warn against using Dawn dish soap to wash your car. It seems there are far more opinions that strongly warn against using Dawn dish soap to wash your car than opinions that are in favor of it.
That is the question that Darren answers in this detailing tutorial designed especially for detailing for beginners who find themselves confused by the endless opinions that float around the Internet.

#dawndishsoap #dontusedawntowashcar #carwash

MUSIC CREDIT:
CFM Production

Ronin by Jantrax

[Ram]

I was a kid and loved my mom and dad's (bought new) 79 white Monte Carlo. I think I washed that car almost every-other-day in the spring and summer. All I used was dish soap. Either Palmolive (green) or Dawn. I washed that car for years! When it was 10 years old, it still looked new and has the best paint of any Monte Carlo in the Detroit area! No rust and still shiney!

[Void-gnzm]

Dawn dish soap kicks ass. I have no idea why they don’t tap into the automotive market and make an “automotive” soap.

[Nessa_the_pessa]

Plus, they use dawn dish soap to clean animals that get covered in oil!!! I have been cleaning all my vehicles with dawn soap for over 15 years and the paint never got messed up!

[fps]

Thanks so much for posting this. I find a lot of the other detailing sites confusing because I think their real motivation is selling products.

[officialpoa]

* I HAVE THE SAME VAN you have in the same color and when I put that DAWN 4X on it, man the shine is something else. That white paint will glow in the dark*

[rodjohnson]

Around 1983, a car magazine had an article comparing different car washing products. They used a measuring instrument called an ellipsometer, which can measure a thin film on a surface down to the angstrom level. This is the same order of magnitude as the size of atoms. They wanted to see which product left the least amount of residue after washing and rinsing. Guess what came out on top by a wide margin? Ivory liquid dishwashing detergent. And that result matched the much less scientific result by a company that cleaned cars for auto shows. They had been using Ivory liquid for years, based on their observations that it rinsed clean the best.

[fescudder]

Informative video man. I'm impressed. My wife used Dawn on my brand new F250 while I was overseas. I was freaking out. I feel better now. Car will be waxed when I get back in the states.

[sportyhuntley]

THIS IS THE SIMPLE EXPLANATION I NEEDED! THANKS!

[zdenanrehhelber]

Let me tell you something after using dawn, the Danm car still look clean after a week!

[amazed]

i use it every two months to remove all the grime that has been build up while driving during rain..apply good sealant afterwards and i am all set..

[treegrasss]

I find dish soap is really useful for cleaning both inner and outer side of windshield or any glass of a car. Grease on a glass is highly annoying and a dish soap is great for it.

[tomjoad]

I've used this plenty of times. Particularly after winter when I'm ready to strip off wax.

[kathleendrummond]

Thank you, sir, for this video it helps me a lot in deciding what to wash my truck with it is an older truck so just need to remove pollen and dust, but I will not be using much, Thank you.

[splicezone]

I have been using DAWN for 40+ years.
Never has i seen any damages to my cars surface.
At the end I do spray a bead maker paint protector by P&S and that is it.
Good to go smooth and shinny.

[TygerBleuToo]

I’m in SoCal with all the fires. The ash is so oily from plant oils and such, that the drive-through car wash is ineffective. So my thought was to use Dawn (if you can wash a little duckling in it, it should be gentle). Thanks for the information.

[jayasmrmore]

It is perfect for if you are trying to purposefully strip the old wax or sealants etc and plan to add new later. If you don’t want to strip the wax then use an automotive soap

[elainegmorrison]

I put a couple of drops in a small bucket of water to dry wash (ie - rub down with a damp towel) when it's just disgustingly filthy, top to bottom, and not very often. But what I do like is to run a soapy damp rag over the upholstery and floors (it barely wets it, just a once-over) and then steam it! Beware things which should not be melted! But steaming is oh so clean! Especially if you have to sleep in your car on long trips. I'm sure you'll hate that I do this. Aerate well to get rid of steam humidity.

[aquaman]

I add dawn to my pool. It’s a degreaser and water clarifier.. pool looks crystal clear.

[yslchris]

Thanks for getting to the point right away.. earned my sub👌🏼

[wdpcpa]

Don't know if you are still responding to comments. Yes, car was dirty. But it has been sometime since I used a higher PH level cleaner for road film made up of dirt and grease. So I did a wash with Dawn - pretty strong mix. Then decontaminated. Then clayed using Wolfgang Rinseless SIO2 as my lube. I kept it pretty wet during the claying. After wiping down, the car looked really hydrophobic. I am thinking I don't need to wax. Just go through this process once a year. Otherwise, use a ph neutral shampoo. Your thoughts?