[Stryfe]

Since moving to Socal, my car has been getting absolutely demolished in terms of crap on the paint. Bird poop, little water spots that seem to appear from nowhere, pollen, fallout....

I find myself clay barring my car once a month, and if I look close at my paint I can see hard water spots that don't come off no matter how hard I try. I'm not even sure how these spots get there. I wash my car in the shade, I dry in the shade, and it's parked in a garage half of the time, away from rain.

What is the best car wash product that will strip off these contaminants? I've been getting into detailing lately and reading a lot, I'm thinking I probably need a sealant too?

I'm planning on going through the whole detailing process soon...wash, clay, polish, wax. At what point do I "seal?"

[Glen e]

Stop claying once a month. Long-term damage can occur from that. Just wash the car with Dawn dishwashing detergent and It'll strip everything off of it.
Start with reading my docs in my sig. You need a polish, then a sealant.

[Stryfe]

Originally Posted by Glen e

Stop claying once a month. Long-term damage can occur from that. Just wash the car with Dawn dishwashing detergent and It'll strip everything off of it.
Start with reading my docs in my sig. You need a polish, then a sealant.

Glen, thanks for the response. I was hoping you would see the thread.

I've read over a lot of your documents in the past, and actually got into rinseless washing based off of one of your guides.

I've heard that Dawn is bad for car paint, can you comment on that?

EDIT: Ah, I see. Using Dawn to provide us with a clean slate.

[Glen e]

Dawn bad?....more forum urban myth.........It is not bad for your paint. It is used as a stripper, not an every day wash. Ok several times a year.

But if you want to believe that, soap it down with whatever you want, and then wipe it down with 30/70 alcohol/water in a spray bottle.

[timmy8784]

Originally Posted by Stryfe

Glen, thanks for the response. I was hoping you would see the thread.

I've read over a lot of your documents in the past, and actually got into rinseless washing based off of one of your guides.

I've heard that Dawn is bad for car paint, can you comment on that?

EDIT: Ah, I see. Using Dawn to provide us with a clean slate.

My guess is that you've probably heard this because some people use this as their every wash soap not knowing any better. So every time they wash they are just stripping their protection. It does have its use though.

If you are still concerned about using it, there are other soaps out there advertised as stripping soaps.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...df03157706cb82

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...57650f05028c5a

[KirkH]

Chemical Guys Clean Slate will strip it. It is the best that I have tried. I have over 30 soaps on my shelf.

[wrankin]

Originally Posted by KirkH

Chemical Guys Clean Slate will strip it. It is the best that I have tried. I have over 30 soaps on my shelf.

That looks like 10 grand worth of car care chemicals - you are my idol. If you were my neighbor, you would definitely by in the "new best friend" category.

Bill R.

[KirkH]

Originally Posted by wrankin

That looks like 10 grand worth of car care chemicals - you are my idol. If you were my neighbor, you would definitely by in the "new best friend" category.

Bill R.

Hahahaha! Yes I have those neighbors. Luckily I buy all my products wholesale, and I am also fortunate to get some products free for testing and review.

[SPARTAN sui]

Dawn might work okay to breakdown contaminates, but it seems it doesn't affect LSP like people think. (there are companies now making strip wash which is designed to strip off LSP. Those would probably work better)

https://www.reddit.com/r/AutoDetaili...affect_my_lsp/

If I were in your position, I would clay again, light polish (maybe compound if there are swirls that won't level out with a light polish) then seal or last step protection (LSP).

For polishing you'll want to use a dual action or also known as random orbital polisher. This might be a useful link. http://www.best-auto-detailing-tips....-polisher.html

[Adam's Polishes]

Check out this thread there is a lot of good info that may help you with your water spots.

http://www.adamsforums.com/topic/158...e-water-spots/

[greg72982]

I remember reading somewhere that Dawn dries out/fades plastic trim. Anyone know if there is any truth to that? I stopped using it for that reason, but since I use DG 501 (a strong paint cleaner) after the speedy prep towel I figure it's all going to be gone anyway.

[Burly]

Originally Posted by greg72982

I remember reading somewhere that Dawn dries out/fades plastic trim. Anyone know if there is any truth to that? I stopped using it for that reason, but since I use DG 501 (a strong paint cleaner) after the speedy prep towel I figure it's all going to be gone anyway.

It's possible that Dawn will do that to certain types of trim but I've never noticed it in the 10 years of using it. I only use it for a reset and only 1-3 times per year. If I use it on a trim or plastic to heavily clean, I always follow up with conditioner of some kind.
When I use it to do a reset, I use a strong dilution of it too. I've found it works well in a foam canon also.