I finally got my order in of all Mothers products, clay kit, glaze, wax, etc, but first I need to strip off the crap the dealer put on. I hear that Dawn soap takes off all wax, sealers, etc. My question is, how bad will it hurt the clear coat layer or the paint? I will only be using Dawn this time to strip the waxes off and use the Mothers wash the rest of the time.

There are products that are made specifically for stripping wax. It is used for wax removal before applying accessory items such as body side molding, pinstriping, etc. I'm not sure what's the name of it, but auto supply stores should carry such products.
As for the Dawn, I don't think using it one time would hurt the paint/clearcoat finish (in my humble opinion).
Good luck...

dawn isnt abrasive like say mr clean, after all they wash oil spill animals in dawn, if anything it should take the grease off your paint with ease, i wouldnt worry about it to be honest, its fairly mild on the skin no??

:P

I always wash the cars with a car wash soap unless I'm going to do a waxing. Then I wash it with Dawn and then wax.

Dawn used everytime will not hurt the paint, it just removes all your hard work from waxing it.

To get the bugs and road grime off, Dawn really works!

I use dawn to wash my hands after working on my old cars. I'll come in and my hands will be black, GoJo, Orange Clean, Lava will leave black gunk behind but for some reason Dawn and a wash cloth get my hands clean. I've never used it on my car before, but to me I don't see how it could effect your paint it is not a solvent or oil based so it shouldn't do anything to your paint.

I wuldnt worry about using it.
I know...I know...they all say don't use dish soap...but 'relax..your soaking in it'.
lets be honest, using it once isnt go to kill your paint, and to be quite honest, my old man use to use dish soap all the time, and the paint always outlasted the vehicle time and time again.

I always use it when I'm going to wax the car. Then I use a more mild soap, like Maguire's car wash, that won't strip wax for a few month's afterwards. I've used all sorts of dish soap to wash my vehicles over the years and never had any problems (other then it strips off grease and wax).

When I used to go down to my boat slip, my boat would be covered in black spots (spider poop). Everyone recommended Dawn as the best cleaner. They were right, it cleaned the boat right up.

How about using dawn to clean the white inserts of the leather seats? Then apply conditioner. I just cant keep that almost white leather clean. It seems attract stains

That's why I don;t bother with leather, I always use seat covers anyway.

I've decided to not use Dawn after reading tons of horror stories about it on some searches I did. I did find Chemical Guys Citrus Wash and it's supposed to strip of old wax and buildup. Check it out:

http://www.amazon.com/Chemical-Guys-Citrus-Wash-Gloss/dp/B001TK0DSY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1282772410&sr=8-1

If you are going to clay your car why waste your time doing a dawn wash. just do a normal wash. and the clay bar takes off everything down to the clear coat. meaning waxes etc. no need to use a wax stripper before the clay bar.

I love Dawn, for dishes, simple cleans, cars, boat, motorcycle. My reason is simple. It does not turn my hands red and cause them to itch.

That being said, I try to limit using a ton of it out doors, as with any cleaner, just because of the run off. Don't know if its bad, good or how rated for the environment. Just figured whay waste it.

But Dawn has worked on everything I have washed outside with no problems from my Jeeps, former Dirty Mazda truck and Cherokee and CJ, motorcycles with jet black road grim and even my wife's SLK 230. That's her baby. No problems or issues.

That's why I don;t bother with leather

I'm with you there Dix. We always had cloth seats. Then 5 years ago we bought a car for my wife with leather... we just sold that and went back to cloth. Much easier to take care of.



And Dawn works wonders, at getting all the crap off your car. I've used it many times without any effects on the paint. Just be sure to re-wax afterward.

My friend's college roomate used to masturbate with Dawn. He never seemed to have any problems, but his palms were kinda hairy. j/j

But I think it's fine to use on your finish.

My friend's college roomate used to masturbate with Dawn. He never seemed to have any problems, but his palms were kinda hairy. :wow: MY EYES ARE BURNING

is that like spanking a dead horse ??
:dead_horse:

My friend's college roomate used to masturbate with Dawn. He never seemed to have any problems, but his palms were kinda hairy. j/j

But I think it's fine to use on your finish.

OMG, are you kidding me? I tried that once and I was peeing soap bubbles for a week, but on the other side of the coin, I had the cleanest toilet you can imagine. I learned my lesson fast and did what everybody else does, and switched to Crisco oil.