car wash with household?

[napkinthief]

i know u cant wash ur car with dish soap cuz itll eat away at your wax and paint, but is there anything else thats "household" that you can use?

 

[splattj]

Why would you want to when you can get properly formulated car wash from the grocery, auto parts stores, hardware stores, dealerships, etc. It's pretty cheap. I purchased a gallon of Meg's Gold Class wash for $8 at Costco. Stay out of your mom's cleaning supplies and get a proper detergent. There really isn't a good household cleaner that will wash your car without damaging the finish, removing the wax, or leaving a film of something behind.

 

[Amazin' Wasian]

go to autozone or oreilly auto parts the have a gallon of there house brand car wash for like 5 bucks

 

[a_scobel]

I'd just use the dishwashing soap before you wax your car, since it'll remove the current layer of wax. As for eating the paint, I've never heard of dishwashing soap eating away paint..? Maybe I'm wrong. To be safe, I'd only use it when you want to get rid of the current wax. All I know is that if the current car wash soap you're using doesn't make a lot of suds, I'd try a new kind. When you wash your car you want the surface to always be slick & slimy. If you're washing it, and your hand kind of sticks on a part you already wiped down, get some new soap.

 

[CyberEye]

I heard AJAX works wonders!!


but yeah, only use dish soap if you want to remove the wax, it wont harm your paint. Go to NAPA and buy some NXT car wash, awesome stuff.

 

[splattj]

Suds don't always correlate to slickness. Some of the most expensive car shampoos out there don't have much suds at all. Just make sure the surface feels slick. It's a good indicator of how well it will protect the finish as you wipe the dirt off. I'd recommend Meguire's Gold Class or the Meguire's NXT wash. You can usually find both at the local auto parts store.

 

[a_scobel]

Suds don't always correlate to slickness. Some of the most expensive car shampoos out there don't have much suds at all. Just make sure the surface feels slick. It's a good indicator of how well it will protect the finish as you wipe the dirt off. I'd recommend Meguire's Gold Class or the Meguire's NXT wash. You can usually find both at the local auto parts store.

Ah yes, forgot to stress the 'slickness' part more than the suds. For the most part though, the suds are a good indicator..of course there are the exceptions.

 

[spiritturbo]

A bit dated for sure, but I second Meguiars.

So spend a few bucks, buy a good carwash of your choosing from the auto parts store and the softest scrubbing fabric you can find. Hand wash your dream machine, chamois dry, follow up with a clay bar/detailer treatment if you like that kind of thing, and finish with two coats of a good wax that you apply by hand. There is no substitute for elbow grease. You will have a long lasting wonderful shine that will take kindly to occasional rinsing.