Car washed with washing up liquid

[Raffles]

Hey guys,

My girlfriend and her mother washed their car with washing up liquid. I know this is very bad for the paint, I believe it strips off the protection. What can be done to repair the damage to the protection? Would a good wax treatment be enough?

Thanks for any advice.

[iPlod999]

Yep. Washing up liquid will take of most if not of any protection which was there.

Hopefully, putting a good quality wax will put some protection back on.

[Craikeybaby]

A coating of wax or sealant would sort that, I'd be tempted to go with something with a light polishing action too (say Auto Finesse Triple), as the chances are some swirl marks will have been introduced too.

[ViperDave]

Its not the end of the world and zaino recommend it as a starting point before applying their products as it does a good job of removing old wax etc prior to clay which will take off anything that was missed.

Don't make a habit of it and apply a coat of wax/polish afterwards, leave the Brillo pad in the kitchen though!

[Raffles]

Thanks for the advice guys.

[Studio117]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYed_Hnrql4


Washing up liquid is perfectly fine to use. It will just take all the wax off. It won't damage the clear coat or anything.

[D_G]

Doesn't it have a really high salt content? If so you are pouring all this nice salty water into all the hidden recesses / panels as well as the degreasing agents removing the wax protection...

[RDM]

D_G said:

Doesn't it have a really high salt content? If so you are pouring all this nice salty water into all the hidden recesses / panels as well as the degreasing agents removing the wax protection...

Compared to road salt. Etc I imagine fairy has somewhere between zero and f-all salt content.

[shoehorn]

RDM said:

Compared to road salt. Etc I imagine fairy has somewhere between zero and f-all salt content.

We did some tests at school on washing up liquids,most were around 20-23% salt.
That was twenty years ago though.

[anonymous-user]

having used it myself there are fine salt particles like grit which cause swirls.

[RDM]

Good info, I didn't think it would be that bad..

[Raffles]

I'll make sure the car gets a very good hose down before we reapply a wax coating then.

[aka_kerrly]

Raffles said:

I'll make sure the car gets a very good hose down before we reapply a wax coating then.

This.
Periodically I will use washing up liquid as a stage two of a wash. Starting with a hose down/rinse to get the worst off then a washing up mix followed by hose down followed by proper car shampoo followed by another rinse.

[avocado]

The Spruce goose said:

having used it myself there are fine salt particles like grit which cause swirls.

There's no way the grit was salt, salt dissolves in water ...

[Squiggs]

The Spruce goose said:

having used it myself there are fine salt particles like grit which cause swirls.

One squirt of fairy and all my best bone china is scratched ???? .... Nah!

[ViperDave]

yeah 1 teaspoon full if fairy of which only 25% is salt, diluted down into 5 gallons of water with that salt not suspended in solution like the dirt coming off the car but actually dissolved into the water at a molecular level, cant see that being very abrasive.

Far more likely its just the fairy took off the wax that was masking the scratches from previous washes.