Liquid Cascade as car wash?

A buddy of mine told me that he read somewhere that detailers are using Liquid Cascade as a car wash since it has a great sheeting action. Does anyone know anything about this? It seems to me that it would strip the wax on the car.

Using dishwashing detergent is a VERY BAD idea! You are right, one application of dishwashing detergent will effectively strip ALL of your wax off. That is what it is designed to do.
My neighbor used to use it on his BMW, despite my advice not to. Within a year or so, his paint felt very rough, I think it was actually little rust speckles! Whatever it was, it was not how you would want your car to be . . .
Stick with car wash soap specially made for washing cars without stripping wax!

[TN-W124 Diesel]

NO NO & NO! Just figure it this way Cascade is used in a dishwaher to get dryed on food off without hand washing, so it's got to be a very strong detergent.

[CJ]

Rule of thimb. Do not use anything on your car, that you would not use on your face.

[420SEL]

Personally I would never use it for the reasons mentioned above. I have heard of some detailers using it to completely strip wax froma car before they do some serious reconditioning to the paint job. It is not done often, and maybe not by many good detailers at all, but I have heard of it being done. If detailers do it, then leave it to them, if they damage your paint at least you'll have someone to blame other than yourself.

If you are planning on waxing the car after the wash, I can't see how dishwashing detergent would hurt. I can see how if one is planning on doing some serious reconditioning of paint (like color sanding, major polishing, etc.) is might be good to strip the surface with something like dishwashing detergent.

Dishwashing detergent doesn't itself hurt the paint (it is not THAT harsh), but what it does is basically strip the wax and leave it unprotected. After it is unprotected, it is the environment that attacks the paint.

[JCE]

I found this on the NSX Acura list at

http://www.nsxprime.com/FAQ/Detailing/washdry.htm

One of the users wrote Proctor and Gamble about using Cascade on the car, and P&G replied not to use it because of possible paint damage. (The user group was very upset of the effect of one washing using "Dawn"!)

Also, Cascade is not just detergents. It contains carbonates, silicates, and trisodium phosphate, which EPA has found to react with the lead in house paint. Many paints contain metal oxides, and I would not want to bet my paint job that the contents were safe for the car and wouldn't react with the paint ingredients.

Also, for whatever it is worth, Most manufacturers of fine china recommend not washing dishes trimmed in gold or platinum in the dishwasher with dish washing detergent, and Cascade advises to seperate silver from stainless. This implies to me a certain reactivity with metals as well.

[Edited by JCE on 01-31-2001 at 04:31 PM]

JCE, you are right, I didn't read the post clearly enough, and don't do enough dishes to realize that the original poster was talking about dishing-washing MACHINE detergent (Cascade)!

I was thinking he was talking about dish washing liquid soap, you know, the type you squirt into the sink to wash a sinkful of dishes.

Yes, I would DEFINATELY not use dishwashing machine detergent to wash my car!

[JCE]

Brian: Your right, a big diffeence between the two. For years I used nothing but Ivory liquid dish soap (for the sink)on the Acura and Toyota based on the advice of a respected detailer in Newport Beach. He bought disposable contact lenses a number of years ago - before the wide variety of car washing solutions were available - and soaked them in various washing detergents for 24 hours. He claimed that the Ivory was the only one that didn't permanently fog the plastic contacts, which he said was a similiar plastic to clear coat ingredients. It didn't exactly preserve the wax, though - I was waxing those cars continuously. When I got the MB, Ivory had just reformulated their product, so I figured it was a good time to follow Lee's advice, and use Mequires liquid.

Yes, that's my point, Ivory/Joy/Palmolive etc. won't hurt the car, just your hands from having to rewax it after every wash!!

Cascade is probably a bad idea for a car wash. Something I have wondered about, though, is the use of a rinse agent such as JetDri (for dishwashing machines). I wonder if car washes use a similar product for their "spot free rinses"? Would such a product strip wax? I'm not about to experiment on my Benz but the idea is intriguing.

[420SEL]

I think most spot free rinses are distilled water. Usually the spots that are left are minerals from the water or even soap that has not been rinsed off.

[JCE]

I tried the "sheeting action" hose rinse technique that Lee described in his detailing FAQs, and it really works well! There is a lot less water left on the car after using that low flow, no nozzle technique.

Didn't read the FAQ, but I use the "sheeting action" technique that you described, and it works great! Hardly have to dry any water off the car, esp. if it has a good coat of wax.

As an aside, I am surprised so many of you wash your own cars. I thought I was the only one that still did that. Since my first car 19 years ago, I have NEVER (not once) paid for a car wash!

I actually enjoy doing it, and it gives me the chance to inspect the car generally for damage, etc. Also, I can do it far faster than it would take to drive to a car wash, get it done, and drive home, even if the car wash were only 5 minutes away. And, I do a better job.

But, I thought I was the only one, almost everyone I know never washes their own car.

[JCE]

Brian:
I agree that washing your own car is a great way to inspect. Also, I have never had good luck with car washes - broken rear wipers, scratched paint, missing items from cars, etc.

I thought things might be changing with the advent of upscale hand wash facilities, so I took my Acura to one when it needed gas. One employee who was filling the tank placed the gas cap on the open trunk lip as the other was vacuuming the trunk. Just as I started to walk over and tell them that there was a flange to hold the cap on the gas lid, they slammed the trunk on the lid, bending the edge of the trunk. They quickly removed the cap, closed the lid, and tried to walk away, thinking that I hadn't seen!

I drive past a high end Yuppie car hand wash place several times per day near my house. While waiting at the signal, I have seen them accidently drop a rag on the ground, then pick it up and continue rubbing the paint.

Nope, I don't go to car washes, no matter how cheap the gas, how good the coupons, or how many Starbuck Latte extra tall double whatchmacallits they offer. The bottom line is that no matter how modern the equipment, it isn't their car, it is a minimum wage job, and they don't care. End of rant.