Is dish soap safe on car paint? – Jalopnik

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Dish soap may seem great for washing cars. For starters, it’s in your kitchen, and it doesn’t take much of it to fill a bucket of water with heavy soapy water. That colorful, fragrant, sticky liquid works wonders at removing grease, stains, and grime from your pots and pans, but it can wreak havoc on your car’s paint. Car wash brands are right when they say that dish soap works a little too well to be used for cleaning cars, and that regular use can do more harm than good to your car’s paint.

Common brands of dish soap share a similar formula that uses dual-action hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfactants to emulsify and suspend grease in water. For this reason, dish soap should never touch the paint of your car or the entire vehicle in general. Car paint has a wax layer to protect the clear coat and give it a natural shine. Coincidentally, car wax is usually made from oil or plant-based ingredients such as carnauba and beeswax.

The oil-repellent properties of dish soap mean that it can literally dissolve and wash away the wax on your car’s paint, making it more vulnerable to intense UV exposure and weathering. Some silicone-based waxes, long-lasting ceramic coatings, or graphene waxes may take longer to fade, but constant use of dish soap will slowly eat away at any type of protective layer on the clear coat.

The final result is a dull finish with no traces of water beads, which is a telltale sign that the paint has literally run out of protection. If you don’t do this, your car’s paint will begin to crack, fade, or oxidize over time. At that point, no amount of polishing or waxing will undo the damage.

Things like rubber door seals, window seals, roof strips, headlights, taillights, and black plastic or rubber trim will inevitably begin to deteriorate with time and constant exposure to the elements. However, repeated washing with dish soap accelerates the aging process, leading to faded, discolored or dried out exterior upholstery.

In addition, dish soap is also harmful to paint protection film (PPF), which is usually made of thermoplastic urethane. PPF can last five to 10 years with holistic maintenance, but don’t expect it to last that long if you normally wash the vehicle with dish soap. It’s the same story with vinyl wraps; Harsh cleaning agents such as dish soap can dry them out prematurely or damage them with repeated washing. You won’t ruin your car’s paint by washing it often, but you will if you insist on using dish soap.

Believe it or not, there are cases when it is okay to use dish soap to clean cars. Because it can literally remove wax or sealants from the clear coat, dish soap is fine if you plan to detail or wax your car after washing. Meanwhile, a drop of dish soap in a spray bottle is a quick solution for removing tree sap or bird droppings.

Products such as the Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions Pure Wash, Chemical Guys Mr. Pink Super Suds Car WashAnd Meguiar’s Gold Class Car Wash have mild formulas. These retain the protective wax on your paintwork’s clear coat while being powerful enough to remove dirt, grime and contaminants. You should also stay away from dish soap if your car has matte paint, which requires regular washing with matte products such as Dr. Beasley’s Matte Body Wash to clean effectively without damaging the velvety, matte finish.