Is it ok to use regular hand/dish soap to wash your car?

The paint on my car is fairly new but chips easily (probably a bad paint job to cover up scratches before they sold it to me).





Just wondering if I use a soft cloth/brsh if it would be ok to use the soap you normally use to hand wash your dishes with? Will it ruin the paint? I've done it before on cars I didn't care about, but I really don't want to mess with my new car!Is it ok to use regular hand/dish soap to wash your car?
1. dont use a 'soft' cloth/brush


even though it seems soft to you, it might not be for the paint


use either microfiber towels, or a specially dedicated wash mitt, can buy these at wal mart





if your going to be detailing yoru vehichle ( clean/polish/wax) which you should


then its fine to use the detergent to make sure everything is clean from the cars surface





if your just going to be washing the car and thast it, dont use it,


use a car wash soap, theyre like 5 bucksIs it ok to use regular hand/dish soap to wash your car?
If you use dish washing soap your paint work is going to get even worse. Not only will this stuff remove any previous finish, it can also encourage rust in the body panels as it removes oils and waxes. Don't use it. Ever! (Despite what other answers are telling you)


Buy a really good specialist car wash shampoo (Turtle wax or Autoglym if in the UK), dry your car with a chamois and leave it for a few hours to dry further. Then apply a body polish such as Autoglym Super Resin Polish (Americans may call it wax) but you want the stuff that is applied with a cloth allowed to dry and is then buffed off with a clean cloth. This will bring out the best colour of your paintwork and leave a protective barrier against sun light, water and dirt.


Wash the car first thing in the morning to allow it all day to fully dry and apply the polish under cover if the sun is out as applying to hot paintwork reduces its effectiveness.


If you are unsure go along to your local body/detailing shop and ask the guys there what they use.


Good luck.





Damo
Yeah, just water down the dish soap like 1 half gallon to 1 ounce of soap. Use ';Mild'; detergent and lots of water to rince off.





The store bought car wash have wax solutions to make the water bead off directly after your car is dried. But if you have a weak paint job, and you are stuck with it, it is probably best to use a higher quality car wash from a store and what ever you do, don't scrub.





It will do in a pinch, but don't use the dish soap as a regular habit.
Most dishwashing liquids remove wax when you wash a car with it. Ideally, you would wax your car, then wash it with carwash soap, specially formulated to not remove wax. prior to waxing your car again, you would wash it with Dawn or Joy, which will certainly remove the old wax.. and rewax. So , if you are not going to ever wax your car, then dish soap is okay, but if you do wax, realize it removes all the wax
FIrst, if you like this car, look up ';Klasse'; on the internet. They provide mail order auto treatments that will make your car glow at night!!! Rinsing a car down with clear water and using a good chamois is still the best. Mud can be removed with a power washer at the local do-it-yourself place. Dish soap usually leaves spots. There are many car soaps availalbe at Auto Parts stores. Meguiar's is very good.
you said it has a bad paint job anyways on it but its still your car.





once in a while is not gonna ruin your paint job but typically its better to wash it with car washing stuff.





it will shine better if you use the right stuff especially if it has some wax in it. dont add wax yourself. :-)
no it won't hurt the paint but it will take wax off the paint.
Some soaps will wash the wax off.
dont use dish soap it will strip off any wax you have and will waterspot bad