"Cam Newton" > wrote in message
> The question is: what is so special and different about the store
> bought car wash products versus dish soap?

Dish soap is pretty good at cleaning because it is a rather strong
detergent. Dish soap will strip carnauba wax, so if you just had your
car waxed, it'll be removed the first time you wash it with dish soap.
Most people like their wax to stay on little longer than that ;-)

Also, depending on how good/bad your water is, dish soap may cause more
water spots to appear.


> I keep hearing about how 'harsh' the dish soap is but comparing
> cooking muck to road muck, I know the road muck is harder to clean.
> For tar and real greasy stuff I use an orange based cleaner which
> works much better than anything else. In fact, only the orange based
> cleaner will do the job. I also use it on my bike, BBQ and any where
> else grease and grime build up.

Well, it all depends on how long you want your paint to remain as nice
as it was the day it left the factory. I suppose you won't see any
damage overnight, but over the years there could be a difference.


> Anyway, so why would a car wash product be any less harsh or better
> than dish washing soap? I am having a hard time buying into the
> marketing. Soap is soap, pretty much.

Car shampoo is better because it's milder and doesn't strip wax (at
least the good ones don't).

Cheers,

Pete