I searched the forums, but only came up with conflicting views on this!

I'm getting ready to detail my car for the first time since I bought her 6 months ago. I know, long time, but I havn't really driven her.
The guy I bought it from said that it was detailed, which is probably true, but that first night I drove it home, it started pouring. Anyway, now it is time to fully detail it, and I'm wondering if I should just go ahead and use Dawn to strip everything and start from new?

It's black, with lots of scratches and swirls, that I will take care of. I'm leaning towards just stripping and starting with a clean slate.

Any other opinions please?

Thanks!

 

 

My opinion: Your car is no where near dirty enough to need it. The only car I've used Dawn on was my 10 year old GT that I don't think had ever been hand washed before I bought it, and that was before a bit wash down doing everything else. A 6 month old car certainly doesn't need it. In my opinion, Dawn should only be used for major work. For your situation, clay will strip the wax just fine, as well as removing all the other crap embedded in the paint.

 

AJ that sure is one beautiful BMW you have there. Sorry to be off topic but everytime i see your sig i think damn, thats badass
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Haha, thanks, if only mine could actually get here so I my sig could actually be a picture of my own. Still sitting in Bremerhaven waiting for a damn boat.

 

i think that clay and paint cleaner will take all of the wax off. especially if you dont even know the last time it was waxed, so its probably getting a little worn. then just hit it with a good polish to get rid of the swirls then wax/seal it.

 

Ok thanks everyone!!

i'll surely be doing this tomorrow. so no dawn! awesome!

 

Dawn is pretty harsh for a car, I wouldn't want to use it unless there was an actual reason to. And even then I'd start out with regular car wash then decide afterward if it needed it or not. Washing and claying should be more than enough for most people.