When you get a new customer car...

[Disciple]

Do you guys use any product to strip whatever wax or sealant might be on the car? Benefits would be that you can start from scratch and do it your own way.

What product would I use to do this? I've read that you can just use normal dish soap?

[mdeepauto]

Most waxes work better on a totally clean, wax free surface. I use the Zaino system on all my non paint correction jobs, which is wash with dawn dish soap, clay, then wash with their car wash solution. Even if I'm not using that system, I always start with fish soap or a heavy soap like a chemical guys citrus cleaner to take off any old wax.

[dchristo]

I use dawn dish detergent and follow up with Griots paint prep

[mwoolfso]

In a general sense, clay, dish soap (e.g. Dawn Ultra), pre-wax cleaners and polishes all remove the protection layers on a car. It really depends on what you want to do based on the condition of the paint.

My niece recently purchased a new Elantra and I used a mixture of Dawn with some APC for the initial wash and then clayed the car. After that, I was very sure the protection was gone and I had a pure surface to evaluate next steps.

[Disciple]

Good stuff. Cheers guys and girls. Looks like I'm gonna need to go and find some Dawn.

[Flash Gordon]

Originally Posted by Disciple

Good stuff. Cheers guys and girls. Looks like I'm gonna need to go and find some Dawn.

You'll find it right between the Brillo Pads and the Mop n Glow

Without removing the wax, you can't really polish and expect any results

[Disciple]

Brillo pads and Mop n Glow lol - I think in Australia we have Steelex and god knows what for mops. I'll take a look in a couple different Supermarkets tomorrow.

[Flash Gordon]

Originally Posted by Disciple

Brillo pads and Mop n Glow lol - I think in Australia we have Steelex and god knows what for mops. I'll take a look in a couple different Supermarkets tomorrow.

If you can't find Dawn look for a dishwashing (not the machine type, the hand type) liqiud that advertises it cuts grease

Another thing....If you get a stubborn LSP (wax), let your car wash soap (Dawn) dry on the paint. I know that doesn't sound like a good idea, but trust me, it works