What not to definitely do when washing the car!

[UseItNow]

Alright folks?

A few days ago my younger sibling washed his A3, I think with the AutoGlym Bodywork Shampoo Conditioner, well thats what he said, anyway, after he had finished washing it, leaving it to air dry, there were all these white streaks all over the vehicle.

Later on during the day when I saw him, I asked him what had caused this, he wasn't sure, I had a sneaky feeling that the shampoo was too strong in concentration, would I be right?

Now he's been driving around with these marks still on the paintwork, as its been raining on and off, the streaking's gone down, by deciding to leave the streaks (dry shampoo?) on would he be likely to cause paintwork damage, however much it is?

A friend of mine saw it and said he should avoid using these car shampoos as they cause damage to the paintwork () and instead he should use normal washing up liquid. Apparently all the car wash places (hand job/pressure washer places) do and it doesn't harm the paintwork, is there any truth to this?

Sorry, to ramble on but I forgot to say that all the other times my sibling has washed his car, the concentration used has been 2 caps to 10 litres of water as per instructions on the bottle and the car has looked stunning. Apparently, this time he wanted it to be foamy! So he used 2 caps to 4 litres of water and got all that mess!

So what would be the best thing to do when he washes it again to get rid of the streaks properly?

On a final note, I would say please do read the instructions on anything even if its for reference.

Oh yeah, thanks for reading and any comments/pointers!

[Butcher]

Why didn't he just rinse it more thoroughly?
Also air drying? Asking for streaks there.

[piggeh]

washing up liquid does more damage to bodywork than specialist shampoos. he should use a more diluted concentration and wash it off.

[Zak33]

washing up liquid is NOT used in car washes at all.

Except in the land of "wehatecarssowetrytoruinthembytrashingthepaintfinishwithfairyliquid"

So....ley me assure you, the white "runs" on his car are cos he can't leather a car properly. He needs lots of fresh water and a good leather.....it does NOT need to be a chamois, as they are hard to wring out...look for a "flunky" as they are syntheticv and easy to use.

Either way....he's just got "residue" on his car.

Washingup Liquid is DEATH...... don't use it. It's horrible.

[mmh]

washing up liquid is ONLY good to take ALL wax off a cars paintwork, and should only be used if wax is going to be reapplied...

otherwise, steer clear of it... it wont damage the paintwork, but by taking the wax off, it is leaving the paintwork open to the elements, wheras if it has ever had a wax treatment, or a paintwork protection coating on the car washing up liquid will remove it.

Atleast this is what ive picked up from a few (amatuer) detailers...

[SHare]

Washing up liquids often contain salt which as you can imagine, is a very bad thing to be rubbing in to your paintwork. Sounds like he washed the car and didn't rinse the shampoo off or just poured the bucket over the car. Best thing I've used for drying the my car is one of those Meguirs microfiber towels.

[SilentDeath]

I thought this would be something more like something I done as a child.. after washing my dads car... I threw bucket of dirty water at the wheels and it went over the bonnet... and made far more dirty than it started

[eshrules]

washing up liquid is NOT used in car washes at all.

Except in the land of "wehatecarssowetrytoruinthembytrashingthepaintfinishwithfairyliquid"

So....ley me assure you, the white "runs" on his car are cos he can't leather a car properly. He needs lots of fresh water and a good leather.....it does NOT need to be a chamois, as they are hard to wring out...look for a "flunky" as they are syntheticv and easy to use.

Either way....he's just got "residue" on his car.

Washingup Liquid is DEATH...... don't use it. It's horrible.

what he said....

I can't believe someone's told your brother to use washing up liquid INSTEAD of body shampoos, totally barmy.

I've got Microfibre drying towels for the Golf and they're bloody brilliant....

[UseItNow]

Why didn't he just rinse it more thoroughly?
Also air drying? Asking for streaks there.

That's what I told him to do but he couldn't be asked, Although, he will definitely rinse it more thoroughly next time!

washing up liquid does more damage to bodywork than specialist shampoos. he should use a more diluted concentration and wash it off.

That's what I thought too, will tell him to dilute it more than usual the next time he washes it, so he can get rid of the streaks/residue.

washing up liquid is NOT used in car washes at all.

Except in the land of "wehatecarssowetrytoruinthembytrashingthepaintfinishwithfairyliquid"

Washing up liquids often contain salt which as you can imagine, is a very bad thing to be rubbing in to your paintwork. Sounds like he washed the car and didn't rinse the shampoo off or just poured the bucket over the car. Best thing I've used for drying the my car is one of those Meguirs microfiber towels.

Thanks for the heads up on the Meguiars Microfiber towels.

So....ley me assure you, the white "runs" on his car are cos he can't leather a car properly.
Washingup Liquid is DEATH...... don't use it. It's horrible.

Leather? Would you wipe away the excess water or pad it down?
Zak, what is the proper way to do this?

I can't believe someone's told your brother to use washing up liquid INSTEAD of body shampoos, totally barmy.
I've got Microfibre drying towels for the Golf and they're bloody brilliant....

That someone is a friend of ours, more so, one of his best friends, I was flabbergasted.
Another vote for these microfibre/microfiber towels.

Again, thanks to all Hexites for your comments.