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Topic ClosedWashing the pod

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crw8sr View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Topic: Washing the pod
    Posted: 20 Mar 2019 at 9:59pm
Meguiar's


  From interweb - - - - A common question is: Can you wash your car with dish soap? If you think about what dish soap is made for like removing grease and caked-on food then you’ll understand why it’s not good for your car. While it does a good job, it’s good because it’s considered an abrasive soap. But, when you use an abrasive soap on something like car paint, it accelerates the oxidation process and gives the car a dull look. Dish soap will also break down a car’s wax coat and can be tough on rubber.

 

 

Now that you know not to use dish soap to wash a car, what does that leave you with? Laundry soap, hand soap, and other household cleaners are also off limits. These soaps are not pH balanced and can also damage your vehicle’s paint. To get the results you want, you’ll simply need car soap. Car soap contains more lubricant, which you’ll notice when you move it behind your fingers. The slick formula is much better for your car’s surface.

 


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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Mar 2019 at 5:43am
Here's a discussion from the Meguiar's site on Dawn dish soap, which is what I use. 


Like a lot of things it can turn into a big debate. Some swear its the greatest thing to ever come along, some say its like detonating a nuclear weapon on your paint job.  

I don't wash my vehicles very often, I used to fuss over them and it just created more potential for scratching the finish. Way too much bug bashing around here in the season to keep up with it. And besides, I'm lazy Big smile

Now I wash and wax once in the spring and again in the fall, that's it. The rest of the time my vehicle surface maintenance efforts focus more on trying to keep the steel from rusting in the salt air. Thumbs Down


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lostagain View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Mar 2019 at 8:36am
Keep in mind that the coating on the r-Pod is not a lacquer based car paint, but gelcoat; the same as is often found in many bathtubs and showers these days.  And how often to you wash your Pod compared to your shower?  Probably a mild solution of dish soap isn't going to strip off that wax you labored so hard last fall to put on, but it will get most of the dirt and bugs off.  

The important thing to do is to try to keep the gelcoat sealed with some protective coating such as a boat wax, especially if it has uv blockers and don't worry about occasional washing taking it off.  Think of it this way:  Boats get washed with some kind of soap, not to mention the lake or sea water, practically every time they go out and it is not likely that boaters, except those with obsessive compulsive disorder, wax them on every outing.  There are tons of fiberglass boats in perfectly good condition after 60 years of service.  It's not likely that you'll keep your Pod that long.  

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Mar 2019 at 7:38pm
Never use dish soap to wash a RV or automobile
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lostagain View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Mar 2019 at 8:21pm
pshort, do you have some reasons based on facts that support your opinion that one should not use ordinary dish soap on the gelcoat surface of an r-Pod [not other rv's or cars]?  Dish soap has to be mild enough to not hurt delicate hands, and is often used to clean other fiberglass surfaces such as a bathtub or shower with no apparent damage.  How is the r-Pod gelcoat different from other common fiberglass products?  Thanks.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Mar 2019 at 9:24pm
Yah. I've got the same question as lostagain. In my mind, dish soap is among the most mild of detergents. For one, they have to be mild because people put their hands in it. For another, you really don't need to use a heck of a lot. The main idea is to break the surface tension of water. Finally, dish soap is designed to rinse cleanly because people don't want soap residue on their dishes or utensils.

When I use any kind of detergent to wash a vehicle; be it car, truck, or RV, I use about a cap full to a 2-gallon bucket.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Mar 2019 at 1:58am
  We use Gel-Gloss RV Wash and Wax, use it for our truck and RV.
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