Introduction

If your car is particularly dirty or has stubborn grease or oil stains, you may consider using a separate degreaser product before washing with soap. This can add a much needed punch to your car wash process to save time and money. However, it's essential to read the instructions and labels of any cleaning products you plan to use and follow the appropriate safety precautions to avoid damaging your car's paint or other surfaces.

Degreasers explained

Degreasers, such as sodium hydroxide, are highly alkaline and work by breaking down and emulsifying grease and oil. Grease and oil are made up of long chains of fatty acids, and alkaline substances like sodium hydroxide can break these chains apart, making them easier to dissolve in water.

The Diference between pH neutral and degreasers

In contrast, pH-neutral soaps are not as effective at breaking down grease and oil because they do not contain alkaline ingredients that can emulsify these substances. Instead, pH-neutral soaps rely on surfactants, or surface-active agents, that work by reducing the surface tension of water, allowing the soap to penetrate and lift dirt and grime from the surface. However, these surfactants are not as effective as alkaline substances like sodium hydroxide in breaking down grease and oil.

So if Your Car IS Super Dirty

You can use car wash soap with a dash of super clean (1oz) to strengthen the punch of the pH neutral soap. However this can damage your clear coat over time. But to be fair just like with any wash process, there will be slight scratching and marring no matter what you do. Anytime there’s contact with the paint, it will damage it technically. So in some sense, using stronger chemicals can sometimes lessen the damage to car paint because you will have to agitate (scrubbing) the paint less with a brush or wash mitt. This is the concept behind acid washing wheels with heavy brake dust. It is often safer to use dangerous acid and quickly neutralize it and rinse it off than to continuously brush your wheels with bristles.

Conclusion

Degreasers like sodium hydroxide are effective at breaking down grease and oil because they are highly alkaline and can emulsify fatty acid chains, making them easier to dissolve in water. pH-neutral soaps, on the other hand, are not as effective at breaking down grease and oil because they lack alkaline ingredients and rely on surfactants to lift dirt and grime from the surface.