so today was a beautiful day out so i figured I'd try my hand at detailing.
Here's what she looks like afterwards(sorry about the crappy phone pics)



Here's what I did:
Washed with Dawn> dried>clayed>washed again with chemical guys' wash> dried> put on a couple of coats of 'M seal' from chemical guys> drooled

I can't think of any good reason to wash your car with Dawn. This is coming from someone who used to manage a detail shop as well.

washing with Dawn strips any wax that might be on the car. Many peoplefollow the process stated by the OP, but they go on to polish and then wax. Its odd you've never heard of the "dawn wash."

Hmm, that seems like the poor man's solution. A high speed polish is going to take off wax better than dish soap. But, I've seen noobs f up cars because they don't know what they're doing with a high speed buffer. I guess I won't knock it too much because I've never tried it.

+1 on using dawn for this purpose...and i'm not poor

Zaino recommends dawn wash to take off all other products, but they do say not to do it often. Normally you should wash with some other quality car soap.

Well to each his own I guess. If you guys have ever seen what a car looks like after a wool pad and polish, I don't think any kind of soap can match that...

you failed when you washed your car with dish soap

how? washing with dawn are the proper steps into using any wax/sealant the first time as it strips all the old wax out.

I read a post dawn will dry out the paint??? and is very harsh? From what I read on this and other forums is to use iso/water 50/50 in a spray bottle. ISO = Isopropyl alcohol (70%) I did the whole gammett this weekend and am very happy with the results.

not recommended for use every time on your car..but Dawn dish soap...the regular kind without added stuff...will strip everything off your paint....like someone else said before..it is in the Zaino instructions

Yeah dawn everytime before a full detail, not every wash. Just when you want the old wax off.

I don't dawn the car before a detail, not point because the clay/polish steps remove an residual wax anyways, and dawn will strip essential oils from the plastic trim which is detrimental in the long run

^ +1
Redlude97 is correct. Most polish/cleaner waxes will effectively remove any residual wax/wax build up. The whole idea is for the polish to clean the surface bare, so you can start to build up your protection on a smooth clean wax free surface.