Sugar soap - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sugar soap is an industrial cleaning material, composed of sodium carbonate, sodium phosphate, and sometimes sodium silicate as an abrasive. The dry powder looks like table sugar, which gives it its name. The term appears to be used with regards to a cleaning material, mainly in Commonwealth countries.
The solution is alkaline and is used for cleaning paintwork in preparation for repainting. (An alternative to prepare paintwork for painting is to clean the painted surface with "household ammonia" or ammonium hydroxide, which is a solution of NH3 in water.)