The presence of a car wash on every other street corner doesn’t cut it for some discerning car owners. Touchless car washes tend not to do a very good job of getting the car clean, but conversely, traditional car washes can be hard on the finish. To that end, there are no shortage of excellent car washing and detailing kits on the market. Discover the solution for maintaining your classic or keeping your money-making Lyft machine mint from our list of the best car cleaning kits.
While somewhat expensive on the face of it, this very basic kit is made up of high-quality materials. The detailing mitt is deep microfiber that is safe for any surface. The six-gallon bucket comes with a lid, casters, measuring cup, and a grate at the bottom that sifts out dirt and debris.
The drying towel has enough capacity for a whole car and can dry in a single pass. You also get 64 ounces of car wash soap, which will last a good long while and costs a good fraction of this price on its own.
Everyone knows Meguiar’s. I would wager that you’ve already even used the Gold Class car wash that comes in this very kit. They make excellent products that are widely available. Even better, their kit is a bit cheaper than the Griot’s Garage kit, even though it lacks a bucket.
Still, with the included sponge, once you grab a drying towel and bucket, you’re good to go. This one includes cleaners for the interior, too, so you’ll be able to tackle the entire car with the items in this box.
Kit contains:
Sponge
Gold Class car wash shampoo & conditioner – 16 ounces
We’ve certainly all used Armor All in some capacity before, even if it was just the wipes to clean up the dashboard. This is certainly a basic kit, including just one bottle for each of the surfaces of your car. The key advantage to this one is the price.
Even if you pair it with a separate kit of cleaning implements, you’d still be at or below the price of other basic kits. If you happen to already have the mitt and towel you need, this could could save you a lot of money.
This kit goes a bit further than the Turtle Wax and Armor All, including everything you need to clean and polish virtually every surface of your car. This kit is focused a bit more on a deep clean than the detailing finish work, though it does include vinyl and leather dressing.
The wheel cleaner is especially good for brake dust, so if you opted for those cheaper pads on your last change (come on, admit it, we’ve all been there) and your wheels are covered in black now, you might go with this one to address that issue.
Chemical Guys makes some serious car cleaning products and it shows in the prices they command. This kit is basic in the sense that it doesn’t offer any implements for getting the job done, focusing instead on six high-end products for cleaning and protecting your car’s surfaces.
If you’ve tried other products and found them wanting, try this pricey option for a slightly higher grade of product.
Kit contains:
VRP Supershine dressing – 16 ounces
Hybrid V7 Optical Select High Gloss spray sealant and quick detailer – 16 ounces
Inner Clean interior quick detailer and protectant – 16 ounces
Diablo Gel wheel and rim cleaner – 16 ounce
Mr. Pink Super Suds shampoo and conditioner – 16 ounce
This kit is the only one in the basic kits that includes anything like a clay bar that is used to remove the fine pits and particulate that gets embedded into car finish. The wash mitt in this package includes nanoskin, which was developed to replace the clay bar while working faster. This one doesn’t include a bucket, but it does include something else none of the other basic kits does: an apron.
If some of those products were a bit too intense for you in your search for a basic car cleaning kit, this option might be the one for you. It’s reasonably cheap, for one thing, but that’s partly because it includes implements only, so grab yourself a big bottle of car soap and you’ll be set to perform a basic car wash in your driveway. Or combine this with one of the cleaner-only packages above and you’ll have everything you need.
Paring everything back to the barest essentials, this waterless kit gives you just exactly what you need to clean the exterior of your car and nothing more. This might not cut it for super dirty wheels that need extra scrubbing, but for glass and body panels, this spray-on, wipe-off car wash should do the trick in a pinch.
Allowing the product to sit for 30-45 seconds loosens the dirt, allowing you to easily wipe it away. This might be the best option for tossing in the trunk and touching up between washes.
This option from Adam’s uses a formula focused on enhanced lubricants, making it extra-slick so that surface dirt is easily removed. At the same time, it doesn’t leave your car glossy so you have the option of leaving it as-is or adding a separate agent specifically for high-gloss finish.
The other charm to this option is that you can choose your initial buy-in. They have options for a one gallon bottle, a five gallon bottle, a 16 ounce spray bottle, a combo with the 16 ounce spray bottle and two towels and this pictured collection. Once you buy any of the options with the spray bottle, you can grab the five gallon refiller later to keep you in wash for a good long time.
Do you have an airplane in addition to a car? Even if you don’t, it might give you piece of mind to know that the car wash you’ve chosen is good enough to meet Boeing’s cleaning specifications for aircraft. This is a biodegradable car wash that can be used as a waterless wash, or sprayed on as a wax after a traditional car washing method.
This is the most basic kit, providing you just the car wash and towels. If you prefer, you can also opt for the starter kit, which includes something called Belly Wash. This quantity should be enough to last a good long time with a total of 160 ounces of car wash.
The outside of the car usually only has three types of surfaces: some kind of metal, glass, and rubber. The inside, however, could have any number of different materials, including vinyl, leather, wood, and different plastics. This kit from Griot’s includes virtually everything you need to address these, as well as a handful of applicators.
The only thing it’s missing is something for upholstered surfaces, which the other two interior kits on this list have. For that reason, pick this one if you have leather seats.
While this kit is the priciest of the interior kits on our list, you’re paying for a little more attention to detail. The interior detailer and leather conditioner in this kit both include SPF 65 to protect your car’s surfaces from UV rays. It also includes detailing swabs, for those of you who like to get into every tiny crevice — into vents and the corners of the change holder.
You also get two types of towels and applicators to tackle the whole interior. If your carpets could use a scrub, consider the Interior 6 Pack, which comes with a soft hair brush.
If you have nothing at all, not a brush nor a single spray bottle, consider this massive offering. This huge kit includes a cleaner for every surface, as well as a towel or applicator to match. You’ll get everything you need to get started cleaning your car at home, and probably even more. It’s a great kit for restoration as well as continued maintenance. The bucket and detailing guide are nice touches, too.
Striking the balance between the top two, this Meguiar’s kit covers the inside and outside of your car both with cleaners and towels. It doesn’t just focus on the end result, giving you their Ultimate Compound and a pre-waxing glaze, both of which focus on removing paint swirls and scratches before you the liquid wax and detailer.
Choose this one if your paint has some imperfections you need to work out before you get it to the high shine stage. For a little less, you could try their Complete Car Kit, which has a similar set of cleaners, but is maybe not their highest-end product range.
If you’re thinking that if there’s no bucket, it isn’t a complete kit, I’m with you. Here’s one on which you don’t need to spend nearly $400 just to get them to throw in a bucket. Besides that, this is also a very well-balanced kit that covers all the interior and exterior bases. It even has the first appearance of a tire sponge on this list to apply the Super Blue rubber dressing.
Kit contains:
Body Shine – 16 ounces
Liquid Carnauba wax – 16 ounces
Wash and wax – 16 ounces
Super Blue tire and rubber dressing – 16 ounces
Super Citrus degreaser – 32 ounces
Bugzapper bug remover spray – 32 ounces
Glass cleaner – 19 ounces
Applicator sponge
Tire dressing applicator
Wash bucket with grit guard insert
Two waffle weave microfiber towels – 16 inches by 24 inches
Suppose you already have a car wash soap and sponge/towel combination you like. The complete kit you’re looking for should be a bit more specialized. You’re looking to have a product for each minute detail. This kit could be the one for you. With 12 specialty products that do everything from remove bugs and adhesive residue to repel liquids from fabrics, this collection is for carefully treating each surface after you’ve managed the general exterior clean.
This kit has two things none of the others do: a vacuum cleaner and a DVD for how to grow an auto detailing business. Assuming that second part is just extra for the average car owner, the vacuum is a pretty compelling piece. Rather than use your home vacuum, you could leave this one in the garage or shed explicitly for use on your car. Aside from that, you get a full range of cleaners, applicators, and sponges.
If it’s enough to start a business doing it, it’s enough to keep your car looking its best. Oh, and if buying this inspires you to actually start that business, you can get the Start Up Kit II and Start Up Kit III, as well. Be prepared to open your wallet, though.
Kit contains:
Bucket Head vacuum cleaner
STS 3000 polymer sealant – 16 ounces
Foam pad
Black Cherry car wash soap – 16 ounces
Pink Power interior cleaner – 16 ounces
Extractor soap – 16 ounces
RTU glass cleaner – 16 ounces
Pearl Gloss interior dressing – 16 ounces
Special Force Plus all purpose cleaner – 16 ounces
Tire & white wall cleaner – 16 ounces
Bug Off bug remover – 16 ounces
Super Blue tire & rubber dressing – 16 ounces
Two microfiber wax applicators
Two microfiber super towels
Super Sucker microfiber drying towel
Bug sponge
How to Start, Operate & Grow an Auto Detailing Business DVD
Chances are, your tools are well organized in a chest or a bag like this one. Why shouldn’t your car cleaning products also get the same treatment? This handy bag makes it safe and convenient to store the full line of Wolfgang detailing products, which includes something for nearly every condition of paint.
You get clay and clay lubricant for restoring rough finish and deep gloss sealant for protecting that restored surface, but also polish enhancer for new cars. Throw in some cloths and applicators and you have a complete solution.
If you want to be sure you have exactly what you need for each element of your car, consider this Ardex kit. The bottle sizes are slightly larger on the essentials, giving you more washes per kit. Unlike a few of the other kits that have overlapping waxes, this gives you one bottle per purpose so you don’t need a guide to sort them all out.
They even throw in a spray bottle and, of course, a few towels and an applicator. For a little bit less, you can opt for the 16 ounce kit and save some money.
Kit contains:
Wash and wax – 32 ounces
It’s “O.K.” all purpose cleaner – 32 ounces
Miami Shine liquid paste wax – 32 ounces
New Concept tire shine and vinyl and rubber dressing – 32 ounces
A Foam interior cleaner – 18 ounces
A Spot carpet spot remover – 18 ounces
Miracle glass cleaner – 18 ounces
Details coating for hard-to-reach places – 18 ounces
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