A roundup of the best car detailing products out there.
If you want to keep your car’s finish pristine and shiny, you’ll need to do more than just regularly give it a wash. Spending the time to do a thorough detailing session every couple of months makes a huge difference in protecting and maintaining your car’s finish. If you’re looking for the best car detailing products, you’ve come to the right place.
Here, we’ve rounded up all our top product recommendations across several categories, so you don’t have to browse all over the place to get what you need. Armed with these products, some elbow grease, and time, you can get your car looking like it’s brand new and maintain it for years to come.
For more information on the top 10 best car detailing products, refer to our table of contents.
Table of contents
- 1. Best Car Wash Soap: Chemical Guys Mr. Pink Super Suds Car Wash
- Promoted Product: Malco Clean & Shine
- 2. Best Pressure Washer: Sun Joe SPX3001 Pressure Washer
- 3. Best Foam Cannon: DUSICHIN Adjustable Foam Cannon
- 4. Best Clay Bar: Chemical Guys Medium Clay Bar and Luber Kit
- 5. Best Car Wax: Meguiar’s Ultimate Liquid Wax
- 6. Best Buffing Pad: Viking Microfiber Car Detailing Applicator Pads
- 7. Best Non-Ceramic Spray Wax: CarGuys Hybrid Wax
- 8. Best Ceramic Detailer: Meguiar's Hybrid Ceramic Wax
- 9. Best Tire Shine: Meguiar's Endurance Tire Gel
- Recent Updates:
1. Best Car Wash Soap: Chemical Guys Mr. Pink Super Suds Car Wash
There are dozens of car wash soaps out there, and truth be told, any from one of the more reputable brands will do the job just fine. But if we had to choose one, that pick goes to Chemical Guys' Mr. Pink Super Suds Car Wash. This car shampoo is designed to be gentle on sealant and wax coatings, ideal for weekly use. It's also pH balanced so that it won't damage other materials on your car's surface, such as polished metals, glass, vinyl, rubber, and plastic trim pieces. It features a slick formula that easily glides off your car, helping ensure swirl marks and scratches don't occur while you wash. It also rinses clean, leaving behind no residue or water spots.
Pros | Ph balanced, gentle on waxed finishes, resists water spotting |
Cons | Not generally available other than online or at specialty detail shops |
Promoted Product: Malco Clean & Shine
Save 20% at MalcoAutomotive.com with the promo code AG20.
When it comes to making your vehicle’s interior look its best, Malco’s Clean & Shine really stands out.
Clean & Shine can be used on leather, plastic, and vinyl to clean away grease, dirt, and most anything else that can make your interior look like an eyesore.
But don’t go thinking Clean & Shine will leave behind a slick, greasy residue. On the contrary, all it leaves behind is a satin (not reflective!) finish you won’t be able to take your eyes off of.
While you shouldn’t use Clean & Shine on fabric surfaces, it can help prolong the life of your leather, plastic, or vinyl by preventing drying, fading, and cracking.
You can clean up your interior in as little as 15 minutes. Just spray Clean and & Shine on your applicator pad (you an also use a clean towel or brush), then start working it into the surface. As with any cleaning product, it’s best to test it out on an inconspicuous area first.
2. Best Pressure Washer: Sun Joe SPX3001 Pressure Washer
If you routinely wash your own car, we highly recommend investing in a pressure washer. The Sun Joe SPX3001 is our top pick, powered by a 14.5-amp/1800-watt motor that generates 2,030 PSI of pressure along with 1.76-GPM water flow. That should be plenty enough to wash your car but also to take care of any household jobs, such as cleaning your deck, fence, or patio. The pressure washer includes five quick-connect nozzles so you'll have a variety of pressures to choose from. If you don't have a lot of experience using a pressure washer, avoid one of the really fine spray nozzles since they can actually peel the paint off your car!
Attached to the pressure washer are a 35-foot power cord and a 20-foot hose, which is enough to wash your car bumper to bumper without any hassle unless you own a large SUV or pickup truck.
Pros | Affordable, cranks out over 2,000 PSI |
Cons | Still not as powerful as most gas-engine pressure washers |
3. Best Foam Cannon: DUSICHIN Adjustable Foam Cannon
If you're using a pressure washer, you'll want a foam cannon to easily blanket your car with your favorite car shampoo. The DUSICHIN Adjustable Foam Cannon features a 0.25-inch quick disconnect fitting and a 1.0-liter bottle. While most foam cannons are similar, you'll want to get one with quality components so it'll last. DUSICHIN answers the call with brass connectors on this particular foam cannon.
To use this foam cannon, your pressure washer must deliver at least 1.2 GPM and over 1,000-PSI pressure. It's also adjustable, so you can control the mixing and just how much foam it generates.
Pros | Easy to use, quickly covers your car with soap foam |
Cons | Requires a pressure washer |
4. Best Clay Bar: Chemical Guys Medium Clay Bar and Luber Kit
If you really want your car's finish to look like it's brand new, you'll want to get yourself a clay bar and set aside some time. Clay bars are designed to remove contaminants from your car's surface, and it's highly recommended to go through your car's surface with one prior to waxing. Chemical Guys offers four different clay bars, allowing you to choose from original, light, medium, and heavy. The medium and heavy clay bars are professional-grade products, and it's recommended that you have experience using a clay bar before buying one of those options. They tend to be fairly stiff and not easy to shape, which is not great for a novice.
No matter which clay bar you choose, it'll do a good job of removing any contaminants in your paint and overspray—just make sure you have the experience and patience to use it properly. Chemical Guys' clay bars are non-abrasive, so you can safely use them on all aluminum, chrome, fiberglass, paint, and finishes.
Pros | Effectively removes contamination from paint, not too expensive |
Cons | You may not find it at your local shops |
5. Best Car Wax: Meguiar’s Ultimate Liquid Wax
Once your car is thoroughly washed and you've gone through it meticulously with a clay bar, it's time to apply a coat of wax. Like car wash soap, there are dozens of options to choose from, but we're fan favorites of Meguiar's Ultimate Liquid Wax. Seasoned auto detailers prefer this wax over its competitors for its ease of application/removal, affordable price, and durability. The Ultimate Liquid Wax is formulated with a long-lasting synthetic hydrophobic polymer, leaving your car with a deep and mirror-like shine for months. As a bonus, it comes with a special foam applicator and a microfiber cloth for buffing, so you don't have to spend money on those accessories.
Pros | Very easy to apply, resists swirling, readily available |
Cons | May not provide as durable a finish as traditional paste wax |
6. Best Buffing Pad: Viking Microfiber Car Detailing Applicator Pads
If your wax didn't come with an applicator pad, or you're looking for a quality buffing pad, here's our recommendation. Viking Car Care's microfiber applicator pads are offered in four different styles: standard, cotton terry, rectangular, and pads with a finger pocket. You can purchase a four or six-pack in three different colors. Well, three different shades of blue.
Designed for applying waxes, polishes, and other protectants, these buffing pads feature soft microfiber or cotton terry and are clear coat safe. And once you're done, they're machine washable and reusable, so a little goes a long way.
Pros | Inexpensive, not apt to leave swirl marks, machine washable |
Cons | No notable drawbacks with this product |
7. Best Non-Ceramic Spray Wax: CarGuys Hybrid Wax
Not everyone has the time to wax their car with traditional wax regularly. That's why spray waxes exist, helping protect the coat of wax you've already applied and keeping your car shiny and protected in between heavy detailing sessions. Again, there are plenty of quality options to choose from, but our recommendation goes to CarGuys' Hybrid Wax. This spray sealant is infused with traditional carnauba wax and is formulated for safe application on every surface of your vehicle.
When used properly, it'll leave behind long-lasting UV protection and a hydrophobic barrier to keep water beading off your car's surface. It comes in a bottle with a professional-grade sprayer with a fully adjustable nozzle. You can even use CarGuys' Hybrid Wax on glass, plastic, and rubber.
Pros | Contains carnauba wax, easy application, protects existing wax finish |
Cons | Not as durable as traditional paste wax |
8. Best Ceramic Detailer: Meguiar's Hybrid Ceramic Wax
Ceramic coatings have become extremely popular recently, but they don't come cheap. Fortunately, car detailing companies have been working on hybrid ceramic detailers that allow you to give your car ceramic protection without forking over hundreds of dollars. Not surprisingly, Meguiar's was one of the first companies with a hybrid ceramic coating solution you can apply at home with its Hybrid Ceramix Wax detailing spray. It features advanced SiO2 to deliver ceramic wax protection, and it's extremely easy to apply. Simply spray it on your car after a wash, rinse it off, and then dry it with a towel. No rubbing or buffing unless you really want to.
Pros | Meguaiar's sterling reputation, easy to apply |
Cons | As with other spray waxes it may not protect as well as a paste wax |
9. Best Tire Shine: Meguiar's Endurance Tire Gel
Nearly every single tire shine on the market will do what it advertises: keep your tires shiny. But some tire shines last longer than others, and some are easier to apply than others without leaving a mess. If you want a product that's long-lasting and easy to apply, that would be Meguiar's Endurance Tire Gel. Featuring an advanced formula with specialized macropolymers and copolymers that leaves your tire with a brilliant, high-gloss shine, this product is designed to last weeks, even through rain and car washes. It'll also help protect your tires against UV damage.
Being a gel rather than a foam or spray, you're able to control just how much shine you give your tire by adjusting how much you apply.
Pros | Easy to apply, long-lasting, Meguiar's reputation |
Cons | Shine is long lasting, but not permanent |
Recent Updates:
April 26, 2023: Added a new promoted product recommendation.
April 19, 2022: Updated link for Viking applicator pads.
December 17, 2021: Removed the previous promoted product.
June 21, 2021: Added link to promoted product.
June 17, 2021: Updated with a new promoted product recommendation.
June 7, 2021: Removed the previous promoted product.
March 5, 2021: Updated with a new promoted product recommendation.
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Main photo credit: hedgehog94 / Shutterstock.com
