Whether you see it as a boring chore or a labor of love – washing your car is a very important job, and it’s important to pick the right car shampoo to do it with.
Table of Contents
- #1. Citrus Wash and Gloss –
(Add Gloss to your paint) - #2. Citrus Wash and Clear –
(Strip Dust save old Wax) - #3. Citrus wash –
(High-strength & Strip Wax) - #4. Glossworkz –
(Car detailing technology inside) - #5. Maxi-Suds II –
(Nice clean shine and lot of Suds) - #6. Honeydew Snow Foam –
(For foam cannons and guns) - #7. Mr. Pink –
(Fresh polished effect) - #8. Extreme Body Wash & Wax –
(Clean and Wax 2 in 1) - #9. Meticulous Matte Auto Wash –
(For matte & plasti dip – no gloss) - #10. Wash & Wax –
(Traditional premium shampoo) - #11. Bug and Tar Remover –
(Clean bumpers and wheel arches)
We’re going to give you some top tips on what to look for when you choose a car shampoo and then we’re going to tell you the very best that are available on the market right now.
You can buy just shampoos or products that both shampoo and wax.
For the best results use a shampoo first, then fully wax or polish the car afterwards.
If you use a shampoo and wax it will add a layer of short-term protection from dirt and road grime and that will last possibly up to a month. The protective film from shampoo and wax products also means you’ll notice the water run off quickly from the car which makes drying easier and helps you avoid leaving swell marks.
There are a huge variety of detailing shampoos and they all have their own place and purpose in the detailing job.
Now we will figure out how to select the proper shampoo for your job to make sure that you get the best results on your car or a customer’s car so everybody has an amazing looking vehicle.
#1. Citrus Wash and Gloss – (Add Gloss to your paint)
It is an ultra premium citrus based hyper wash & gloss shampoo
This one actually combines a traditional shampoo with a gloss enhancer to coat the vehicle and give a really nice bright shine. It works great on dark color cars and light-colored cars as well. It’s great for the professional looking to go ahead and you wash a car that hasn’t been waxed and somebody that doesn’t maintain the car but wants to keep it looking great.
It is also awesome to give your car a little extra shine to your wax coat. It’s also a bright yellow color and has an awesome high level of suds it really makes the bucket flow with suds when you’re washing your vehicle. It is super concentrated so it dilutes to 1 ounce for 5 gallons of water for excellent results. It gives a great bright finish on any color vehicle.
#2. Citrus Wash and Clear – (Strip Dust save old Wax)
It is a maintenance shampoo actually has a medium suds but it has a cleaning ability that just lightly removes any dust and debris and dirt but it enhances your current wax or sealant coat.
The most important thing when washing your vehicle is not to harm your sealant or wax coat.
Citrus Wash and Clear actually do a great job of removing all the dirt debris contamination while protecting that sealant or wax coat. It also works great in foam cannons as well.
#3. Citrus wash – (High-strength & Strip Wax)
Citrus Wash is actually a high-strength citrus cleaner it’s designed for stripping off wax and sealant if you’re going to go out and do a professional detailing job like polishing or you’re getting ready to add a glaze – want to clean off all the old glaze or wax on your surface.
You can actually dilute this one ounce per one gallon of water so you’ve got five-gallon bucket you put five ounces in and it removes all the heavy debris from your vehicle.
But you’re going to need to re-wax the car because it is designed to strip off and cleanse the service for an ultra clean shine.
#4. Glossworkz – (Car detailing technology inside)
Glossworkz is my personal favorite shampoo and I like to use this when I wash my personal car. This actually combines a shampoo with the power and the shine of a quick detail spray. So traditionally a trick that professionals like to use is they like to wash the car down and then we like to go out and spray quick detailer on the paint to enhance the finish and give that just wax look.
Actually, Glossworkz takes away that need for a quick detail wipe down because it has quick detailed technology inside its formula.
So it’s going to give an enhanced look for a very very high gloss finish I like using this on my personal car right before I go to the car show because it gives a nice bright finish on my light-colored car. Also works on dark-colored cars too, but it works in conjunction with your current wax or sealant. It’s almost like I washed the car and I applied quick detail spray as well.
#5. Maxi-Suds II – (Nice clean shine and lot of Suds)
Maxi-Suds – is designed for high suds. It’s one of the oldest detailing shampoos with traditional formula and a lot of people love it because it gives a nice clean shine while giving lots of suds and a nice slick finish.
Maxi-Suds awesome because it works on a foam cannon, foam gun it works on a to bucket method it’s a great all-around mate to keep your car looking amazing!
I like the scent and I like the bright pink color.
#6. Honeydew Snow Foam – (For foam cannons and guns)
Honeydew snow foam was specifically designed to work in foam cannons or foam guns. So if you have a foam cannon or you have foam gun – this is a great soap to use in any of those accessories.
It is designed to give a lot of foam on the surface and make sure that looks really good when you go ahead and rinse the car. It rinses clean with no residue – you can rinse the car down, foam it up, let the foam sink into all the cracks and crevices pull out all that dirt and debris and then you have a clean car!
So if your car’s just dusty you don’t even have to wash it with a wash mitt, you can wash it with a foam cannon and then be touchless!
It is recommended to use it in proportion: 31 ounces of water and 1 ounce of Honeydew Snow.
#7. Mr. Pink – (Fresh polished effect)
Mr. Pink is one of the newest shampoos and it’s a super suds superior surface cleanser.
It actually has a lot of suds this gives the more suds than any other soap on the market and also has a nice fresh scent.
If you’re looking for a maintenance wash to maintain the finish on your vehicle if your vehicle is well maintained like you just polished it and waxed it this is a great soap to maintain that finish on your vehicle.
Washing your car is the biggest part of detailing maintaining that finish. If you want to keep your car looking good with no swirls, scratches you use the proper wash technique and the proper wash soap. Mr. Pink gives a nice bright finish while keeping your car well maintained.
Works in foam cannons and foam guns as well.
#8. Extreme Body Wash & Wax – (Clean and Wax 2 in 1)
It’s designed to actually be a premium shampoo conditioner and gloss enhancer.
Designed for using the two bucket method. Uses a synthetic wax that enhances the gloss. The synthetic wax is great because it rinses clean that coats are this for a nice smooth finish.
This is a great product for anybody looking to clean their car and wax it at the same time because some people don’t have time to wax their car or they choose not to – whether it’s a lease or a rental but they want that nice bright finish so Extreme Body Wash & Wax is a great way to maintain that finish.
#9. Meticulous Matte Auto Wash – (For matte & plasti dip – no gloss)
Meticulous Matte Auto wash is designed for matte finished cars. So whether you have a Mercedes or BMW or Lamborghini – any of these newer cars with a matte finish.
That might be matte paint, might be not wrapped, that might be Plasti Dip – any of those types of materials – Meticulous Matte Auto Wash is the perfect solution for that job.
It has no wax, no gloss enhancers, no sealant nothing it’s just natural cleaning power to give no shine to the surface.
#10. Wash & Wax – (Traditional premium shampoo)
This is one the oldest shampoos as well. It has a traditional great working formula. It’s actually a premium “shampoo and wax” in one, it uses a synthetic wax to rinse clean but give that freshly waxed look to your vehicle using the synthetic wax. It coats the surface gives a nice new UV protection to last till the next wash.
It’s not a replacement for traditional wax, but it helps you get that nice freshly wax look on your vehicle.
This works great in a foam cannon or in a foam gun.
#11. Bug and Tar Remover – (Clean bumpers and wheel arches)
If you live in one of those southern states you have a lot of love bugs or if you have a lot of bugs in the air like flies and bees all that type of stuff that sticks to your bumper. Those bugs and bees actually an acid in them and make actually start “eating away” your paint while it sits outside.
So if you want to remove them as soon as possible – that’s what bugging tar remover is for!
Bug and Tar Remover can be used several different ways:
- You can actually add it to your current wash bucket. Let’s say you’re using Six Wash clear to maintain your vehicle and you have bugs and tar on your car – you can actually add a few ounces of Bug and Tar Remover to your traditional wash shampoo. And it makes it stronger to pull off all those bugs and tar.
- You can take it into 16 ounces or a 32 ounce bottle or one of our professional 32 ounce bottles you can dilute it down with water and make a solution that you can actually spray on the vehicle and that will pull off all the bugs, bees, tar all that stuff that’s sticking on the area.
It’s great for cleaning behind bumpers, front bumpers, and wheel well arches.
If you’re into racing – you might notice that you get tar and sticky tire material stuck to your rear bumper or your fender arches this is a great stuff to clean that off while giving a smooth finish.
Hopefully, I gave you a great explanation of all the great shampoos…
Remember to select the right shampoo for your job! If you’re doing a maintenance job choose – Mr. Pink or Gloss Works. If you want to strip the wax you can go ahead and choose Citrus Wash. If you choose the right shampoo for your job it makes your life easier, it makes your car look better and it makes your production detailing faster!
If there are any questions feel free to ask them in the comment section. I will respond in 12-24 hours on this page or via Email.