Car Wash Shampoo & Soap

There are more types of car wash than most people expect, and it can get confusing. Washes differ by pH (neutral, acidic, alkaline) and by what they're built to do (foaming, decontaminating, wash and wax, pre-wash, maintenance).

Most washes are slightly alkaline or pH neutral. These tackle dirt, grime and road film to a high level, and are the right choice when looking to maintain your car. The select few that are acidic try to do more than just wash dirt away, they also remove minerals and contamination from the paint, and are best used periodically as a decontamination wash.

When it comes to selecting a car soap, it really comes down to what you want to do. Happy with the wax, coating or sealant you've got on the car? Then a pH neutral or slightly alkaline wash is all you need. Want to wash and protect at the same time? Then look at wash and wax products. Just after maximum cleaning and not fussed about maintaining protection? Then a decontamination wash or something more powerful is the answer.

We stock a wide range here at Waxit, and if you aren't sure what you're after, get in touch and we'll help you out.

This might seem like a strange question, but believe us, we get asked it often. Dishwashing liquid is quite harsh from a chemical perspective, which doesn't make it ideal for maintaining your favourite wax, sealant or coating.

Perhaps more importantly, those formulations haven't been enriched with the lubricants that help a wash mitt glide effortlessly over the surface, which is what reduces the chance of marring the paintwork.

Dish soap was made for dishes, where maintaining a finish isn't a priority. If it's high on your list, use a dedicated car wash shampoo.

Coatings are engineered to be tough, so nearly any wash is safe on one. The question is really which wash gets the most out of it.

A pH neutral shampoo such as Nv SNOW or CARPRO Reset is the default and what most coating manufacturers recommend. It cleans thoroughly, adds nothing to the surface, and lets the coating do what it was designed to do.

What to keep away from is anything alkaline or built to strip. A strip wash is designed to take protection off before polishing, and it will do exactly that to a coating's top layer. Strong alkaline washes will shorten its life too, which is usually why someone's beading stops six months into a two year coating.

On wash and wax products, it depends on the type. A carnauba or polymer based one can sit on top of a coating and dull the sharp beading you paid for. An SiO2 based one is a different story, it tops the coating up with the same chemistry rather than layering something else over it.

Periodically, a decontaminating shampoo like Koch Chemie RS strips off the mineral buildup that fills in the surface and dulls the water behaviour, which is usually what people mistake for a coating wearing out.

Less than most people do, and always what the bottle says rather than a guess.

Most concentrates sit somewhere between 1:100 and 1:400 for a bucket, which works out at roughly 20 to 40mL in a 20 litre bucket. That's a capful, not a glug. Through a foam cannon it's far stronger, usually 1:8 to 1:20, because the cannon dilutes it again on the way out.

More shampoo doesn't clean better. Past the point where the water is properly slick, the extra product just sits on the paint as residue you then have to rinse off, and it makes the car harder to dry without streaking.

What matters more than the amount is the water. A full bucket gives the dirt somewhere to go and keeps the solution working, where a half filled bucket turns muddy by the third panel.

Concentrates go a long way at these ratios. A 1L bottle is dozens of washes, which is worth remembering when you're comparing a $30 shampoo against a $12 one.