Touchless Car Care — Shopping List

Have a hose? See the 'Have a hose?' section at the bottom of the Shop page for the hose-end foam gun and pressure-washer additions.

Companion to the Quick Start and Pre-Wash guides. Bold = the pick. Alternatives are listed in order of preference. Prices are rough US street prices; check Amazon, Detailed Image, The Rag Company, Autogeek, Walmart/AutoZone/Advance for local pickup.

Core kit (buy these first)#

Item Pick Alternatives Notes
Rinseless wash (one product does it all) Optimum No Rinse Wash & Wax (green), 32 oz — ~$20 1) Optimum No Rinse Wash & Shine (blue) + a spray sealant · 2) DIY Detail / Iconic Rinseless (16 oz, top-tier, no wax) · 3) P&S Absolute Rinseless · 4) Meguiar's Rinse Free Express Wash & Wax · 5) McKee's 37 N-914 · 6) Detail Co. Nemesis V2 (boutique, slickest, no wax) Bucket 1:256, sprayer/pre-spray 1:128, drying aid 1:64. Blue ONR + sealant if you'd rather keep protection a separate step.
Pump foamer / pre-spray sprayer IK Foam Pro 2+ (Schrader valve), ~$50 1) IK Foam Pro 2 (no valve, hand pump only) · 2) IK Multi Pro 2 (straight sprayer, no foam) · 3) Marolex Axel 2000 (needs DIY valve) Orange insert for ONR, grey/green for pre-wash. Skip Multi Pro 12 (10 L tank) and HC XTREM (solvent sprayer).
Inflator (for the Schrader valve + tires) Xiaomi Portable Electric Air Compressor 2, ~$45–60 1) Xiaomi 1S (older, slower) · 2) any Schrader-chuck cordless inflator with a manual PSI target Set 40 psi manual. Optional — hand pumping works.
Bucket + grit guard Chemical Guys Easy Grab Detailing Bucket Bundle (4.25 gal, lid, Cyclone Dirt Trap), ~$28 1) Any 3.5–5 gal Home Depot/Lowe's bucket + Cyclone Dirt Trap · 2) bucket + original Grit Guard (taller, needs +1 gal) Low-profile Dirt Trap matters — only ~2 gal of solution needs to cover it.
Wash media The Rag Company Ultra Black Sponge, ~$12 1) 6–8 plush 350+ gsm microfiber towels (e.g. TRC Eagle Edgeless 350/500) · 2) chenille wash mitt Sponge = simplest one-bucket wash. Towels if you prefer.
Drying towels 2–3 large twist-loop or waffle-weave drying towels (TRC Dry Me A River / Gauntlet, Griot's PFM), ~$15–25 ea Any 900+ gsm twist-loop or 20×30 waffle weave Separate from wash towels.
Glass towel 1–2 low-nap waffle-weave glass towels (TRC Diamond Glass, Griot's), ~$8 Any short-pile 300 gsm microfiber marked for glass Only used on glass.
Glass cleaner Stoner Invisible Glass, ~$6 1) Sprayway · 2) Meguiar's Perfect Clarity · 3) Griot's Glass Cleaner Windshield/rear glass finish + interior glass.
Trigger bottle (drying aid) Kwazar Mercury Pro+ 1000 ml, ~$13 (on sale) 1) IK Multi TR 1 360 (1 L) · 2) any chemical-resistant 16–32 oz bottle with a fine-mist head ONR W&W at 1:64. Label it.
Bug/tar remover Griot's Bug & Smudge Remover or Stoner Tarminator, ~$10 1) Meguiar's Bug & Tar · 2) plain ONR at 1:64 + dwell for bugs only For the stuff that etches.

Pre-wash kit (bay days)#

Item Pick Alternatives Notes
Touchless pre-wash Bilt-Hamber Touch-Less, 1 L ~$20 (Detailed Image, Obsessed Garage, Car Supplies Warehouse) 1) Bilt-Hamber Auto-Foam (gentler, LSP-safe) · 2) CarPro Lift (strong, coating-safe) · 3) Gyeon Foam (pH-neutral) · 4) Koch Chemie GSF (pH-neutral) · 5) Chemical Guys Hands Off (easy to find) · 6) Meguiar's Ultimate Snow Foam Xtreme Cling (widely stocked) 0.5–2% per fill; 2% is Bilt Hamber's maximum, not a winter setting. Alkaline ones clean harder; pH-neutral ones preserve the wax layer.
Second trigger bottle (optional) Kwazar Mercury Pro+ 500 ml any 16 oz chemical-resistant bottle For glass cleaner so nothing gets mixed up.
Measuring Small kitchen measuring spoons / 30 mL medicine cup graduated ONR cap 10 mL ONR per 1.25 L fill (1:128); 12–25 mL Touch-Less per fill (1–2%).

Optional / upgrade path#

Item Pick Alternatives When
Spray sealant (longer beading than W&W alone) Turtle Wax Seal N Shine (~$8) 1) Meguiar's Hybrid Ceramic Wax · 2) Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions Ceramic Spray Coating (longer-lasting) · 3) Griot's Ceramic 3-in-1 If you want the "rain rinses it" effect stronger. Apply after a wash, every 1–2 months.
Wheel / all-purpose cleaner (bay days) DIY Detail All Clean (RTU 16 oz, or gallon concentrate ~15:1) 1) P&S Brake Buster · 2) Meguiar's Ultimate All Wheel Cleaner · 3) just use Touch-Less at 2% on wheels Foam with the green insert, dwell, wand rinse. Optional — Touch-Less alone works for routine dust.
Iron remover (Step 0 / twice a year) CarPro Iron X or Gyeon Iron 1) DIY Detail Iron Remover · 2) Griot's Iron & Fallout Remover Only for the reset — spray on clean wet paint, watch it bleed purple, rinse. Not a routine product.
Clay mitt (one-time reset) Griot's or Nanoskin fine-grade clay mitt clay bar + ONR 1:64 as lube Only for the Step 0 reset / twice a year.
Cordless bucket-fed pressure washer Ryobi 18V EZClean or Worx Hydroshot Sun Joe cordless If you want a real rinse without a bay.
Gamma Seal lid Home Depot / Amazon — If you get a plain bucket and want to store mixed solution.
Leaf blower for drying any cordless — Touchless drying, fewer towels.

Skip these#

Where to buy#

First-order checklist (minimum to start)#

When something changes, I'll tell you what and where

A bay gets verified, the wash log contradicts a guide, a product I recommend changes formula — that's when a note goes out, and it says what changed and which page it changed on. Roughly monthly, often less, sometimes not for a season. No sequence, no course, nothing to buy.

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