Best Car Wash Products for Black Cars

So you’ve decided you want to take good care of your car.  Welcome to the club.  I’ve been obsessing over black cars for more years than I’m ready to admit.  Keeping a black car or any dark color clean and shining is not something to be taken lightly.  It needs plenty of TLC to keep it at its best. 

My site aims to teach you the proper techniques but you might also like to learn about some of the best and most useful products on the market.  

There are so many products out there that it’s really difficult to choose.  You could spend hours reading the labels on bottles trying to work out what does what and which products work best together.  I’ve been there and I’ve done the reading.  I’ve stood in stores for hours at a time reading and comparing and talking to the store workers to get as much information as I can.  I’ve watched hundreds of hours of youtube videos and read dozens of blogs.  And this blog aims to share with you all the information I have learned.

The products I mention are aimed at the amateur detailer who wants to work on his or her own car at home. But I have also seen many of these items used by professionals.

Minimum products required to wash a black car

• Car Shampoo: Adams Car Shampoo
• Wash Buckets : Adams Bucket and Grit Guard
• Wash Mitts : Amazon Basics Deluxe Microfiber Car Wash Mitt (2 Pack)
• Drying Towel : Griot’s Garage Drying Towel

More products for washing black cars

• Wheel Cleaner : Adams Wheel Cleaner
• Wheel brush : Chemical Guys Wheel Brush
• Spray Wax : Turtle Wax Graphene Spray Wax
• Plastic Trim Booster : Carpro Perl
• Tire Shine : Chemical Guys VRP
• Pre-Wash Foam : Bilt Hamber Auto Foam
• Basic Pressure Washer : Sun Joe SPX3000

Best Car Wash Buckets with Grit Guard

There are a few products every beginner must own.  Buckets and wash mitts are important so let’s start there.  You need at least two buckets if you intend to use the two-bucket method.  And a third bucket for doing your wheels. There are other methods you can also try.  Please read my blog post on washing your car to learn the proper techniques available to you.  These techniques are VITAL to keeping a car looking its best.  

A grit guard at the bottom of your bucket will help keep dirt at the bottom of your bucket and away from your mitt. SO the next time you dunk your mitt you won’t collect any dirt or grit.

All buckets are probably the same but you should get them with a grit guard because if you buy them together you are more likely to get a grit guard that fits properly in the bucket.  A bucket with a lid is great because you can keep your mitts or towels clean and dry between uses. 

Foam Cannon

A foam cannon or foam lance generates tons of suds when used with a good quality car shampoo.  They help to remove more dirt without touching your car which helps to prevent scratches.

A foam cannon will spray soap and water under high pressure on your car.  It connects to your pressure washer so make sure you get a compatible one.  The foam will stick to the dirt and work its magic. Usually, you need to give it 5 or 10 minutes to soak in.  Then spray off and a lot of the dirt will have softened and will be removed along with the suds.

Products for Cleaning Tires and Wheels

A well-made tire cleaning brush will help you deal with the hard-to-clean areas in wheels.  You should get various-size brushes that will fit between the spokes and reach around the back of the rims.  

Regular washing of your wheels will keep help to prevent iron deposits from brake dust from sticking to them.  A small set of brushes called wheel woolies are ideal for reaching between and around the various gaps in your wheels.  A lug nut brush lets you quickly clean around the lug nuts. Mud sticks like hell to tires so a special tire brush is useful.  

Drying Your Car

A car dryer is another useful product to own.  It’s used to blow dry your car and get water out of all the hard-to-reach areas.  Drying properly will help prevent water spots. Microfiber drying towels are also important in car detailing.  Don’t just use old rags or bath towels to dry your car because they’ll scratch it. Read my blog post on how to dry your car.  If you have a leaf blower you can use that instead.

A detailer spray is a great tool to help you dry your car and top up the shine.  You can use it to remove bird poop too. Read my post on how and when to use them.  I recommend you use this one from Chemical Guys because contains its high gloss sealant and is easy to apply. Click here to see my list of bust buys.

Gloves

Many products stain your skin and some quite badly.  Some waxes for black cars contain dye to help hide scratches.  These also get under your fingernails and are hard to remove. Some products are acidic or corrosive so obviously read the label to see if you need gloves or even eye protection.   A clay bar can also stain your skin.

Step ladder

If you are having trouble reaching the roof of your car a small step ladder is useful and safe.  Get a lightweight two or three-step ladder that is easy to move around.

Microfibre towels

Microfibre towels are the only type of towel that should touch your car.  They lift dirt away from the paint because dirt sticks to the microfibers.  A regular towel or rag will just push dirt around the car and won’t lift it off so you’ll end up with scratches.  

Read my review of my favorite large towel for drying your car safely.

Microfibre towels can also be used for applying wax and buffing.

Waffle Weave microfiber towel

This towel costs a little more but offer even greater soakage.  They are great on glass but can also be used on the entire car. A large microfibre towel can be used to pat dry an entire car.  A car that has been fully cleaned can be pat-dried. A car that is slightly dirty will need to be wiped so smaller towels are better in my opinion.  Also if you are using a detailer spray you will need to use wiping action so smaller microfibre towels are better for this. Read all about microfibre towels for detailing here.

Wheel cleaner spray

Iron deposits can be hard to remove so a de-iron spray is ideal.  These tend to have a strong smell so use them in a ventilated area.  And also make sure you wear gloves. Read my review here of wheel cleaners.

Tire dressing

It’s almost impossible to fully remove some stains from tires so the solution is a tire dressing.  You don’t want a tire dressing that sprays all over your car when you drive. Tire dressings are available in two types.  Glossy and matt. Read more about tire dressings here.