Best Car Detailing Kits
Motor1 Reviews Team Take:
- The best car detailing kits of 2024 come from top brands including Chemical Guys, Adam’s, Armor All, Meguiar’s, and HMPLL based on accessories, cleaning effectiveness, and quantity.
- On average, you can expect to spend about $50 for a kit, with higher quality kits upward of $100. Kits with more or better-quality accessories will typically have a higher price tag.
- We highly recommend a car detailing kit that includes a foam gun to make the cleaning process easier and more efficient.
While car wash stations can charge an extra dime for a lesser wash, car detailing kits let you clean your vehicle exactly to your liking. These kits are packed with essential tools to wash and wax your vehicle and can include extra accessories that really make your car shine.
Our review team has tested the best car detailing kits on the market. Below, we break down the essential components of each kit, what their most outstanding features are, and how they can rejuvenate your car’s appearance.
Car Detailing Kits Reviews
For this review, our team thoroughly tested and evaluated each car detailing kit based on each kit’s accessories, cleaning, and quantity. The scores in each category are compiled into a single overall rating that ranges from 1.0 to 5.0 stars.
What Is The Best Car Detailing Kit?
We named the Chemical Guys, Adam’s Polishes, Armor All, Meguiar’s, and HMPLL as the best-rated car detailing kits on the market in 2024.
Cost | Overall Rating | Award | |
---|---|---|---|
Chemical Guys Arsenal |
$120 |
5.0 |
Best Car Detailing Kit |
Adam’s Polishes Arsenal Builder |
$130 |
4.7 |
Best Car Detailing Accessories |
Armor All Ultimate Detailing Kit |
$45 |
4.2 |
Best At-Home Car Detailing Kit |
Meguiar’s Complete Car Care Kit |
$70 |
4.0 |
Best Complete Car Detailing Kit |
HMPLL Car Detailing Brushes Kit |
$10 |
3.7 |
Best Interior Car Detailing Kit |
*Because cost data fluctuates, the prices in the table above are approximate values that our team regularly updates.
Car Detailing Kit Ratings: Our Testing Process
After looking at factors such as brand reputation, kit size, customer ratings, and prices, our product testing team ordered the car detailing kits that best met these standards. A team member tested each product on a 2014 Honda Civic and a 2016 Audi Allroad, taking note of each kit’s accessories, cleaning, and quantity. Each kit was given a rating out of 5.0 stars based on these criteria.
Learn more about how we tested car detailing kits here.
1. Chemical Guys Arsenal: Best Car Detailing Kit
2. Adam’s Polishes Arsenal Builder: Best Car Detailing Accessories
3. Armor All Ultimate Detailing Kit: Best At-Home Car Detailing Kit
4. Meguiar’s Complete Car Care Kit: Best Complete Car Detailing Kit
5. HMPLL Car Detailing Brushes Kit: Best Interior Car Detailing Kit
Detailing Kits: Buying Guide
Before your next purchase, consider the following information to help you make an informed decision.
What Comes In A Car Detailing Kit?
Car detailing kits generally contain the following items:
- Water bucket
- Car wash hand mitt
- Applicators and brushes
- Car wash soap
- Car wax
- Wheel cleaner
- Car glass cleaner
- Microfiber towels
Depending on the brand, some kits will come with extra accessories such as interior detailing brushes. A popular addition that has become more common among kits is foam cannons, which attach to a garden hose to spray soapy suds and take the elbow grease out of washing.
Car Interior Detailing
Not every kit we tested came with car interior cleaners. Other than things like microfiber towels and brushes, common items include carpet cleaner, leather conditioner, and sprays to clean areas such as the dashboard or steering wheel.
Customers should review what products are included with the car detailing kit before making a purchase to best fit their needs. That said, if you’re a fan of a certain brand or product, you can create the best interior car detailing kit by shopping piecemeal.
Detailing Cars: What To Know
Whether you’re getting your vehicle showroom ready or just performing a basic cleaning, make sure the detailing products work for your vehicle. If your car has luxury appointments like leather upholstery or chrome accents, buy cleaners that are suitable for those surfaces.
The finish of the car is also important, as black cars are usually more susceptible to water spots than other vehicles. A liquid wax or ceramic coating can also help restore the sheen to the vehicle.
Another consideration for car detailing kits is the type of mess you’ll be cleaning. If scraping mud off the sides of door panels is in your future, choose a cleaner that can tackle baked-on dirt. For motorists that stick to highway driving, a more forgiving cleaner will be suitable.
Compare Car Detailing Kits
Brand/Model | Pieces in Kit | Included items | Weight |
---|---|---|---|
Chemical Guys Arsenal | 14 | Shampoo, wax, wheel cleaner, glass cleaner, bucket, dirt-trap cleaner, foam gun, wash mitt, brush, three towels, and shine cleaner | 12.5 lbs. |
Adam’s Polishes Arsenal Builder | 21 | Shampoo, wax, tire shine, wheel cleaner, interior spray, three towels, glass cleaner, wash mitt, sponge, foam gun, bucket, grit guard, three air fresheners, and one large towel | 1.0 lb. |
Armor All Ultimate Detailing Kit | 9 | Shampoo, tire coating, glass cleaner, wheel cleaner, interior spray, wash mitt, and three towels | 7.6 lbs. |
Meguiar’s Complete Car Care Kit | 12 | Shampoo and conditioner, carnauba wax, two clay bars, scratch gel, polish, wash mitt, towel, foam applicater, and three cleaners | 1.0 lb. |
HMPLL Car Detailing Brushes Kit | 9 | Five detailing brushes, three steel wire brushes, and an air vent brush | 0.6 lbs. |
How To Detail A Car
Detailing your vehicle may seem like a daunting task at first, but it can be an easy process if you follow these simple steps:
- Wash the exterior of your car using a car shampoo and wash mitt or sponge. This may take multiple washes before all of the dirt and grime are removed. Once washed and rinsed, dry your car using a microfiber towel.
- Clean other parts of your car’s exterior (rims, tires, windows, etc.) using the recommended cleaner for each.
- Wax and polish your car using the specified cleaning products in your kit according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Once the exterior is cleaned, proceed to detail your car’s interior, if you choose. Use the interior detailing products included in your kit to clean air vents, seats, and more.
If you’re new to the detailing process, Matt’s Auto Service Center also has a great informational guide filled with tips and tricks for DIY car detailing that can help your car shine like never before.
Of course, time and budget are also a factor. Mike Pennington, the Sr. Manager of Global Training at Meguiar’s, has been in the car detailing industry for over 30 years. He says the first things a car owner should consider are the following:
- What does the vehicle currently look like?
- What are the expectations of the vehicle owner?
- Where are you driving the vehicle and how are you using the vehicle?
- How much time are you willing to spend detailing it?
“All that is going to dictate what is the right must-have detailing product,” Pennington explains. “Whether that’s liquid, machine, sandpaper, brush… if you don’t have time to scrub your carpets, you don’t need a brush to scrub your carpets, because you’re not going to do it.”
Best Car Detailing Kits: Bottom Line
In this article, along with sharing helpful purchasing tips for those interested in purchasing a car detailing kit, we reviewed the top detailing kits in 2024:
- Best Car Detailing Kit: Chemical Guys Arsenal
- Best Car Detailing Accessories: Adam’s Polishes Arsenal Builder
- Best At-Home Car Detailing Kit: Armor All Ultimate Detailing Kit
- Best Complete Car Detailing Kit: Meguiar’s Complete Car Care Kit
- Best Interior Car Detailing Kit: HMPLL Car Detailing Brushes Kit
Car Detailing Kits: FAQ
Below are some common frequently asked questions about car detailing kits:
Do car detailing kits come with a vacuum cleaner?
Most car detailing kits are designed for exterior detailing, so vacuum cleaners are sold separately. Consider checking out our top picks for the best car vacuums if you want to spruce up your car’s interior.
Is it cheaper to wash your car at home than to get it professionally cleaned?
Yes, it is cheaper to do a DIY wash and detail on your car. You do not need to pay extra service fees, plus washing your car yourself allows you to fine-detail areas of your vehicle you may find need extra care.
What does a foam wash do to your car?
A foam wash sprayer, also known as a snow foam, acts as a layer of suds that lifts dirt, grime, and other contaminants from your car’s surface. Using a foam wash on your vehicle is a necessary first step before waxing your car and can make a major difference in its appearance.
Do you need a pressure washer to use a foam gun?
Foam guns are designed to fit directly onto a garden hose for reliable use. Simply load it with soap and water, attach, and spray away.
What are the best products for car detailing?
Good car soaps and the best car interior detailers are usually separate items. Look for specialized, high-quality products that cleaner a variety of surfaces like vinyl, leather, cloth, and the car’s paint.
What do car detailers use to clean the interior?
The best interior cleaners involve products suited for the interiors of your vehicle. Think a leather conditioner for upholstery, but also a nimble car vacuum to clean out nooks and crannies where trash might fall. Microfiber cloths are another mainstay in a car detailer’s arsenal.
Full Car Detailing Kit Testing Methodology
To test each detailing kit, we wanted to consider accessories, cleaning, and quantity to ensure you get a full detailing experience and a kit that’s worth your value to last multiple cleans.
Accessories: When buying a detailing kit, you want a product that’s not only affordable and effective, but has all the items you need to get the cleaning job done. We compared accessories in each kit to see which detailing kit had the most high-quality accessories and cleaning products. The kits that had the most accessories scored highest in this category.
Cleaning: The main purpose of a detailing kit is to remove stains and grime from your car’s exterior. We tested each kit on different areas of our testing vehicles to show the comparison of each kit before and after detailing. The kits that showed the best before and after results scored highest in this category.
Quantity: Detailing kits are not always a small purchase, so you want a product that will last more than just one wash. We assessed this by seeing how much product was left and how well the brushes and accessories held up after one cleaning. The kits that had more than enough product for another cleaning scored high in this category.
How We Score Products
Star ratings help us differentiate between the top-rated car detailing kits. These ratings also help us to provide you with an honest evaluation of each product in our review. For the auto detailing kits in this review, we calculated an average of 4.3 out of 5.0 stars.
- 5.0 Stars: A 5.0-star rating is a well above average score. If the detailing kit exceeded our expectations and left a nice shine on our vehicle while leaving a good amount of product left over for multiple cleans, you’ll see a 5.0-star score.
- 4.0 Stars: A 4.0-star score is an above-average rating. If the car detailing kit had a good amount of products included but lacked in surplus regarding the number of washes the product would last for, you’d see a 4.0-star average.
- 3.0 Stars: A 3.0-star rating is an average score. If the detailing kit performed as expected but could have used more product versatility, you’d see a 3.0-star rating.
- 2.0 Stars: A 2.0-star rating is a below-average rating. For example, if the detailing kit was lower quality and left streaking across our car’s exterior, you’ll likely see a 2.0-star rating.
- 1.0 Star: A 1.0-star score is a well below-average rating. If the products were leaking after use, defective in some way, or removed few stains during our testing process, you’ll see a 1.0-star score.
Why Trust Motor1.com
Each year, we test over 350 auto products on vehicles and in our testing lab. Our team of product testers thoroughly researches top products, unboxes and puts our hands on each component, and tests the items on real vehicles before making recommendations to readers.
We publish hundreds of product and service reviews to bring car enthusiasts detailed guides on automotive tools, detailing kits, car seats, pet products, and much more. For more information on our testing methodology and how we evaluate every product, check out our methodology page here.
*Data accurate at time of publication. Products subject to availability.