What car cleaning products do professionals use?

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• Some say a clean car drives better — but at the very least it looks better.
• As spring nears, everyday drivers and collectors work to keep their cars free of dirt, pollen, bird droppings, and other debris.
• As a car collector, these are the products I use and recommend, like soaps, waxes, leather conditioners, and microfiber cloths.

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During winter, the extent of cleaning your car probably consists of removing snow and salt so you can actually see where you're going — but during warmer seasons it's all about attention to detail.

Dirt, pollen, tree sap, bird droppings, and normal road build-up are just some of the many things that can prevent your ride from looking its best.

Instead of constantly spending money at the car wash, you can piece together an arsenal of products designed to keep your car in pristine condition — and in the long run, you'll save a lot of money.

I own three classic BMWs: a 1991 325i convertible, a 1991 318is, and a 1993 525i wagon. With each of them being more than 25 years old, I do my very best to maintain and preserve their appearance and these are the products I use every year.

Whether you're a meticulous enthusiast preparing for a car show or an average person trying to care for your car, these are the products you'll also want at your disposal. You'll find everything from car wash soaps and waxes to leather cleaners and microfiber cloths — plus a few other unexpected picks.

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Here are the best car cleaning and detailing products:

Updated on 3/15/2021 by Rick Stella: Checked the availability and pricing of all recommended car cleaning products, updated the intro for seasonal relevancy, and updated the formatting. 

An oft-forgotten footnote in my career as a cleaning expert is that, for a time, I wrote a version of my cleaning advice column for a car enthusiasts website. It was grand fun! In addition to having a wonderful audience of readers who had, in equal measure, fantastic questions and incredibly helpful tips to share with me, my colleagues — car experts, the lot of them — were generous in imparting their wisdom to me.

Which is to say this: I love the subject of car cleaning. But even more so, I love the act of cleaning the car. So I’m very excited about this guide to the car cleaning products I swear by. Whether you’re looking for help with spills big or small, dust and crumbs, pet hair, odors, trash accumulation or you just want to know the difference between paste and liquid car wax, I’ve got something for everyone.

Car odor eliminators

For spills and accidents in cars

Car exterior cleaning