Two bucket wash kit: what you need and what you can skip

You do not need a garage full of products to wash a car safely. You need six things, a few sensible upgrades and the discipline to leave some kit on the shelf. This is the two bucket wash kit, in order of what matters.

The two bucket wash kit checklist

That is the whole kit for a safe contact wash. Everything below makes the job easier or safer still, but none of it replaces the six.

The upgrades worth having, in order

1. A second mitt or a wash pad. One for everything above the door handles and one for everything below. The Ultra Plush Wash Pad is easy to control on lower panels and sills.
2. A pre rinse and a pump sprayer. No.01 Pre Rinse and Bug Remover in a 1.5 litre pump sprayer loosens road film before you touch the car. It needs no pressure washer.
3. Snow foam and a cannon. If you own a pressure washer, No.02 Snow Foam through a snow foam cannon takes off more loose dirt with no contact at all.
4. A wheel bucket and wheel tools. Brake dust should never reach your paint buckets. The Wheel Kit pairs wheel cleaner with three brushes, and our guide to the three bucket method explains when a third bucket is worth it.
5. Soft detailing brushes. A detailing brush set reaches badges, grilles and window seals where a mitt cannot.
6. A spray sealant. No.08 Wax and Sealant helps dirt let go, so the next wash needs less contact.

What you can skip

• Sponges. A flat face holds grit against the paint. See wash mitt or sponge.
• Water blades and chamois leathers. Neither has a pile, so any grit they meet is dragged across the panel. A plush drying towel is safer.
• Washing up liquid. It is made to cut grease on plates, not to lubricate a mitt on paint.
• Household brushes. Their bristles are stiff enough to mark a clear coat.
• A shelf of extra shampoos. One good shampoo in the right formula does the job.

All of it in one box

The Starter Wash Kit has the essentials for a first safe wash: the Two Bucket Kit with grit guards and lids, a wash mitt, a 1400 GSM drying towel and a 1 litre bottle of contact shampoo. You choose the colour of the mitt and towel, the towel size and the shampoo formula, and it saves 5% against buying each part separately.

Which shampoo formula?

• Summer for everyday washing in the warmer, drier months.
• Winter for salt, road grime and traffic film from October to March.
• Delicate for sensitive finishes such as matt paint, wraps and ceramic coatings.
• Extreme for heavy soiling. It is a strip wash, so plan to protect the paint again afterwards.

The formula guide has more on each.

Which towel size?

The drying towel comes in four sizes: 40 x 60 cm, 60 x 90 cm, 75 x 100 cm and 90 x 120 cm. A bigger towel dries more of the car before it is wet through. Our drying guide covers how to choose and how to use it.

Ready for the first wash

With the kit laid out, follow our two bucket method guide from start to finish. If your car or your job is less usual, the car wash product finder builds a kit list around it. And once both buckets are out, you are in the Two Bucket Gang.

Quick answers

Kit for this job

• Starter Wash Kit
• 20L Wash Bucket with Grit Guard, single or Two Bucket Kit
• Ultra Plush Microfibre Wash Mitt
• No.05 Contact Shampoo
• Twisted Loop Drying Towel 1400 GSM
• Pump Pressure Sprayer 1.5L

More from the Journal

• The two bucket method: how to wash your car without swirl marks
• What size bucket do you need to wash a car?
• Wash mitt or sponge: which is safer for car paint?
• Do grit guards work? What they do and how to use one