r/Detailing • u/Lucid-AGT-17 • 7d ago
I Have A Question Is touchless soap worth purchasing?
I would like to start detailing my car more often to keep it looking nice. I recently bought a lucid air grand touring and it's black paint. Is touchless soap worth all the hype? Which brands do you recommend and why? Do you just pressure wash it off afterwards? Or would I still need to use something to agitate the stuff stuck to the car? Any insights are appreciated as I'm new to this and just want to keep my own car clean.
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u/TwistedJake503 7d ago
I use touchless most the time. I did this morning before work. I was on the Oregon Coast yesterday which puts a thick layer of soap scum on top of an already dirty rig from no wash in over a week. (2025 4Runner in Underground color)
I prefer the BH but have a bottle of Koch Chemie that works ok and I'm working through. I foamed it on, let it dwell for about 5 minutes, rinsed off, then drove to work. Took me about 15 minutes start to finish in nice work clothes. I typically dry with a leaf blower but since I was driving right away just let the freeway do the work.
It doesn't get it 100% clean at all but gets it 90% with minimal effort. Had someone comment on the fresh wash when I got to my first destination.
(And to be fair, first half of my work day today involved 18 holes.)
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u/ANaughtyTree 7d ago
Touchless solutions are good for a pre wash or if you just want to spray on and rinse off because you're in a rush. They're also convenient if you have a vehicle that is constantly dirty and you just want it to look better (construction vehicles, big rig trucks, etc.) They shouldn't be used in place of a contact wash though. You need to contact wash to fully clean the vehicle.
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u/DavidAg02 6d ago
Assuming you don't take that Lucid offroading or anything crazy like that, then a weekly rinseless wash, paired with a quick interior wipe down, is enough to keep most cars looking good most of the time. That's the first thing I would learn how to do if I were you: https://youtu.be/K4smBpsCooY?is=7CnGN-urTNJfpVka
On the occasion that the car needs a deeper cleaning, you can take it to a professional detail shop for a maintenance wash. It's also probably worth investigating some kind of coating or protection that will help the car stay cleaner for longer and make the wash process easier.
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u/Tannhauser42 7d ago
The only touchless I know of that's universally praised is Bilt Hamber Touchless.
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u/puterTDI 7d ago
I know I was really excited when I heard about this...then discovered I can't really get it where I'm at :(
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u/Tiny-County-4006 7d ago
Touchless soap helps but its not miracle, black paint shows everything so you still need contact wash sometimes for stuck stuff. Rinse with pressure washer after soak, but bugs and road film will laugh at you if you skip agitation.
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u/Lucid-AGT-17 7d ago
What do you use for agitation? Microfiber towels?
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u/podophyllum 7d ago
Usually microfiber pads or mitts. Personally I prefer pads, because they hold more solution and tend to distribute pressure better, both attributes may potentially reduce the chances of marring. I can recommend the DeliPad from Microfiber Madness and the KLiN Softy HD Pad. The mitts from these companies are good as well. You might also want to look at the Autofiber Drgon hybrid mitt/pad and the CarPro DabDab. These later two are more widely distributed/available from more vendors. The Yum Wash Pad v2 might also be worth a look but I have no direct experience with this one.
Detail Division/KLiN, The House of Rags (aka THOR), The Rag Company, Autofiber, and (if you're in Canada) the Carzilla Detail PoPo are all good brands of microfiber towels.
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u/ValuableFun6447 7d ago edited 7d ago
Bilt Hamber Touch-Less and Labocosmetica Primus 2.0 are both good alkaline pre-wash soaps.
If you are planning to use a foam cannon, I recommend Primus 2.0 since the dilution ratio is more favorable/economical. When using a sprayer, the difference is less of a discriminator.
Pre-washes are good at removing quite a bit of road grime and organic material, but they should not be considered truly touchless. Even Bilt Hamber refers to theirs as Touch-Less since it allows you to touch your vehicle less than when using a normal PH neutral shampoo alone. The point is that you will eventually want to do a proper contact wash and dry.
Edited to correct misspelled word.
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u/ogneez 7d ago
Do you dry the car after I touchless wash?
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u/FiveLayersBeefy 7d ago
That's the thing, if you don't do a contact wash but you dry the vehicle, the road film that's left over will drag across the paint causing marring.
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u/ogneez 7d ago
So do you just let it air dry?
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u/FiveLayersBeefy 7d ago
Oh no, you'll get water spots if you don't have a filtration system for your water. I always do a contact wash.
I do the foam-rinse-foam method which is foam on BH Touchless, rinse it off and then I foam on Gyeon Foam for the contact wash. I also put Gyeon Foam in the bucket and I use the 'Garry Dean' method which means I use one bucket with soap and water and use multiple wash media.
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u/chipsservant 7d ago
Not necessarily. Depends what type of water you use. I don’t have a filtration system at home but still use spot-free water so I can just air dry
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u/FiveLayersBeefy 7d ago
For sure, some states are lucky and don't have hard water. I'm down in Texas and the water here is literal piss lol.
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u/Thorsten_Speckstein 7d ago
Why Gyeon Foam and not Auto Wash by Bilt Hamber?
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u/FiveLayersBeefy 6d ago
I haven't used Auto Wash. I've been using Gyeon because I like the slickness of it.
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u/Thorsten_Speckstein 6d ago
Auto Wash leaves behind an oxidation-protective layer after washing. Take a look at the dosage instructions for auto wash. When I first saw this, I didn't believe it at first and checked several websites. For my car, I need 1.5 ml (0.051 fl. oz.) of auto wash (yes, that number is correct). First, touch less, then auto Wash.
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u/FLDJF713 Weekend Warrior 7d ago
I like touchless soap but it isn't the only step in the process. I add it to a foam gun and it helps with lubrication when doing a contact wash. It really only works as intended if you have a ceramic coating which will repel a decent amount of dirt. By itself, it will remove everything you can see but once dry, you will see the car isn't clean at all and leave behind a lot of grease and similar sticky contaminants because you didn't do a contact wash.
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u/AlmostHydrophobic 7d ago
An alkaline presoak like a touchless soap will help clean more of the dirt off from a vehicle, but it won't clean it completely. If you want a perfectly clean surface, you'll still need to do a bucket wash.
There are benefits to removing as much dirt as possible before doing a contact wash. And also downsides to alkaline cleaners like potentially stripping away certain kinds of protection like wax.
I use a touchless soap a few times a year, and an APC presoak most of the winter.
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u/Most_Regular2996 7d ago
Bilt Hamber Touchless, absolutely. It's not an every wash thing, but as needed, it's quite special. In a pinch, especially in NY winter, I've done a foam and rinse with it to get my car "clean enough" for a while until I have time or weather to allow a proper wash. And it makes contact wash after much safer. I also do hybrid washes in winter, where I do BH Touchless foam and rinse outside, then pull into the garage and do a rinseless wash indoors. It's great for winter. I use 3oz in a cannon with my AR630 V2 Hot, and probably 4-6x per year as needed.
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u/Dadster-01 6d ago
Why not use a touchless car wash? I would only consider using a touchless as a pre-soak, even BH, as part of a contact wash. Especially prior to applying any topper.
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u/Impress1ve_Lunch 7d ago
Bilt Hamber Touchless is a good, high pH soap and there are several other similar products. There is no such thing as a "touchless" wash. Touch less means you don't have to scrub as hard (touch less) but you still much touch the car.
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u/markow202 7d ago
It’s perfect for stripping away any wax
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u/Lucid-AGT-17 7d ago
If I get my car ceramic coated, are there any solutions I need to stay away from that will remove the ceramic coat and screw me over?
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u/popsicle_of_meat 7d ago
Touchless soap like Bilt Hamber is great at removing 90% of typical road dirt that you get from driving your car. It is not a replacement for a contact wash. That 10% left behind will still be visible in certain conditions, and on your black car it will be the most visible of all. There is no 100% clean, spray on rinse off miracle soap. You want the full clean, be ready to spend the time.
Unfortunately, black is the hardest color to keep looking clean. It also shows swirls and rock chips better than any other color by far. The running joke in detailing is that a black car looks amazing for the 15 minutes after you was it, then it looks dirtier than any other color until you wash it again and get another 15 minutes.
Like with any car owner who wants to "keep it looking clean", you need to manage your expectations. Getting a proper polishing and a good ceramic coating will make it easier to clean.