Our top pick: the Chemical Guys Chemical Guys All Clean+ Citrus All-Purpose Cleaner.
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Research-basedPicked from published specifications and the pattern across verified-purchase reports. We have not used these ourselves and do not pretend otherwise.How we pick
Quick picks — Best all purpose cleaners
#
Product
Best for
Interior safe
Price
01
Chemical Guys All Clean+ Citrus All-Purpose Cleaner
Tap any row for the full write-up. Prices come straight from Amazon and are never typed in by hand.
The verdict
Chemical Guys All Clean+ for a single dilutable bottle covering the whole car. 3D APC if you want the clearest published dilution guidance, which in this category is genuinely the most useful thing a manufacturer can provide.
02
Dilution is the whole product
An all-purpose cleaner is a concentrated alkaline surfactant. At 10:1 it is a gentle fabric cleaner. At 4:1 it is a degreaser. At full strength it lifts the coating off soft-touch plastic and there is no correction step for that.
Which means the brand matters far less than the ratio. Nearly every interior horror story in this category traces back to using a concentrate neat because the bottle was in the garage and the label was not read.
Dilution by job — confirm against your own bottle's label
A dilutable citrus APC is the most useful bottle in a detailing cupboard, because the same concentrate goes from a gentle interior mix to a strong wheel-well mix. The ratio is the whole product — get it wrong on a dash and the damage is permanent.
Who should skip it. Use at full strength on anything in a cabin. Neat APC lifts the coating off soft-touch plastic, and there is no correction step for that.
Cleaning
9.0
Surface safety
6.0
Versatility
9.5
Value
9.5
What works
One bottle covers every cleaning job at different ratios
Citrus rather than solvent smell
Very cheap per diluted quart
What does not
Destructive on soft-touch plastic if used neat
Needs a spray bottle and a label
Not for leather, Alcantara or screens at any dilution
D101 is the professional detailer's default APC, sold by the gallon and designed to be diluted heavily. It is gentler per unit than a citrus degreaser, which makes it a safer choice for interior work at moderate ratios.
Who should skip it. Single-car owners. A gallon of concentrate is a very long supply, and the professional packaging offers no consumer-friendly dosing.
Cleaning
8.5
Surface safety
7.0
Versatility
9.0
Value
9.0
What works
The professional default, with a long track record
3D publishes dilution ratios by task more clearly than most, which in this category is the single most useful thing a manufacturer can do. The chemistry is a conventional dilutable APC and it performs like one.
Who should skip it. Delicate interior surfaces at strong ratios. Published guidance helps, but it does not change the fact that a strong APC mix and a soft-touch dash are incompatible.
Cleaning
8.5
Surface safety
7.5
Versatility
9.0
Value
8.5
What works
Clear published dilution guidance by task
Conventional, predictable chemistry
Good value as a concentrate
What does not
Still unsafe at strong ratios on soft-touch surfaces
3D does not publish a bottle volume we could verify
Needs its own labeled spray bottle
Published specifications
Volume
Not published
Type
Dilutable APC
Dilution
Published by task, per 3D
Interior safe
Diluted only
Suits
Vinyl, leather, carpet, plastic at the stated ratios
64 oz of concentrate for the price of a 16 oz automotive APC. It is not formulated for cars, which shows on sensitive surfaces, but for wheel wells, engine bays, floor mats and shop cleaning it does the job for a fraction of the cost.
Who should skip it. Bare aluminum, and interior surfaces generally. Simple Green's own guidance warns against prolonged contact with bare aluminum, and that includes some wheels.
A strong alkaline degreaser for the jobs an automotive APC cannot finish — engine bays, wheel arches, oil-stained mats. It is powerful enough that it belongs nowhere near an interior or a polished surface.
Who should skip it. Interiors, paint, polished aluminum or anodized trim. This is a degreaser and it behaves like one; treat it as a shop chemical, not a detailing product.
Cleaning
9.5
Surface safety
4.0
Versatility
6.5
Value
9.5
What works
Cuts grease nothing milder will touch
128 oz total for the price
Dilutes a long way for lighter work
What does not
Strongly alkaline — wrong for interiors, paint and bright trim
What is the best all purpose cleaner for car detailing?
Chemical Guys All Clean+ for a single dilutable bottle covering the whole car, or 3D APC if you want the clearest published dilution guidance. In this category the ratio matters far more than the brand.
What dilution should you use for APC on car interiors?
20:1 or weaker on light interior surfaces, 10:1 for carpet and fabric mats, and never neat anywhere in a cabin. Confirm against your own bottle's label — manufacturers vary, and some publish clearer guidance than others.
Can APC damage a car interior?
Yes, permanently. Used neat or at strong ratios it lifts the coating off soft-touch plastic and leaves a shiny patch that cannot be corrected. It also strips leather coatings and ruins Alcantara. Dilution is the whole product.
Is Simple Green safe for cars?
For mats, engine bays and wheel wells, diluted, yes. It is not formulated for automotive interiors, and Simple Green's own guidance warns against prolonged contact with bare aluminum — which includes some wheels.
07
Sources
Every published figure on this page traces to one of these. Where a manufacturer does not publish a number, the page says so rather than estimating it.
Last reviewed October 5, 2026. Think a figure here is wrong? Tell us at contact@detailingandwax.com and we will check it, fix it and date the correction — see our editorial policy.
