Mobile Detailing Starter Kit
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A new mobile detailer buying pints is not buying chemicals, they are buying packaging. The unit that matters in a van is cars per gallon, and at that unit a pint of shampoo is a rounding error with a trigger on it. This kit is four gallons that cover the four things every job needs: wash, wheels, interior and a final protection step. The rest of our kits, sized for driveways rather than vans, are on the bundle guides hub.
The van, not the garage
A mobile rig has three constraints a home detailer does not. Space is fixed, water is whatever you carried, and every product has to be decanted into something labeled because a diluted concentrate in an unmarked bottle is a mistake waiting for a busy Friday. That points at concentrates in gallons and a stack of trigger bottles you fill yourself.
This is the chemistry side of starting out. It does not cover a machine, a vacuum, a tank or insurance, and it assumes you have decided what services you are selling. If you are stocking a home shelf instead, the consumer sized version of this covers the same ground in smaller bottles, and the whole range is on the Wash Bay hub.
Wash, wheels, interior, protection
IRS is the wash line, and the arithmetic is the reason it is here rather than a pint. P&S says to dilute at the rated 128 to 1 into your wash bucket or into a machine feed, which turns one jug into more wash water than a new operator will use in a season. The maker describes the soap itself as super sudsing and cherry scented, with good rinsing qualities. Suds matter on a mobile job for a practical reason: lubrication is what keeps a mitt from dragging grit across a customer's paint in a driveway you cannot pressure rinse properly.
Knock Off is the wheel cleaner, and it is built for exactly this use case. P&S describes it as a non acidic wheel cleaner that removes stubborn brake dust, formulated specifically for wheel cleaning in a high production environment. That last phrase is the whole pitch: it was made for shops turning wheels over quickly rather than for a Saturday. It is a concentrate you mix to the job rather than a ready to use spray, so mix strong for a neglected set and weak for a maintenance pass, following the dilution printed on the jug. Keep a dedicated wheel brush and mitt away from the ones that touch paint.
Xpress Interior Cleaner is the interior line item, and on a mobile job it is usually the one that decides whether a customer books again. P&S states it "safely cleans leather, vinyl, plastic, rubber, and other interior materials without the risk of discoloration or damage", and describes the finish as a clean factory fresh interior with an original OEM finish, never glossy. That plain finish matters when you are handing a car back: a greasy shine on a dash reads as product rather than clean. Decant it into a labeled quart bottle for each van and keep the jug on the shelf. No dilution ratio appears in the P&S product text, so follow the label.
Bead Maker closes every car that leaves. P&S says it "makes paint protection easier and faster than ever before" and that its formulation "allows for quick spray application", using binding polymer monomer technology to produce a water beading, brilliant, long lasting finish. P&S describes the mechanism as a surface migrating molecule that attaches to the paint, then cross links and polymerizes into a hydrophobic layer. The maker says it can go on wet or dry vehicles, which is why most detailers use it as the last step of the dry. P&S gives the curing time as essentially two hours depending upon ambient conditions, so tell the customer to keep the car dry that long. Surface and coating compatibility beyond that is not stated by the maker.
All four gallons travel together. Pal Automotive items are sold and shipped by Pal Automotive through Shopify Collective, not made or shipped by Sniff and Shift. Four gallon jugs are heavy and they arrive as one consignment, so plan a delivery day when someone is around to take it in.
What a starter kit should not pretend to include
No polisher, no pads, no extractor, no vacuum. Those are capital purchases you should make once and make well, matched to the work you are actually selling, and any kit that bundles them is bundling a compromise. The chemistry is the part that suits a single order.
There is also no towel or microfiber detergent in here, and a mobile rig lives or dies on towel count more than on chemical choice. Two dozen towels and a gallon of microfiber detergent will change your week more than a fifth chemical would, so add the detergent when you order.
Setting the van up on day one
Decant before your first job, not during it. Fill a labeled quart for interior cleaner, one for wheel cleaner at your standard mix, and leave the shampoo in the jug since it goes straight into the bucket. Write the product name and the dilution on each bottle in permanent marker, and write the date you mixed it.
Then run the order on every car the same way: wheels first with the concentrate mixed for the condition, then the wash top down, then the interior while the paint dries, then Bead Maker as you finish drying. Keeping the sequence identical is what turns a two hour job into a ninety minute one. Tape the sequence to the inside of the van door and leave it there until you stop reading it.
What it replaces
The trip to the auto parts store on the way to a job, which is where margin goes to die. Retail pints bought one at a time cost several times what the same chemistry costs by the gallon, and the time lost to the detour is worth more than the difference. Four concentrates covers the whole menu, and the only thing you restock often is the towels.
Questions
How many cars will a gallon of shampoo do?
More than you will get through in a season, which is the honest answer. P&S rates the concentration at 128 to 1, and at that ratio one gallon makes an enormous amount of wash water. Wheel cleaner is the one that actually runs out.
Do I need separate bottles for each dilution?
Yes, and label them. A wheel cleaner mixed strong and one mixed weak look identical in a spray bottle, and the strong one on a delicate wheel is the kind of mistake that costs a wheel and a customer.
Can I use the interior cleaner on a car that is being detailed for sale?
That is exactly what the plain finish is for. P&S describes the result as never glossy, which photographs honestly and does not leave a buyer wiping residue off a steering wheel on the test drive.
Related guides
Nothing in this van kit comes out of our own kitchen. Sniff and Shift is a treat maker, so the freeze-dried dog treats are the house product and the car chemistry is stocked from Pal Automotive.
The pro starter cluster covers the other ways to stock up, and Explore filters the whole store.
