Wash and Dry

• The first step in detailing a car is washing it. To properly wash a car you will need a pressure washer, a washing sponge or wool glove and some buckets for soapy water. You will also need a drying chamois for the paint and washable towels to dry other parts, like the dirty door jambs.
  
  

Buff and Wax

• Buffing the paint of the car is perhaps the most important and complex part of car detailing. You will need a quality variable-speed wheeled buffer. To go with that buffer you will need a variety of cutting, buffing and polishing pads that attach to be used in step with one another. You will also need an orbital polisher to apply wax once the polishing is done. You will also need wax-removing towels that will be kept separate from towels used for cleaning.
  
  

Vacuum and Shampoo

• A high-quality wet/dry vacuum is essential. The more sucking power you can get the better. To help the vacuum process you will need some small plastic brushes or old toothbrushes to help loosen debris for the vacuum. You will also need some carpet shampoo brushes.
  
  

Odds and Ends

• You will need industrial-quality extension cords. They need to be able to handle being dragged around, stepped on, run over or twisted, so cheap indoor cords are not acceptable. You will also need storage cabinets to house all the of the hand-held equipment and chemical supplies like wax, soap, wheel cleaner, vinyl cleaner, silicone spray and glass cleaners.
  
  

Luxury and Convenience

• Though not every detail shop has them, a washer and dryer are very helpful. In detailing you use a lot of towels. There are towels for cleaning the glass, towels for removing the wax, towels for cleaning the interior and towels for cleaning up very dirty things. In most cases you don't want them to mix. Having at least two large garbage cans to keep the dirty towels from the clean towels is necessary. Having a washer and dryer to clean them all is a nice luxury to have that will save time from going to the laundromat.