Car Detailing Dilution Calculator

Calculate Accurate Car Cleaning Chemical Ratios for APC, Foam Cannons, Wheel Cleaners, Interior Sprays, and More

How the Dilution Calculator Works

This tool computes how much concentrated chemical and how much water to combine to fill a container at a chosen dilution ratio, for car detailing chemicals (APC, wheel cleaner, foam cannon soap, etc.).

The ratio convention

Detailing product labels almost always use a parts ratio written as 1 : N:

• 1 part chemical (concentrate)
• N parts water (diluent)

Example: 1 : 10 APC means 1 part product + 10 parts water → 11 total parts of finished mixture.

This is a volume ratio (v/v), not a mass ratio. Both sides are measured in the same unit (ml, oz, etc.), so the unit cancels out and the ratio itself is dimensionless.

Reference:

• Dilution (equation) — Wikipedia
• Concentration — Wikipedia

The formula

Given a target total finished volume V_total and a ratio 1 : N:

parts_total   = 1 + N
chemical      = V_total / parts_total
water         = V_total - chemical
              = V_total * N / (1 + N)

Worked example — fill a 1000 ml spray bottle with APC at 1:10:

parts_total = 1 + 10        = 11
chemical    = 1000 / 11     ≈ 90.9 ml
water       = 1000 - 90.9   ≈ 909.1 ml

So pour ~91 ml of APC concentrate into the bottle and top up with ~909 ml of water.

Units & conversion

Internally everything is normalized to milliliters before the math runs, then converted back to the user-selected display unit. Switching units only changes the displayed numbers — it does not change the underlying mixture.

Conversion factors used (US customary):

Unit	ml per unit
ml	1
L	1000
oz	29.5735 (US fluid ounce)
gal	3785.41 (US gallon)

Reference:

• Fluid ounce — Wikipedia
• Gallon — Wikipedia

Presets (ratio per dirt level)

Each cleaning category exposes three pre-baked ratios for light, moderate, and heavy soiling. These match common label recommendations from major detailing brands (Meguiar’s, Chemical Guys, P&S, Koch-Chemie, etc.). Examples:

Category	Light	Moderate	Heavy
All-Purpose Cleaner	1:20	1:10	1:4
Wheel Cleaner	1:5	1:3	1:1
Foam Cannon Soap	1:20	1:12	1:8
Degreaser	1:10	1:5	1:2

Picking a preset + dirt level auto-fills the ratio. Editing the ratio manually overrides it.

Vehicle type → suggested volume

Vehicle size only affects the default container size (so you mix a sensible batch), never the ratio:

Vehicle	Default volume
Motorcycle	500 ml
Sedan	1000 ml
SUV	1500 ml
Truck	2000 ml

Strength indicator

Derived directly from N in 1 : N:

N (water parts)	Strength	Meaning
≥ 15	Safe	Mild dilution, low risk
5 – 14	Moderate	Normal working strength
< 5	Aggressive	Strong — test first, watch surfaces

This is a UI hint, not a chemistry-accurate hazard rating. Always follow the manufacturer’s SDS / label.

Reference:

• Safety data sheet — Wikipedia

What this tool does not do

• It does not account for product density (assumes v/v ratio, which is what detailing labels use).
• It does not account for temperature, pH, or chemical compatibility between products.
• It does not replace the manufacturer’s instructions or SDS.