Work out at a glance how much concentrate and water you need. Pick a use case for a typical ratio, or enter your own.
1:15 = 1 part product to 15 parts water (63 ml per litre)
Not sure? Pick Normal. That is how 95%+ of brands do it. Chemical is for the rare exception that works in percentages, like Bilt Hamber.
62,5 ml concentrate
937,5 ml water
Ratio 1:15 · total 1000 ml
Read the normal way: 1 part product to X parts water.
View products for this use caseThe ratios shown are guidelines. Always read your product label; manufacturers vary widely.
Want to understand how dilution really works and never doubt again? Read the guide: dilution explained.
This is where a lot of people slip up: 1:10 does not mean the same thing for every brand. There are two ways to read it, and the difference decides how much product ends up in your bottle. Pick the one that matches your brand at the top.
The way 95%+ of detailing brands use it. 1:10 means 1 part product to 10 parts water, so 11 parts together. This is standard at Koch Chemie, Chemical Guys, CarPro and almost everyone else.
1:10 in 1 litre = about 91 ml product + 909 ml water.
The way used in chemistry and the cleaning trade. 1:10 means 1 part out of 10, so 10% of the total. Only a rare brand works this way: the best-known example is Bilt Hamber, which writes in percentages. The vast majority of brands do not.
1:10 in 1 litre = 100 ml product + 900 ml water.
Because brands genuinely write it differently. Use the wrong reading and your mix comes out a touch too strong or too weak. So we let you choose instead of forcing one method. The gap is small for heavily diluted products, but you notice it with a strong APC or degreaser.
Here is how the makers put it:
We only list a brand here when we are sure, based on its own instructions. Yours not listed? Follow the label and check whether it says 'with water' (normal) or a percentage (chemical).
Using Koch Chemie Green Star, for example? Koch reads it the normal way, so 1:10 is 1 part Green Star to 10 parts water (Koch itself lists 1:5 to 1:30). Note: a dressing like Plast Star is used much stronger or neat, not at 1:10. Check its label and set the calculator to Normal.
Watch the order of the numbers. Some labels write '10:1' to mean 10 parts water to 1 part product, something you mostly see on American brands. The bigger number is almost always the water; that is the one you enter here as X. In doubt? Start more dilute and build up.
Too strong a mix wastes product and can streak or damage; too weak and it simply will not work. The right ratio gets the most out of your concentrate and is far cheaper than ready-to-use products.
Snow foam is misted thinly over the whole car and diluted heavily (often 1:10 to 1:20 in the lance bottle). An APC is diluted lightly for interiors and stronger for heavy soiling such as engines and wheels. Car shampoo goes in very diluted, into the bucket.
Ratios differ per brand and per concentrate. Use this calculator as a guideline and follow the label for the exact advice.