The Bilt Hamber Guide: What Each Product Does and What the SDS Says

Bilt Hamber's range runs from snow foam to rust remover to cavity wax, and its own pages rarely tell you where to start. This is the guide we wanted when we first stocked it: what each product is, what Bilt Hamber says it does, what its safety data sheet actually declares, and where our own practice at the studio differs from theirs.

We are a chemistry-led detailing studio in Heidelberg West, Melbourne, and we stock the Bilt Hamber lines on our collection page — more than twenty products. We have read the manufacturer's page for every one of them and the Australian safety data sheet (SDS) that sits on each of our product pages. Where those two sources and our own experience disagree, we say so rather than pick one quietly.

Wheel work at the studio. Nearly every product below is a chemistry choice before it is a technique choice.

Start here if you know the job and want the product. The colours match our Bilt Hamber collection page. The detail, and our caveats, follow in the sections below.

Touch-Less, the sugar-based pre-wash. Bilt Hamber says it is a sugar-based, biodegradable snow-foam pre-wash, used through a pump sprayer, trigger or pressure-washer lance at 0.5% to 2% PIR, free-rinsing, with corrosion inhibitors and no phosphates, solvents, NTA or caustic soda. It is designed to be followed by Touch-On. SDS The current Australian SDS declares decyl octyl glycosides at 10–<30% (CAS 68515-73-1) and C10–16 alkyl glycosides at 1–<10% (CAS 110615-47-9), and puts non-ionic surfactants at 15–<30%. It is classed as causing serious eye damage, so wear eye protection. Our view Those two ingredients are alkyl polyglucosides, glucose condensed onto a fatty alcohol, so the sugar-based description is literal for the surfactants. The SDS cannot tell us about the rest of the bottle.

PIR is the number that matters. Panel Impact Ratio is the percentage of product in the liquid that actually lands on the paint, after your pressure washer has diluted it. That is why a ratio in the bottle means little: the same bottle mix gives a different PIR on a 6 L/min washer than on a 10 L/min one. Bilt Hamber says to measure the water your setup delivers and multiply by 0.02 for 2%. Our Touch-Less dilution chart and calculator does that sum for the common machines.

Which pH is Touch-Less? SDS Bilt Hamber's paperwork gives two figures, each with its own basis. The July 2024 sheet from Bilt Hamber Laboratories in the UK (version 2) quotes pH 10.5 at a 2–4% dilution. The May 2025 Australian sheet (version 3) quotes pH 12 ±0.5 on the neat concentrate. Both declare the same two glycosides at the same ranges. Our view A diluted reading is closer to what reaches the paint than a neat one. When you compare Touch-Less with another foam, compare like with like, neat with neat or diluted with diluted, and remember that pH is not alkali reserve, which our snow foam pH comparison explains.

Auto-Foam, the alkaline pre-wash. Bilt Hamber says it is a water-based pre-wash for cool surfaces, with a typical PIR of 4% and, per its data sheet, a few minutes of dwell, diluted anywhere from 1:100 to 5:100 (roughly 1% to 5%). They call it non-caustic and biodegradable, and say it is formulated for maximum wetting, not for thick foam. SDS pH about 13 with the basis not stated, a fatty alcohol ethoxylate at 1–10%, dipropylene glycol methyl ether at 1–5% (a glycol ether solvent) and a quaternary ammonium compound at 1–5%. Non-ionic surfactants sit at 5–<15% and cationic under 5%. No caustic alkali is among the declared ingredients. Our view Auto-Foam is the one we reach for on a neglected car or a work vehicle, and Touch-Less on a car that is washed regularly.

Auto-Wash, the plain shampoo. Bilt Hamber says it is a concentrated shampoo that is salt, wax and additive free, with no colourants, waxes, perfumes or thickeners, used at 5 ml (a teaspoon) to a 10 L bucket. It can be used neat as a spot cleaner on oily films, and they say it is anti-corrosion on bare steel. They cite an Auto Express best car shampoo award three years running. SDS pH about 9 with the basis not stated, an alcohol ether sulfate at 1–10% and a betaine-type amphoteric surfactant at 1–2%, a coconut diethanolamide below 1%, anionic surfactants at 5–<15%, and an irritant to skin and eyes. Our view The SDS does not say what its pH of about 9 was measured on, so we do not read more into the figure than that. 5 ml in 10 L is 0.05%, so it is very economical, and with no wax or gloss enhancer in it, it adds nothing to the paint.

Surfex-HD, the degreaser. Bilt Hamber says it is a water-based all-purpose cleaner and degreaser, used from 1 part in 100 for light cleaning up to neat for maximum grease and oil removal. Its FAQ gives 1 to 2% for interior upholstery and 5 to 10% for wheel arches and tyres. Saturate, give it a brief dwell, agitate heavy soil, rinse, and spot test first. It is intended for interior and exterior surfaces including paint, wheels, tyres, fabric and carpets, and they cite an Auto Express 2018 pressure-washer shampoo award. SDS pH 13 with the basis not stated, a C9–11 alcohol ethoxylate at 1–10%, disodium metasilicate at 1–3% and tetrasodium etidronate, a phosphonate chelating agent, at 1–3%. It is classed as a skin irritant causing serious eye damage. Our view It is a pH 13 cleaner on its SDS. Rinse it thoroughly, keep it off hot panels, and take the spot-test advice seriously on soft trims and anodised parts. Our product page lists 1:100 to 1:200 for light duty; the weaker end of that range is our own figure, not one on Bilt Hamber's sheet. Bilt Hamber also points it at pressure-washer use, but we treat it as a cleaner for arches, tyres, engine bays and interiors, not as a shampoo or a pre-wash.

Korrosol, the fallout remover for paint. Bilt Hamber says it is a pH-balanced fallout remover: spray on, wait for the colour change, rinse. They say it is safe on all paint finishes including lacquers and that it is made in England. The page does not name the active ingredient. SDS sodium mercaptoacetate at 10–30% (CAS 367-51-1) with a C12–14 alcohol ether sulfate at 1–2.5%, pH 5.5–7, classed as harmful if swallowed, an eye irritant and a skin sensitiser, so wear gloves. Our view That is thiol chemistry, not acid chemistry. Mercaptoacetate, also called thioglycolate (HSCH₂COO⁻), reduces ferric iron and binds it, and ferric thiolate complexes are intensely coloured, which is the most likely source of the colour change Bilt Hamber describes. Our comparison of nine iron removers sets that against the acid and chelator products.

Auto-Wheel, the same chemistry for wheels. Bilt Hamber says it is pH-balanced and reactive: its data sheet describes a chelating process that makes iron particles water-soluble, shown by a colour change from clear to deep purple. Leave it for a few minutes (their data sheet gives 1 to 5, depending on temperature), keep it off chrome-look and plated plastic wheel centres (the data sheet warns the active may dull them), and hose or jet-wash it away. Their FAQ adds that it will not damage plastic centre caps and that spraying them is simply wasteful. Their FAQ also says Korrosol is designed to spread more easily over paintwork and Auto-Wheel to cling to a dirtier, vertical surface, and that using them interchangeably will not cause damage. They say it is harmless to the finish and cite a run of Auto Express wins. SDS It declares exactly what Korrosol declares: sodium mercaptoacetate at 10–30%, the same ether sulfate at 1–2.5%, pH 5.5–7 and the same hazard classes. Our view On the SDS you cannot tell the two apart, and whatever produces the difference in spread and cling that Bilt Hamber describes is not declared there. We use each where Bilt Hamber points it: Korrosol on bodywork, Auto-Wheel on wheels.

Auto-Clay, and the clay question. Bilt Hamber says there are three grades: Regular for heavily contaminated paint, first-time use and hot weather; Medium for reasonable paint; Soft for good paint, frequent use and cold weather. Lubricate with plain water from a plant mister, never use it dry, pre-treat with Korrosol, and expect one bar to last about four or five cleans on an average car. Their instruction is to wax immediately afterwards. SDS not classified. Our view This is where we part company. We only clay when a machine polish follows, because we assume any clay leaves some fine marring, and a wax covers that rather than removing it. If you do clay, choose the gentlest grade that makes the panel smooth, as we explain in our clay bar guide.

Cleanser-Fluid, the prep step. Bilt Hamber says it is a non-abrasive deep paint cleaner meant to replace IPA wipes, removing oil films, polish residue and old protection. Use it after claying and before waxes: atomise it, wipe with a microfibre, and work on cool, shaded panels. SDS hydrotreated heavy naphtha at 30–50%, a flash point above 70 °C, and an aspiration hazard classification. Our view That makes it a hydrocarbon-solvent cleaner, and "removes old protection" means what it says. Assume it strips waxes and sealants. That is the point before a new wax, and the opposite of what you want on a coating you are trying to keep, so check with the coating's maker first.

Cleanser-Polish. Bilt Hamber says it is a resin-based all-in-one paint refiner that fills minor swirls. Its data sheet says it contains ultra-fine abrasives to remove light oxidation and is not a cutting compound or harsh abrasive polish. It is applied with the App-Pad, left to haze and buffed off, and Bilt Hamber says it can be topped with Finis-Wax, Double Speed-Wax, Auto-Balm or Hydra-Wax. They cite a Practical Classics Best Buy car polish award with a 15 out of 15 rating. SDS hydrotreated heavy naphtha at 30–<50% and non-ionic surfactant under 5%, with a flash point above 65 °C. Our view Bilt Hamber describes both abrasives and filling, and nothing we have seen splits the result between the two. Where filling is part of it, defects are hidden rather than removed. That is a fair trade on older paint and the wrong tool for defects you want gone. Our polishing compound chemistry article explains the difference.

Re-View, the polish. Bilt Hamber says it is a cerium oxide glass polish that removes films, water-repellent coatings, hard-water marks and mineral staining, by hand or machine. Use a pea-sized amount per 30 cm square, on cool glass only, never on aftermarket or plastic tinted windows or textured glass, and test by atomising water on the glass: a flat, uniform film means it is clean. SDS an emulsion at pH 7 with hydrotreated heavy naphtha at 30–<50% and anionic surfactants at 5–<15% in total. Cerium oxide itself is not in the declaration, which only covers classified ingredients. Our view Cerium oxide (CeO₂) is the standard glass-polishing abrasive, and it will take a water-repellent coating off along with the contamination, so plan to re-treat the glass afterwards.

Trace-Less, the cleaner. Bilt Hamber says it is a super-wetting glass cleaner whose surfactants evaporate completely, so it leaves no hydrophobic coating and will not remove quality glass sealants or rain repellents. It is for interior and exterior glass, with lint-free cloths that are free of detergent and fabric conditioner, and for stubborn residue they say to glass-polish first. Our view The same trait is the reason to choose it for maintenance on treated glass and the reason it will not clear a hazy film. Our car glass cleaner chemistry article covers why glass streaks.

The three waxes: Double Speed-Wax, Finis-Wax and Hydra-Wax. Bilt Hamber says the first two are T1 carnauba paste waxes, and Hydra-Wax is a liquid T1 carnauba wax. Double Speed-Wax goes on sparingly, dulls for 5 to 10 minutes and buffs off, and can bloom in humid conditions. They cite Auto Express Best Buy car wax wins in 2015 and from 2017 to 2020. Finis-Wax is described as a carnauba-rich, high-gloss paste wax, and it dusts if over-applied. Hydra-Wax can set in the bottle: stand it in about three inches of hot water for five minutes with the cap loosened, then tighten the cap and shake. SDS Double Speed-Wax and Hydra-Wax declare hydrotreated heavy naphtha at 30–50%. Double Speed-Wax is nonetheless listed as not classified, while Hydra-Wax is a flammable liquid with a flash point of 40 °C, so warm it in hot water with the cap loosened and keep it away from flame and hot plates. Finis-Wax is also listed as not classified, but its section 3 names one unnamed component at 30–50% with an aspiration-hazard class. Our view Choose on how you like to apply them: paste for a thin hand-applied film, liquid for speed.

Auto-Balm. Bilt Hamber says it is a synthesised blend of corrosion-inhibiting molecules that forms an ultra-thin, high-gloss film for older or degraded paint, chrome and alloys, sealing capillary pores. It is not an abrasive polish, goes on with a damp App-Pad in sections of two to three feet, and a light cutting polish should come first if the paint is faded. SDS classed as an aspiration hazard, with one unnamed component listed at 30–50% and nothing else declared. Our view It suits older paint, chrome and alloys, which is where Bilt Hamber point it.

What every wax, polish and balm on this page is ultimately aiming at. Gloss is the part you can see; the SDS is the part you cannot.

Touch-On. Bilt Hamber says its product summary calls it a crystalline hydrophobic treatment, and its longer description calls it a durable hydrophobic ceramic paint protection treatment that is water-based, non-flammable, with no alcohol or petrochemical solvents. It goes on after Touch-Less in one of three ways: 30 ml topped up to 300 ml for a pressure-washer lance, 30 to 60 ml in 10 L of warm water with a noodle mitt (it is low foaming), or 30 ml to 1 L in a trigger sprayer, with demineralised water preferred. Do not air-dry the car afterwards, or it will water-spot. SDS pH 5–6 and a single declared ingredient, a fatty alcohol ethoxylate (a non-ionic surfactant) at 5–15%. It is classed as causing serious eye damage. Our view Use it as a boost straight after Touch-Less, as Bilt Hamber design the two to run together.

This end of the range is corrosion protection rather than detailing, and Bilt Hamber's pages chain the products together: remove rust with Deox, stop flash rust with Atom-Mac, then seal with Dynax. For the degreasing step, the Deox-Gel data sheet names white spirit or another solvent. We keep it short here and leave the heavy detail to the product pages.

Deox-C and Deox-Gel. Bilt Hamber says Deox-C is a crystalline rust remover for immersion: 1 kg makes up to 20 L, used at 5–20% solutions (10% is one part powder to nine parts water by weight), and the bath is spent when it has gone very dark. Deox-Gel is the thixotropic version for parts too large to soak: a thick even layer under plastic wrap to keep it moist, left for hours (their data sheet gives up to 12 to 48 hours on heavy rust), then a stiff plastic-bristle brush and water, with the part degreased first. They call the active agents harmless, non-toxic and biodegradable. SDS Deox-C is not classified and gives pH 3.5–4 with the basis not stated. Our view "Harmless" there is about toxicity, not a guarantee for every surface, so spot test anything precious.

Dynax S50, UB and UC. Bilt Hamber says S50 is a cavity wax: a soft, brown, self-healing, moisture-displacing film of about 50 µm. Leave cavities unclosed for 48 hours so the carrier can evaporate, and note it is not formulated for prolonged UV exposure. Wet surfaces should be pre-treated with Ferrosol. UB is the underbody wax, with elastic polymers, for brush, roller or aerosol, which they say does not peel the way bitumen underseals do: two coats 24 hours apart for roughly 80 to 100 µm, on a dry surface free of loose, flaky rust. UC is the near-transparent version at about 50 µm that goes on cleaned surfaces, and it can be removed with solvent wipes or hot Surfex-HD. Bilt Hamber publishes a University of Hertfordshire report on Dynax S50 (report PG-BH13/001, dated 22 July 2013, prepared for Bilt Hamber Ltd). We have read it: a 2000-hour cyclic salt-spray test based on ASTM B117-03, in which S50 ranked first of the products tested, ahead of Mike Sanders Korrosionsschutzfett applied at 500 µm. The other products went on at roughly 50 to 60 µm, so film thickness was not matched, and Bilt Hamber commissioned the work. The test covered S50 only, not UB or UC. SDS naphtha-based; the liquid UB and UC are flammable liquids, and the S50, UB and UC aerosols are classed as extremely flammable aerosols that may burst if heated.

Atom-Mac. Bilt Hamber says it is a water-borne migratory and contact corrosion inhibitor, diluted 2–5% in deionised or distilled water. A 2% solution in rinse water stops flash corrosion after Deox or blasting, voids take 2 ml of neat product per litre of space, and it is safe on painted surfaces. SDS pH 7 and an octanoic acid compound at 20–35%.

Ferrosol. Bilt Hamber says it is a water-displacing lubricant with no silicone, PTFE, molybdenum disulfide or chlorinated solvents, safe in body shops, and that it also removes gums, adhesives, wax and tar: apply, wait 10 to 20 seconds and wipe. Their product summary says it is "3.5 times more effective than the well-known market leader". SDS hydrotreated heavy naphtha at 30–60% and 2-butoxyethanol at 1–5%, plus hydrotreated light distillates, an aerosol classed as extremely flammable, with a flash point of −41 °C.

The regular wash. Touch-Less through the lance at the PIR your washer needs, Auto-Wash in the bucket, and Touch-On afterwards if you want the hydrophobic boost. Bilt Hamber designed Touch-Less and Touch-On to run together. Our Bilt Hamber collection also has a "Build the Bilt Hamber wash" section that puts Touch-Less, Korrosol and Auto-Wash in one place.

The decontamination day. Wash first, then Korrosol on the bodywork and Auto-Wheel on the wheels. Clay only if a polish follows. Finish with Cleanser-Fluid to strip oils and old protection, then Finis-Wax, Double Speed-Wax or Hydra-Wax.

Tired paint. Cleanser-Polish for light swirls and oxidation, accepting that part of the result is fill, then Auto-Balm or one of the waxes on top. Bilt Hamber lists all four as top coats for it.

Rust and underbody. Degrease first (the Deox-Gel data sheet names white spirit or another solvent), Deox-C or Deox-Gel to remove rust, Atom-Mac to stop flash rust, then Dynax S50, UB or UC in the right place. Wet surfaces get Ferrosol first.

Test claims are reported by Bilt Hamber. The Dynax S50 test is documented in a University of Hertfordshire report that Bilt Hamber commissioned and publishes, and we describe it above. Bilt Hamber's Ferrosol page states that it is 3.5 times more effective than the well-known market leader.

A pH figure only means something with its basis. Touch-Less is quoted at pH 10.5 at a 2–4% dilution on one Bilt Hamber sheet and pH 12 ±0.5 neat on another. Of the sheets we read, it is the only product that states its basis: Auto-Foam, Auto-Wash, Surfex-HD, Korrosol, Touch-On and others print a bare number. Compare like with like, and do not read a diluted figure against a neat one.

Where our practice differs from Bilt Hamber's. They say wax immediately after claying; we only clay before a polish. They point Surfex-HD at pressure-washer shampoo use; we treat it as a pH 13 cleaner.

What an SDS cannot show. It only has to declare classified ingredients above set thresholds. "No solvents", "no phosphates" and "corrosion inhibitors" are Bilt Hamber's own statements about their formulas, which an SDS is not designed to show, and Korrosol's unnamed active only became clear because the SDS names it.

Revisions move. The SDS revisions we read run from 2023 to 2025, and the supplier can update them. Check the one on the product page before relying on any figure here.

Sources: the product pages, data sheets and FAQ at bilthamber.com, and the University of Hertfordshire report it publishes on Dynax S50, read in October 2026, plus the Bilt Hamber safety data sheets linked on each of our product pages.