How to Clean Your 4x4 After a Trip Without Ruining Everything

Never, ever wash a hot car in the sun. The water and soap will dry instantly, leaving spots that are a nightmare to remove. If it's a 38-degree day, wait until the sun drops.

Open the bonnet and clear out any leaves or twigs from the scuttle panel (the bit under your wipers). If these get wet and stay there, they rot and cause rust.

If you've got thick clumps of dried mud in the wheel arches, give them a quick bash with a stiff brush while they're dry. It's much easier to knock the big stuff off now than to turn it into a slurry with the hose.

Start from the bottom. If you've been on the beach, this is the most important part. Use an underbody attachment or just get down on your knees with the pressure washer. Flush out the chassis rails until the water runs clear. I spent three hours once on a mate's Patrol just getting the sand out of his rear crossmember. Salt hides in there and eats the metal from the inside out.

Spray your degreaser into the wheel arches and onto the tyres. Give them a scrub with a stiff brush. Don't worry about the shiny bits yet, just get the heavy muck out of the liners.

Cover the whole car in snow foam. This is the fun part. Let it dwell for 5-8 minutes, but don't let it dry. This softens the red dust so it slides off rather than acting like sandpaper when you touch it.

Rinse the foam off from the top down. Pay close attention to door seals, window tracks, and the gap between the tub and the cab. Red dust loves to hide there.

Now you actually touch the car. Use your wash mitt and the two-bucket method. Use light pressure. If the mitt feels 'gritty', rinse it in your plain water bucket immediately.

If the paint feels rough like sandpaper after washing, you've got embedded grit. Use a clay mitt with plenty of soapy water as lubricant. It'll make the paint feel like glass again. Honestly, most people skip this, but it makes a massive difference to how the car looks.

Carefully mist the engine bay with a bit of APC. Avoid direct high pressure on the alternator or fuse box. Use a soft brush to agitate the dust, then a very gentle rinse. A clean engine runs cooler and it's easier to spot leaks later.

Use a large microfibre drying towel. Don't use a chamois, they are old school and can actually trap dirt and scratch the paint. If you've got a leaf blower, use it to blow water out of the mirrors and light housings.

Clean the windows with a dedicated glass cleaner. For the black plastic trims that the Aussie sun loves to turn grey, hit them with a UV protectant like Aerospace 303. It'll keep them looking black and stop them cracking.

Open all the doors and use a vacuum. If there's red dust everywhere, a damp microfibre cloth is your best friend. Avoid those greasy 'shiny' interior sprays from the servo; they just attract more dust next time you hit a dirt road.