Keeping Your Pride and Joy Mint: A Real-World Guide to Washing and Protecting Your Car

Never, ever wash your car in direct sunlight if you can help it. The water and soap will dry too fast, leaving nasty water spots. If you have to do it outside, wait until later in the arvo when the panels are cool to the touch.

Fill one bucket with clean water (Rinse) and the other with water and your car soap (Wash). Put your grit guards in the bottom. This is the only method I trust for preventing scratches.

Always do your wheels first. If you do them last, you'll splash brake dust and grime onto your clean paint. Use a separate brush or an old microfibre, don't use your main wash mitt here!

Blast the car thoroughly with water. Start from the top and work down. You want to get as much loose dust and grit off as possible before you even think about touching the paint. If you've been off-roading, spend extra time in the wheel arches.

If you've got a foam cannon, chuck some foam on now and let it sit for 5 minutes (don't let it dry!). It breaks down the dirt. If not, just move to the next step.

Dunk your mitt in the soapy bucket. Start at the roof, then the glass, then the bonnet. Always work from the cleanest areas (top) to the dirtiest (bottom).

After every panel, dunk your dirty mitt in the 'Rinse' bucket and give it a waggle to drop the grit. Then go back to the 'Wash' bucket for more soap. This keeps your soap bucket clean.

Avoid circular motions. If there's a bit of grit in your mitt, a circle creates a swirl. Straight lines might leave a tiny scratch, but it's much harder for the eye to see.

If you've got smashed grasshoppers on the front, don't scrub hard. Let the soap dwell on them, or use a specific bug remover spray. Scrubbing too hard is how you ruin your clear coat.

Give the whole car a final hose down. I like to take the nozzle off the hose for the final pass, the 'sheeting' action of the water helps it run off the car, leaving less to dry.

Lay your large drying towel flat on the bonnet and just pull it towards you. Don't 'rub' like you're drying yourself after a shower. Let the microfibre soak up the water. (Your partner will thank you when they see how much faster this is).

Open the doors and wipe the sills. This is where most people get lazy, but it's where the red dust lives. A quick wipe here makes the whole car feel 100% better.

While the paint is fresh and clean, spray on your sealant (like Bowden's Bead Machine). It's dead easy, spray on, wipe off. This gives you that UV protection you need for the Aussie sun.