Taking Care of Your Paint: The Real Deal on Exterior Maintenance

This is non-negotiable. If you wash a car in the direct Aussie sun, the water and soap will dry instantly, leaving spots that are a nightmare to remove. If you don't have a carport, do it early morning or late arvo.

Touch the bonnet. If it's hot, spray it with cool water for a few minutes. You want the metal cool to the touch before you start.

Get your buckets ready, mix your soap, and lay out your towels. Nothing worse than having a wet car and realising your drying towel is still in the laundry.

Look for bird droppings or heavy mud. These need extra soaking before you touch them with a mitt.

Make sure the wheels are stone cold. Spraying cold water on hot brake rotors can actually warp them. (Learned that lesson the expensive way on a mate's HSV).

Always start with wheels. If you do them last, you'll splash dirty brake dust water onto your clean paint. Use your dedicated wheel bucket and brush.

Give the whole car a good blast with water. Start from the top and work down. You're trying to move as much loose dirt as possible without touching it.

Cover the car in foam and let it dwell for 5 minutes. It breaks down the oils and red dust. Don't let it dry!

Dunk your mitt in the soapy bucket, wash a panel, then rinse the mitt in the plain water bucket to get the grit off. Repeat.

Start at the roof, then the glass, then the bonnet. Save the bottom 10cm of the car and the bumpers for last, that's where the most grit lives.

Once the car is rinsed, spray your iron remover on the paint. It'll turn purple as it reacts with metal particles. Rinse it off thoroughly.

If the paint feels rough, use a clay bar with plenty of soapy water as lubricant. This makes the paint smooth as glass.

Give it one last good rinse to make sure all the soap and clay residue is gone.

Lay your large microfibre towel across the flat panels and 'pull' it towards you. Don't scrub. For the vertical panels, pat them dry.

If you've got a leaf blower, use it to get water out of the mirrors, door handles, and trims. It stops those annoying 'dribbles' later.

Apply your sealant or wax. I reckon Gtechniq C2V3 is the go-to for DIYers. Just spray on a microfibre, wipe on, and buff off. Simple.

Clean the glass inside and out. Then apply your tyre shine. Tip: let the tyre shine sit for 10 minutes then wipe the excess with a rag so it doesn't spray on your paint.