Exterior Car Care Buying Guide

While we can always head indoors to escape nature’s wrath, our vehicles remain exposed when they’re out on the open road, in the parking lot, or anywhere around town.

Our cars, pickups, utes, and SUVs endure legendary weather extremes from Perth to Brisbane and from Melbourne to Darwin. They see blazing heat, wind-driven rain, hail, and occasional dust storms. In November 2018, a 500 km-long dust storm swept through parts of Queensland and New South Wales. The heat wave that bedeviled the Australian Open in January 2019 was one for the record books.

Yes, exterior car care is very important in Australia!

As you look to protect your investment, you’ll undoubtedly seek exterior car care products that simultaneously deliver quality and value. At the Automotive Superstore, we deliver the brands that car enthusiasts trust. Meguiar's, Bowdens Own, and Mothers are just a few examples. Select the perfect mix of exterior car care products that meet your vehicle’s needs.

Bowden’s Own is an Australian brand lovingly tested on animals. You know, Cobras, Falcons, Mustang,s and the like! Washes and waxes protect modern clearcoats as well as unrestored historic car paint.

Frank Meguiar founded his company more than a century ago in California. Today, Meguiar’s complete line of car care products includes waxes, paint protectors, wheel cleaners, bug and tar removers, clay bars, and headlight restoration kits.

In the 1970s, the founders of Mothers started out by peddling their polish for alloy wheels at California swap meets. Today, the company sells more than 70 products. It is known for using the highest quality Carnauba waxes in its car care products.

Exterior car care products include those that clean and protect your exterior paint, as well as products designed to clean and protect your tyres and wheels. And, don’t forget about specialty products like headlamp restorers and bug removers.

Select the right cleaners, conditioners, and protectants to maintain the value of your vehicle. Take pride in your car’s appearance while you maintain its future trade-in value.

Meguiar’s Gold Class Car Wash Shampoo & Conditioner cleans and conditions in a single step. It lifts dirt and grime from your vehicle’s paint. Paint conditioners reveal vibrant color without removing wax protection.

Consider detergent-free Meguiars Soft Wash Gel to maintain the brilliance of the finish between waxes.

Bug residue and road tar tightly adhere to your vehicle. Once the residue and tar dries, it’s very difficult to remove. As they dry and harden, they bond to exterior surfaces, potentially staining or etching them. For tough assignments, consider Meguiars Heavy Duty Bug & Tar Remover. The formulation rehydrates bug residue to make it easier to remove. It also softens stubborn tar deposits. The product clings to the surface to maximise effectiveness. Rinse with water, and wipe dry using a microfibre towel.

Scratches inevitably appear on high-mileage paint. They also tend to accumulate in high-use areas of your vehicle, like keyholes, door handles, and trunk lids. To restore these surfaces, use premium products like Mothers Scratch Remover.

Use Meguiar's Ultimate Polish to eliminate those bothersome swirl marks that tend to appear under direct sunlight. For ideal results, apply it with a microfibre polishing cloth. When oxidation dulls your vehicle’s paint, use a restorer like CarPlan Ultra Color Restorer.

Clay bars smooth the surface by removing lingering contaminants. Bowden’s Own Fine Clay Bar (BOFCB) produces that smooth finish you’re looking for. Always use a premium wash or wash wax product as a lubricant, like Boss Gloss.

There’s a wide selection of car waxes to choose from at the Automotive Superstore, from genuine Brazilian Carnauba Wax to the various synthetic waxes. Select from spray-on waxes and rub-in pastes.

Mothers California Gold Synthetic Wax features microencapsulated polymers that chemically bond to the paint. Enjoy lasting protection and lustrous shine. The formulation is easy to apply and simple to remove. Meguiars Ultimate Liquid Wax is Meguiars ultimate wet-look wax. It’s residue-free, even when applied to mouldings and other trim.

Tyres and wheels are eye-grabbing components of many sports cars and other performance vehicles. Select quality tyre and wheel cleaners to make them look their best.

Just spray on Mothers Wheel & Tire Cleaner to effectively clean whitewall and blackwall tyres. The foaming formulation also cleans clear-coated, chrome, and painted wheels. If you have hubcaps, it will clean those too. Just spray it on and hose it off. The spot-free formulation requires no hand-drying.

Apply a tyre shine product to make your sidewalls look like new. For example, CarPlan Ultra Tyre Shine imparts a “wet look” shine whilst protecting them.

Consider Mothers NuLens Headlight Renewal Kit to restore crystal clarity to your acrylic headlight housings. The one-step process wipes away staining, yellowing, smudges, and hairline scratches. The special polymer-based polish will inhibit oxidation as it guards against future headlight yellowing and fogging.

Give your vehicle the special attention it deserves. Preserve the value of your important asset. Make that next road trip that much more memorable by cruising the countryside in a vehicle that positively sparkles!