Prepping Your Ride for the Shift: Autumn Car Care Basics

Never, ever wash a car in direct Aussie sunlight if you can help it. The water and soap will dry in seconds, leaving spots that are a nightmare to remove. If you have to do it outside, wait until the late arvo when the sun's lost its bite.

Give the whole car a good hose down with cold water. You want to bring the surface temperature of the metal down so your products actually have time to work.

Fill one with soapy water and one with plain water for rinsing your mitt. This is the 'two-bucket method' and it's the only way I trust to keep scratches away.

Always start with the wheels. They're the filthiest part. If you do them last, you'll splash brake dust all over your clean paint. Use your iron remover here and let it sit for 2-3 minutes until it turns purple.

Blast the loose dirt off. If you've got a foam cannon, use it. If not, just a decent pressure from the hose. Pay attention to the wheel arches where that red outback dust loves to hide.

Spray your APC on the front bumper and mirrors. Let it soften the dried-on bugs for a minute. (Pro tip: don't let it dry!). I once made the mistake of leaving a strong cleaner on a black Commodore in the sun, it etched the plastic trim almost instantly. Never again.

Start from the roof and work your way down. Wash a panel, then rinse your mitt in the plain water bucket before grabbing more soap. This keeps the grit out of your wash mitt.

Rinse the car, then spray iron remover over the paint. Let it dwell. You'll see little purple streaks, that's the salt and metallic fallout from the road dissolving. Rinse it off thoroughly.

While the car is still wet, use your clay mitt with a bit of soapy water as lube. Gently glide it over the paint. You'll hear it 'biting' at first, then it'll go silent and smooth. That's when you know the embedded crap is gone.

Give it one last massive rinse. Get into the fuel cap, the door jams, and under the wipers. You don't want any soap or iron remover hiding in there.

Lay your large drying towel flat across the bonnet and just pull it towards you. No need to scrub. The less you touch the paint, the better.

Now the paint is naked and clean, you need to seal it. If you're using a spray ceramic sealant, do it one panel at a time. Buff it off with a fresh, dry microfibre. This is what's going to fight off the UV rays for the next 3-4 months.

Clean your windows with a dedicated glass cleaner. Apply a bit of trim restorer to any black plastics that look a bit grey from the summer sun. It makes a huge difference to the overall look.