BOWWDEN'S OWN CAR CARE

I’ve been a car person for many years, from street and rally cars to tourers and now a 4wd addict. Back in the day, there wasn’t much of a range of cleaning products to keep your pride and joy looking good, but today, it can get confusing with so many products out there to protect your precious.

My 80 series is constantly off-road in some of the harshest conditions that our country can dish up. Quite often I’ll be away in dirty and dusty conditions for weeks at on end. But I find with the right products my 34-year-old Landcruiser 80 comes up a treat time and time again. Now while I’m happy to use self-serve car washes for soak and pre-wash while I’m on the road, I totally refuse to use those scratchy brushes they offer to avoid any more paint damage. A few years ago I was introduced to Bowden’s Own range of car care products, and just recently they released some 4WD cleaning agents.

It all started in 1944 when a young David Bowden got the car bug as his dad started selling the first Australian-made Ford cars in Dalby QLD. Over the next few years, David built and owned hotrods ( this was by the age of 12 ) and was eventually introduced to motor racing at Warwick Farm. His love of motor racing and Ford led him to the Geoghegan racing team and a love of Australian Muscle cars. David owned 21 legendary cars including many of the GTHO models and even restored the Falcon that won the 1972 Bathurst race against Allan Moffat, and it was around this time that David began sourcing other iconic cars to restore and save. The golden years of the 1970s were also when David met his wife and they had two boys, Dan and Chris.

With a shed full of unique cars they were using high-quality products from the USA and Europe, but soon began to notice issues with the products that were being used having cheap ingredients in the formula. The decision was made to develop a range of their own and by the year 2000, Bowdens had a batch of 4 products to use on their own cars. The next year Bowdens had car enthusiasts asking what they were using so free samples were handed out, but then they wanted more, and by 2002 Bowdens took a plunge and started to market their range. Over the next few years their range grew and grew keeping up with the demand, the early products were handmade and bottled in their shed on the Sunshine Coast in QLD.

Bowdens makes it clear that they only use local chemists to research and develop products plus local production companies for packing and distribution. Each product they make, now at nearly 75, is custom-made from scratch to be the best it can be. Some products like Wheely Clean and their Tyre Shine each took over 7 years to develop the formulas. The range is massive with everything you could ask for to clean the inside and out of your car, interior protection, products to remove stubborn stains, anti-bacterial cleaners, engine cleaners, car care kits, buckets, a huge polish range plus a range of brushes & cleaning mitts.

Working in the background, and due to a constant demand from off-roaders, they have now developed a range of products and tools for the 4wders. With names like Dirty Times 4WD wash, Down and Dirty, Under Armer and The Little Stiffy brush - I knew I was in for a good time cleaning. Generally, the Bowdens process is to pre-soak a vehicle ( for me it’s with the Mega Snow Job ), let soak and gerni off, hand wash with Dirty Times 4WD Wash, dry and then apply a wax or paint correction.

The Dirty Times Wash is directed to 4WDers who like to get down and dirty. This new wash has advanced rust inhibitors and minerals to dissolve salt build-ups when spending time near the coast. I find it breaks down the toughest of stains on my 80 especially the outback red dirt grime that tends to build up and sick to every orifice. As usual, this product is safe for all surfaces and won’t strip any ceramic coating off, safe for caravans, jet skis, boats and ATVs, plus it’s bio-degradable like most of their other products. After a good wash, I use their new Twisted Mother Sucker ( say that fast three times ) to dry off and prepare for a coat of wax or prepare for paint restoration.

The new Down and Dirty product is simply amazing, where you spray on ( wheels, tyres and chassis ), then use either the Little Stiffy or the Chubby brush for extra penetration and hose off. This stuff is just that good. They quote and I can agree “Super effective for removing stubborn red dirt, grime, mineral deposits, grease and oil from vehicle underbodies and inner guards”. Down and Dirty is safe to use on all metals, plastics, rubber and non-porous surfaces. It's also good for removing black exhaust soot, built-up road grime and mud, grease and oil marks.

I am also a big fan of their Under Armer, which I use before every big trip as it coats the underside and chassis with an anti-corrosion barrier that will last for 2-3 months. This formula has taken 5 years to develop and it works well repelling mud, salt, sand and road grime. The process is just as simple, gerni underside of 4WD, spray Under Armer across all surfaces, let dry and simply hose off with a good pressure. It will leave the underside clean and shiny but it won’t leave it tacky and sticky where others do.

The Bowdens website is a complex and informative place to source out what you need to find and do when it comes to looking after your pride and joy, or even if you just want to preserve a vehicle for a few more years. From full product descriptions, how to use them, history and even group detailing events. One of the best things I have found with Bowdens is that if you ever get flustered with their products or just unsure where to start with a vehicle, is that they have cleaning guides on their website as well as a flow chart of products that make life so much simpler, plus new release items, they explain the difference between products and so much more.

Also active on socials, the team at Bowdens are straight onto any questions that you might have. Bowdens are Australian family-owned and operated, they use Australian companies to develop and make their products right down to the caps, bottles and labels, products are animal tested ( note - muscle cars and high-performance racers, not real animals ). But it doesn’t stop there, they have bike cleaning products, cannons for your home gerni and service kits, apparel, brushes and well everything associated with proper car care.

Prices vary for each product and when used correctly it goes a long way. Their range of products are available from all major auto accessory shops or the Bowden's Own website www.bowdensown.com.au 

Now while its no show car, my 80 always looks the part thanks to Bowdens Own, even while on the road after a good spray job its easy to apply a wax sealant or keep on top of the interior while hitting the outback tracks. Bowdens Own - it’s worth a try !.