Car Care Products

Australian Car Care Products, Curated by a Chemist

Car care is half about technique and half about chemistry. The best wash technique in the world won't save your paint if the shampoo strips your coating, the wheel cleaner contains hydrofluoric acid, or the degreaser dissolves your trim. We carry only what we'd use ourselves on customer cars — and Paolo, who runs Alpha Details, holds a degree in chemistry, so the standard for "what we'd use" is honest.

The two ingredients you should never knowingly buy. The first is sodium hydroxide (NaOH), used in cheap APCs and pre-washes — it dissolves aluminium oxide, etches alloys, and chalks trim white over time. The second is hydrofluoric acid (HF) or its cousin ammonium bifluoride (ABF), both still found in budget wheel cleaners. HF doesn't just etch alloys — it penetrates skin without immediate pain and attacks bone calcium: 2HF + Ca²⁺ → CaF₂ + 2H⁺. The International Carwash Association recommended the entire industry stop using it. Some still don't.

What we stock and why. Our shelves are weighted toward brands that publish their chemistry honestly and certify their safety independently. Labocosmetica from Italy holds VDA, ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 certifications — independent testing that their products are compatible with paint, alloys, trim, PPF, rubber and coatings. Their Purifica is the world's first acid shampoo (pH below 3, buffered noble acids, VDA-certified safe even undiluted). Primus 2.0 is the world's first VDA-certified pre-wash. We also stock Feynlab, CarPro, Mirch and The Rag Company — all chosen on the same principle.

What you'll find here. Snow foam pre-wash, pH-neutral and acid shampoos, iron and tar removers, ceramic spray sealants, paint protection film maintenance fluids, paint correction polishes, microfibre cloths and drying towels, leather and interior conditioners, and wheel cleaners that don't contain HF or ABF. Built for owners who want their paint to look this good in five years, not one.

Every product on this page is hand-picked by Paolo and the Alpha Details team — and used in our Heidelberg West PPF studio every week. Free shipping on Australian orders over A$95 — subject to weight and delivery address.