Bowden's Own

Bowdens Own

THE BOWDEN'S STORY

Our family have dedicated their blood, sweat and tears

Into restoring and maintaining vital pieces of Australian motor racing history. The car collection has near 50+ cars that are housed mostly on our Sunshine Coast property, as well as a few museums and showrooms throughout Australia. And it is due to our love of the cars in our collection, that we started our uniquely Australian car care range – Bowden’s Own Premium Car Care. This is our story.

PASSION BORN

David Bowden had his passion for cars forged at a very young age. In 1925, his father Frank began selling the very first Australian made Fords back in Dalby for his sister, Nell, who was the first female Ford dealer anywhere in the world. Frank was later to move on and part own the first local Holden Dealership in Nambour, Qld, right after the war, so David of course developed a love for Fords!

He owned his first car, a 34 Ford, at the age of 12, becoming a keen and avid hot rodder, building up many different side valve V8 powered Fords, till he finally acquired a 1932 Ford Roadster. He was to become notorious for this Ford Roadster around Brisbane, with it being channeled and having the '48 Mercury V8 fitted with a McCulloch supercharger, it was ideal for getting into all sorts of trouble back then!

A LOVE OF MOTORSPORT

David moved around a bit in this time, working numerous jobs within the car industry, starting his time as an apprentice mechanic at Coach Craft Ford in Brisbane, then moving between Sydney, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Nth Qld and Darwin. His parents sold his beloved 32' Ford while he was away in his travels, something he never forgave them for!

David's passion for motorsport was developed in this time as well, after a trip to Warwick Farm and being spell-bound by a white '65 Mustang being hurtled around by the extemely talented Ian 'Pete' Geoghegan. He met 'Pete' in the pits later that day and it was the start of a life long friendship, that involved him becoming an unofficial member of the Geoghegan racing team, helping wherever and whenever he could at their race events.

THE GOLDEN YEARS

Like many of his generation, David developed a strong passion for the Australian muscle cars of this era, noteably Falcon GT's, owning some 21 of the different GTHO models in the first few years of production!

David was to meet his wife Pauline and they fatefully ended up in Townsville during 1973. It was here that he was to acquire a very special car, that was to become an important foundation car for the collection. – The now legendary Ford GTHO Phase IV. It was a big year, as first son Dan was to come along, followed three years later while living in Adelaide with 2nd son Chris joining the tribe. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree and both boys were to be hit with the car fanaticism disease as well.

SAVING AUSTRALIAN HISTORY

In 1982 David tracked down one of 'Pete's Geoghegan's' famous old race cars, the 1971 GTHO Super Falcon. He had a memorable drive of it around Surfers Paradise to help bed in the brakes. The look, noise and power of the fuel injected 600+BHP Cleveland engine got his attention, especially as it lit the wheels up in all 4 gears! What he found a decade later just broke his heart, the Super Falcon had become an unloved relic, that was truthfully not far from being taken to the tip. He bought it and spent the best bit of the next decade restoring the car back to its most glorious moment - how it won the now legendary Easter 1972 Bathurst race against Moffat's mighty Mustang.

That's when he began to look around for other iconic race cars, the ones that no one cared for, as in those days nothing had less value than an old and no longer competitive race car. Many were being stripped and sold for the worth of their parts, dumping what was left. With Dan and Chris in tow, he slowly tracked down many significant cars, from all over Australia and overseas, and set about restoring or preserving them, for the simple reason that he believed it was history worth saving. From this point the collection began to really grow, filling sheds with a lot of significant Australian racing machinery.

CARING FOR THE COLLECTION

For years we had been using a large range of highly regarded US and European “quality” car care products, till we began to notice a few issues to the finishes of our prized cars. We commissioned a local chemist to do some in-depth research and review what we were using. To our surprise, the majority of the products contained cheap and quite damaging ingredients, with the general formulas not being ideal for long term use. We are a fussy bunch when it comes to our cars, and came to the conclusion that for us to have something we would be happy with, we would need to make our own. This began our journey to develop new car care products, custom made to suit our needs.

After many months of testing a diverse selection of product formula's from our very patient chemist, we finalised our first batch of 4 products in 2000. It was a happy day, as we now had our hands on something that we could trust to care for our cars over the long term.

BY FANATICS FOR FANATICS

In the next year we had car fanatics enquiring about the ‘no-name’ car care products we were using at events. We gave them small samples, and this is when our first “customers” starting coming back asking for more! We thought it might be some fun to look at making more to appease this early demand.

We honestly never expected the products to gain the popularity they have today, but as word got around the local car communities, we had more people wanting product than we could supply. So in mid 2002 we took the plunge and "Bowden’s Own" Premium Car Care was born, with our new Aussie bird of prey logo, we took on the big imported multi national brands through the Autobarn chain and other independents who loved to support an Australian owned and made car care range. It was not much of a range back then, as we launched with one solitary product, the salt free Auto Body Gel. It might not have set the world on fire, but car enthusiasts appreciated it and wanted more! It was followed up with our 3 other products; a carnuaba cream wax, pre wax cleanser and a detailing spray, all hand made and bottled in our Buderim shed.

Keeping up with the growth we invested further into local production facilities and research chemists, to help us develop more world class formulations. Not using generic formula's means we painstakingly custom develop each and every product from scratch, like our Wheely Clean and Tyre Sheen that each took over 7 years to perfect. But when they are done, they proudly adorn the Bowden family name on the bottle, effectively becoming a unique new member of our car care family.

THE CONTINUAL DEVELOPMENT

Not being the type of people to be contented with just having the same formulas for years or even decades, we constanlty re-invest our profits into the development of new. exciting car care technologies. We are fortunate to have 5 great and equally passionate Australian chemists who work together to create innovative and cutting edge formulas just for us, keeping us ahead of the huge and slower moving imported competition. The chemists are constantly looking into adding any of this latest technology into our old favorite product formulas as well, to keep it all improving and updated. From the original 4 products, we currently have over 70, all of an epic quality that fussy enthusiasts - people like us - can trust to use on their many different 4 and 2 wheeled friends.

Different to our imported compeition who mass produce everything for a price, we are more of a boutique blender, as we use only the highest quality (read expensive) ingredients that are still all measured, blended and filled by hand, to ensure we get an exceptional final product while still adding that important human element to them. There's a simple reason for this; we love having the best quality and some real "passion" in our products, something that the mass produced chemical giants simply don't offer. It's a good feeling using high quality, hand made products on our own cars as well and no matter how big we become, this ethos will never change.

POWERING ON - WITH A GREAT TEAM

It's now over 18 years since we first started creating our products, and it's quite amazing to get the support we receive, with hundreds of stores now stocking the car care range across the country and more interest coming from international locations as well, as we work towards world domination!

None of this would be possible without our extended family of passionate car loving people that all share our same vision – To have trusted products that work as they say they will. We love hearing from our fans, so feel free to drop us an email, call us, or stalk us and join the conversation on our busy social media pages.

FAMILY RUN & PROUDLY AUSTRALIAN

Our company has a strong belief in the quality of Australian manufacturing. We proudly use local chemists, research laboratories, chemical and fragrance suppliers, factories, fillers, packers, bottle and cap makers, printers, box makers, labelers, designers, even this website hosting service, to keep the money here, reinvesting in our country. It's all very different to all our imported competition.

We are Australian family owned and run, all from our work shed in Warana, on Qld's Sunshine Coast. It's a great place to come to "work" with the constant car care research & development and not to mention weekend car events, making sure we have a lot of fun in all aspects of our car loving lives.

SHARING OUR PASSION

We invite those who wish, to come along and see our passion first hand. We run our fun Detailing Demo Nights at supporting stores around Australia as well as our popular Detailing Days three to four times a year at our new HQ in Warana, on Qld's Sunshine Coast.

Low Stock Sale

Bowden's Own Adapter 1/4 Quick Connect Male Fitting (Each) - BOADAPTER5

Don't throw out your Bowden's Own Snow Cannon when you move to a new pressure washer, there is a range of Snow Cannon Adaptors available to suit almost any unit. Whether upgrading, replacing or utilising multiple units at a time (or even if you just ..

$11.00$10.00 Ex Tax:$9.09

High Stock Sale

Bowden's Own Adapter Black Decker/Ryobi (Each) - BOADAPTER9

$11.00$10.00 Ex Tax:$9.09

High Stock Sale

Bowden's Own Adapter Gerni/Kew/Stihl Alto/Nilfisk (Each) - BOADAPTER7

$11.00$10.00 Ex Tax:$9.09

High Stock Sale

Bowden's Own Adapter Lavor/Ryobi (Each) - BOADAPTER8

$11.00$10.00 Ex Tax:$9.09

High Stock Sale

Bowden's Own After Glow (Each) - BOGLOW

One of the best formulas we have ever created. After Glow took us just on 2 years of intensive development, with close to 90 different product formulations being extensively tested to perfect it. This is a very different drying aid than what you migh..

$35.00$33.00 Ex Tax:$30.00

High Stock Sale

Bowden's Own All Sorts Applicator (Each) - BOASORTS

The All Sorts applicators are the perfect way to apply our Tyre Sheen. They use a quality German made foam, that's rigid enough to work on anything from low profile tyres, all the way through to 4x4 and truck tyres with raised lettering. They leave a..

$14.00$13.00 Ex Tax:$11.82

High Stock Sale

Bowden's Own Auto Body Gel 500ml (Each) - BOABG

The very first ever product that we ever created. It's a pure luxury wash, that's popular for a lot of reasons; from its slippery feel to help prevent any grime micro-scratching your paint, to the lovely clean glow it leaves on your beloved vehicle a..

$19.00$18.00 Ex Tax:$16.36

High Stock Sale

Bowden's Own Auto Body Gel 5lt - BOABG5L

$105.00$100.00 Ex Tax:$90.91

High Stock Sale

Bowden's Own Bead Machine (Each) - BOMACHINE

This fantastic super hydrophobic spray is the most protective product in our range. Apply it to a dry surface to get awesome protection as well as a stunning shine. It also creates pretty damn sweet super hydrophobic water beading and sheeting. A ..

$36.00$34.00 Ex Tax:$30.91

High Stock Sale

Bowden's Own Big Green Sucker Microfibre Towel (Each) - BOSUCKER

The Bowden's Big Green Sucker is the fastest and easiest way to dry your car, manufactured from super soft, super thick microfibre weave with micro-soft edges to protect your vehicle from errant dirt and grit particles left behind after washing. This..

$42.00$40.00 Ex Tax:$36.36

High Stock Sale

Bowden's Own Big Softie Blue Piping (Each) - BOBCP

The Bowden's Own Big Softie is a short pile, feather soft ultra microfibre cloth, ideal for removing wax, cleanser, polish, detailing sprays and glass cleaners from delicate surfaces. It's micro-soft edges are soft and gentle for a perfect finish, wi..

$16.00$15.00 Ex Tax:$13.64

High Stock Sale

Bowden's Own Big Softie Orange Piping (Gulf Racing Colours) (Each) - BOBCY

$16.00$15.00 Ex Tax:$13.64

High Stock Sale

Bowden's Own Boss Gloss 770ml (Each) - BOBOSS

Bowden's Own Boss Gloss is their fastest detailer to date, perfect for removing light dust and grime before putting your pride and joy on display at a car show. This high lubricity Bowden's spray detailer traps dirt and grime, and suspends it up and ..

$22.00$21.00 Ex Tax:$19.09

High Stock Sale

Bowden's Own Bugger Off 500ml (Each) - BOBO

Bowden's Own Bugger Off is the perfect solution for getting rid of bug splatter, a must-have for country driving. This pH neutral citrus powered Bowden's bug remover is suitable for use on all paints, and completely safe on all of your exterior surfa..

$20.00$19.00 Ex Tax:$17.27

High Stock Sale

Bowden's Own Bugger Off Pack - BOBUGP

After any long trip you're going to deal with cleaning bug strike marks from the nose of your car, bike or truck. This combo pack off the Bugger Off spray and DeBugger Cloth is what we see as the best and easiest way to tackle this job. Bugger Off ..

$33.00$31.00 Ex Tax:$28.18

High Stock Sale

Bowden's Own Carnauba Body Wax (Each) - BOABW

We custom blend this boutique wax for those who want the easiest to use product that delivers a stunning show car shine. No abrasives, no harsh cleaners, just a pure protective Carnauba wax. Another one we love, and by the fans we get after they use ..

$33.00$31.00 Ex Tax:$28.18

High Stock Sale

Bowden's Own Circle Work (Each) - BOAMP

To get beautiful looking paint, you need the right tools. We custom made this applicator mitt after our experiences in detailing many thousands of cars. It’s the right size, has the ideal microfibre material, a new non-scratch edging and that nice fo..

$19.00$18.00 Ex Tax:$16.36

High Stock Sale

Bowden's Own Circle Work – Gulf Colours (Each) - BOAMY

$19.00$18.00 Ex Tax:$16.36

High Stock Sale

Bowden's Own Claying Rubber (Each) - BOFCRBIG

One of the first steps to shiny paint, is to return it to a nice and smooth finish, free from any bonded contaminants. This new Claying Rubber is what we’ve found to be the easiest, fastest and most effective way to remove these bonded contaminants i..

$40.00$38.00 Ex Tax:$34.55

High Stock Sale

Bowden's Own Debugger (Each) - BODEBUG

The bugger of Australian road trips is the bug splatter. Regular washing is not always enough to remove the carnage from your cars bumper. But you can now simply remove them with the Bowden's Own Debugger cloth, quick, safe and easy, while washing yo..

$16.00$15.00 Ex Tax:$13.64

High Stock Sale

Bowden's Own Dirty Deeds (Each) - BODD

The ideal cloth for the dirtier jobs around your car and bike. If you’re after a flawless finish, our Dirty Deeds is a true multi-purpose cloth, made specifically for fast and easy wheel cleaning or drying, inner door jambs, lower body & undercar..

$27.00$26.00 Ex Tax:$23.64

High Stock Sale

Bowden's Own Drop Bear (Each) - BODBEAR

THE LEGENDARY AUSTRALIAN Thylarctos Plummetus or better known as the DropBear, strikes fear into any Australian or traveller who regularly ventures into the bush. This apex predator is renown for its tactic of ambushing prey from above, plummeting fr..

$25.00$24.00 Ex Tax:$21.82

High Stock Sale

Bowden's Own Dry Spell (Each) - BODRY

A modern, super lubricating rinseless wash concentrate we made to quickly clean and bring back the shine on light to moderately dirty vehicles, without inflicting swirls and scratches to your paint. For when you don't have access to runnin..

$45.00$43.00 Ex Tax:$39.09

High Stock Sale

Bowden's Own Dry Spell Pack (Pack) - BODRYP

Wash your car in a quarter of the time with our fast and easy rinseless washing system. Made for cleaning light to moderately dirty vehicles - you only need this pack, a couple of buckets (one with water), 6-8 plush microfibre cloths and a drying tow..

$65.00$62.00 Ex Tax:$56.36

High Stock Sale

Bowden's Own Dry Spell Pre-Spray (Each) - BODRYPM

This extremely handy and refillable pre-spray is from our Dry Spell Pack for rinseless washing. We have made it available separately here for those who opted for the 1-litre bottle over the pack and later feel they may like our bottle. Already mixed ..

$23.00$22.00 Ex Tax:$20.00

High Stock Sale

Bowden's Own Fabra Cadabra 500ml (Each) - BOFAB

For fresh and clean interior fabrics and carpets, you will love using Bowden's Own Fabra Cadabra. Free of harsh solvents that can damage your fabrics and stitching, this gentle formulation delivers beautiful deep cleaning results and is safe to use o..

$22.00$21.00 Ex Tax:$19.09

High Stock Sale

Bowden's Own Flat Head (Each) - BOFHEAD

The Flat Head (AKA Flatty) is for easy inner wheel barrel cleaning of open spoke wheels found on many performance and luxury cars. Its custom design is totally metal-free, so it won’t ever scratch your wheels, also incorporating a non-slip textured h..

$39.00$37.00 Ex Tax:$33.64

High Stock Sale

Bowden's Own Fully Slick V2 770ml (Each) - BOFS2

For fanatics who love slick feeling paint. New formula is easier to use giving an awesome gloss over your paint. Features: New formula that’s now even slicker and easier to use. Water based sealant for a protective, showroom shine in one quick s..

$28.00$27.00 Ex Tax:$24.55

High Stock Sale

Bowden's Own Great Barrier Thingy (Each) - BOGBT

The Great Barrier Thingy is an integral part of our Safe Wash System, made up of our 3 dedicated 15 litre wash buckets for Wash, Rinse and Wheels. The Great Barrier Thingy fits the easily identifiable buckets for washing and rinsing to dramatically r..

$21.00$20.00 Ex Tax:$18.18

High Stock Sale

Bowden's Own Green Clean Glass Cloth (Each) - BOGC

Ever travelled into the afternoon sun and been blinded thanks to a layer of haze on the interior glass? Well this cloth is for those moments, it's great microfibre material has full contact with the glass surface, so all cleaners, haze or residues ge..

$15.00$14.00 Ex Tax:$12.73

High Stock Sale

Bowden's Own Happy Ending 1L (Each) - BOHAPPY

Bowden's Own Happy Ending is the fastest and simplest way to coat your vehicle with a protective, super hydrophobic coating. Designed to be used with the Snow Blow Cannon directly after washing, application is as easy as spray on and wash off. The li..

$64.00$61.00 Ex Tax:$55.45

High Stock Sale

Bowden's Own Happy Ending Cannon Bottle (Each) - BOHCB

This handy Snow Blow Cannon bottle is for the Happy Ending finishing foam, to save you having to use the same bottle for both Snow Job and the Happy Ending foams. Features: Made to fit our Snow Blow Cannon. Having a separate bottle means you don..

$22.00$21.00 Ex Tax:$19.09