How to Make Armor All (Real Formula Explained by a Chemist)

By Terry Clayton, PhD | Industrial Chemist 

If you’ve ever wondered what actually goes into products like Armor All, the answer is simpler than you might think. At its core, an interior protectant is a water-based silicone emulsion designed to restore gloss, protect surfaces, and condition plastics and vinyl. In this guide, I’ll walk through how these products are made, show you a working version, and explain how to build your own.

Download Formula

Watch the Full Process

https://youtu.be/lkUcgt5dOSY?si=Zn5QWxNk8ZOn8YB-

What Armor All Is Made Of

1. Water (Major Component) About 90% of the formulation is water. It acts as the carrier.

2. Silicone Oil (The Active Ingredient) Typically dimethicone. Provides gloss, surface conditioning, and water resistance.

3. Emulsifiers (Critical) Silicone oil and water don’t mix, so emulsifiers like Polysorbate 80 and alcohol ethoxylates are used.

4. Functional Additives: Glycerin (slows drying), Xanthan gum (stability), Preservatives, UV absorbers.

High-Level Armor All Formula (Simplified)

Water ~90%Dimethicone (silicone) 5–10%Emulsifiers 2–3%Glycerin ~1%Xanthan gum ~0.3%Preservative ~0.2%UV stabilizer ~0.5%Fragrance small amount

The Most Important Step: Emulsification

The real challenge is not the ingredients—it’s the process. Proper high shear mixing and homogenization are required to create a stable emulsion.

Why Most DIY Versions Fail

Most DIY recipes lack proper emulsification, stability, and shelf-life design, leading to separation and poor performance.

Professional Formulation (Download)

If you want the real version used in product development, I’ve put together a full professional formulation guide. It includes:

• Exact ingredient percentages

• CAS numbers

• Manufacturing procedure

• Raw material suppliers

• Stability considerations

Download the professional formulation here:

Download Formula

Final Thoughts

Interior protectants are a great example of how simple ingredients combined with proper chemistry can create high-performance products.