Armor All is a line of car care products manufactured by American company Armored AutoGroup of Danbury, Connecticut, United States. Its sprays, gels, liquids and wipes are specifically designed to clean, shine, and protect most interior and exterior automobile surfaces.
According to patent documents, Armor All typically contains water, PDMS (silicone), diethylene glycol, glycerin, and various additional chemical compounds.
The company that became Armor All was started in 1972 by entrepreneur and marketer Alan Rypinski. In 1979, Rypinski sold all of the rights to the Armor All brand name and protectant to the San Francisco-based consumer products company McKesson Corporation.
By 1987, Armor All's sales exceeded $100 million and company profits grew to $17 million, and in 1988 Armor All purchased Borden, Inc.'s car care products line, which included well-known name brands such as Rain Dance, Rally, and No. 7. This acquisition significantly broadened the company's product line, which increased the company's gains through 1989. By 1990, the company's net income dropped to less than $20 million, and then sharply worsened to less than $7 million in 1991.
Sales climbed from a 1990s low of $134 million in 1993 to $217 million in 1995 (fiscal year ended March 31, 1995), as net income climbed back toward $25 million. For the remainder of the decade, Armor All further capitalized upon the well-known Armor All brand name to encourage international growth and add new products.
Nielsen CDG UK was appointed car care distributor for Armor All products by Clorox UK. Nielsen CDG is part of the Convenience Distribution Group supplying petrol (gasoline) stations in the United Kingdom.
In 2010, Clorox sold Armor All and STP to Avista Capital Partners. It named the business Armored AutoGroup. In 2008, Armor All released a complete line of automotive vacuums. In April 2015, the Armored AutoGroup was acquired by Spectrum Brands.