Review: CarPro Dlux & Full engine detail write up

[4u2nvinmtl]

Review: CarPro Dlux & Full engine detail write up

CarPro Dlux (Autopia store link) -> CarPro CQuartz DLux Plastic & Wheel Coating
CarPro Dlux (Autogeek store link) -> CQuartz DLux Plastic & Wheel Coating






Details:

After almost a year of procrastination, I decided it was time to crack open my CarPro Dlux (before it expires). It’s been around 10 months since I last detailed under my hood, so it was more than time.


Products used in this review:

• CarPro Dlux
• Rubber nitrile gloves
• Two buckets with grit guards
• Multiple microfiber wash mitts
• Assorted Microfiber towels
• Meguiar’s App Purpose cleaner (1:10 ratio)
• Meguiar’s Super Degreaser (1:4 ratio)
• Meguiar’s Hyper Wash (1oz in 3gal of warm water)
• ES Detail Brush

Inspection:

I started my assessing the level of dirt and grime that had accumulated over the 10 months since I last detailed my engine bay. I concluded it would take some aggressive cleaning to get it ready for CarPro Dlux. The photos below are the condition of my engine bay prior to starting.
















Wash process:

To thoroughly clean my engine bay I decided to use Meguiar’s Super Degreaser at 1:4 ratio and Meguiar’s All Propose Cleaner at 1:10 ratio.

1. Cover the alternator with plastic bags
2. Rinse down the engine bay with hot water
3. Spray liberally with degreaser and let dwell
4. Spray more degreaser and agitate with the EZ detail brush
5. Rinse
6. Spray liberally with APC and let dwell
7. Spray more APC and agitate with the EZ detail brush
8. Rinse
9. Two bucket washed everything
10. Rinse
11. Inspected (failed my quality control, so I repeated steps 3 to 8 until cleaned to my satisfaction)

It took 2 applications of APC and degreaser to get my engine bay clean enough for CarPro Dlux. I also wanted to note that I didn’t use a pressure washer just a hose with a spray gun. I went to town with the water (at least 50 gallons of water was used to rinse) and didn’t have any issues starting it up after.


First rinse:











Alternator all bagged up safely:



Ended up finding lots of nasty stuff stuck around the hinge:



Degreaser dwelling:







Hinges looking better:



Love the reach on this brush:



After first wash:









Hood before and after:









Engine bay finally cleaned and dried:











Alternator un-bagged and dry as a bone:

[4u2nvinmtl]

Application:

I found CarPro Dlux very easy to apply. I used the supplied foam block and micro suede applicator. The bottle has a little plastic insert that only allows the product to drip out one drop at a time (very user-friendly). The smell was terrible (strong solvents) and I recommend wearing a respirator or at the very least avoid fumes. Gloves are obligatory!

I started with 3 small drops across the micro suede and started application, on the cowl above the front grill. I noticed my application was a little uneven so I gave up on the foam block as there were a lot of nooks and cracks to cover. I found the product even easier to apply without the foam block as I could tuck the towel into very edge (folded twice). I also stepped up to 5 drops per second on the micro suede.

I worked as quickly as possible while maintaining full coverage as I noticed my towel was starting to get “crispy” (stiff feeling as the product starts to cure). I covered every inch I could reach including all the wiring and even the battery. I waited about 1 hour and started on the second layer to ensure total coverage.










I took off the covers and did those on both sides along with the packs beneath them with Dlux:



After two full applications I had less than half a bottle of Dlux left:



After the second coat it was starting to get dark:



The following morning:


Beading shots after the first rainfall (day after application):










About a week later:



















Up close I noticed some white around the textured part of the plastics (it’s ended up just being some minerals from the water drying):



Summery:
CarPro Dlux is easy to apply, works well, significantly darkened my plastics, and doesn’t really add shine or gloss (a good thing in my books). The product is clearly not meant to be inhaled so please don’t smell yours if you get it (my lymph nodes hurt the next day from intentionally inhaling the product). Just like other coatings I’ve tested it’s easily contaminated/clogged by organic material (after a few weeks the beading dropped off until I did an aggressive wash to decontaminate the coating).

I would defiantly recommend CarPro Dlux as it’s fairly well priced considering how much liquid coating you get. I really like the darkening and water beading. I recommend getting extra towels as they don’t supply enough.

Duration: 6-8 hours start to finish

[512detail]

looks great! thanks for the review- I will forward this to my buddy with a SRT Jeep who asked me about detailing the engine recently

hey how long until it expires? mine has been sitting since I bought it last November (not sure how old it is already) ?

also does anyone recommend an application medium other than their suede cloths?

[Marc08EX]

Amazing write-up and review! Thanks for sharing it.

I`m very curious to see how this holds up especially when you guys start seeing snow.

And you didn`t cover the cone air filter like you did the alternator? Yikes!

[4u2nvinmtl]

hey how long until it expires?

There`s a sticker on the bottom of the blue product bottle in the box with the expiration date.

also does anyone recommend an application medium other than their suede cloths?

Foam art brushes would work also, or foam applicators. I`ve even heard of people using spray guns to apply Dlux.

[Angus]

Looks brand new now - really nice job!!! You reminded me about my open bottle of DLUX waiting to be used... hope it hasn`t expired!

[512detail]

Dang i need to check mine asap

That would be my luck. I bet it was already old since it was on sale

Id pay retail for some of this stuff if i knew it wasnt sitting on a shelf for a while aging

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

[4u2nvinmtl]

Amazing write-up and review!

Thank you very much

And you didn`t cover the cone air filter like you did the alternator? Yikes!

Nope, I took it off and washed it separately (not really detailing related so I didn`t document that part). It`s on of those K&N filters you can wash and reload with oil. I also relocated it with an extra piece of pipe that my CAI came with (sits way down low behind the fog light now). The relocation dropped my intake temperatures by 5-20F (by 5f at highway speeds and by 20f at a red light)!

[mjlinane]

Fantastic write up!

[Marc08EX]

Thank you very much

Nope, I took it off and washed it separately (not really detailing related so I didn`t document that part). It`s on of those K&N filters you can wash and reload with oil. I also relocated it with an extra piece of pipe that my CAI came with (sits way down low behind the fog light now). The relocation dropped my intake temperatures by 5-20F (by 5f at highway speeds and by 20f at a red light)!

Ahhh! Makes total sense then. If you were going to wash the filter anyway then it`s OK. I thought you`d just go straight to starting the engine LOL!

[XxBoostinxX]

Looks brand new now - really nice job!!! You reminded me about my open bottle of DLUX waiting to be used... hope it hasn`t expired!

Dang i need to check mine asap

That would be my luck. I bet it was already old since it was on sale

Id pay retail for some of this stuff if i knew it wasnt sitting on a shelf for a while aging

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

I just used a expired bottle yesterday on the wife`s car. It was still unopened so I am hopeful it will last.

[512detail]

Ahhh! Makes total sense then. If you were going to wash the filter anyway then it`s OK. I thought you`d just go straight to starting the engine LOL!

hey give us Mopar guys some credit, ok? lol

[rlmccarty2000]

Great write up, and the pictures really made it easy to follow along. Thanks.

[JustJesus]

good pic-heavy write up. Looks way better. I`m sure I`m due for an engine detail on the Yaris.

[JBM]

Wow what a great job!< one more thing on my to do list I suppose.

Is that air filter supposed to look like that? I assume it is as you know what end of the hammer to use, so to speak lol