Putting CarPro's TRIX to the the test!

[Todd@RUPES]

Detailing Clay is used and loved for a great reason. It removes any bonded contamination that has adhered to the paint and restores a glossy appearance and smooth feel. Some paint contamination, such as iron oxide (rust) fall out (aka rail dust) actually penetrates below the surface of the paint and cannot be removed by regular clay bar applications.

Rail dust is also extremely abrasive and can greatly increase the risk of marring the paint finish as it becomes inbedded into the clay's surface.

CarPro, a company who has quickly gained a strong following in the United States for its high quality Ceramic Coating (C-Quartz) has a large selection of innovative products designed to complement car care. One of these products, a true, game changer, is their Iron-X Series of paint decontamination cleansers.

As pictured above, CarPro's ever expanding line of car care products features 5 dedicated paint cleansing solutions. The products are pH balanced and acid free!

From Left-to-Right:

Iron X Paste- Iron X Paste is a hyper concentrated version of Iron X Iron Remover. This paste is excellent for cleaning areas of particularly stubborn contamination as well as wheels/rims with heavy caked on brake dust build up.

Iron X Soap Gel- Iron X Soap Gel combines a high lubricity cleaning soap with some anti-iron Iron X ingredients. This is a mild iron cleaner that is perfectly suited for maintenance washes and mild iron fallout clean up.

Iron X Trigger Spray- Iron X Trigger Spray is a powerful iron remover that you simply mist on to the paint and allow to dwell. Iron shavings will turn purple as the solution dissolves them, above and below the surface.

TRIX - CarPro TRIX is a combination of TaR x and Iron X, hence the name. It works to remove iron fall out as well as clean bug splatter, tar, and adhesive residue from the paint, in one step.

Tar X- CarPro Tar X is CarPro's innovative, citrus based bug and tar remover. This unique chemical features 'green tracers' that show you, in neon fashion, where this chemical has been applied to the paint so you chart its progress.

I plan on detailing every product in the CarPro Line Up (It's a hard job, somebody has to do it!).

Here is the first review I did, on CarPro Iron X & CarPro Iron X Soap: http://www.autopiaforums.com/forums...es-paint-decontamination-whole-new-level.html

I really wanted to see how well CarPro TR.IX (combination of bug/tar removing powers of Tar X and the Iron removing abilities of Iron X) to the test. We already know how well they work at removing contamination from paint.

The wheels on my Mazdaspeed3 had not been cleaned in some time and the brake dust was starting to bake/cake on.

Additionally there were some tar deposits in the barrels of the wheels, behind the spokes, and on the wheel well lip.

CarPro recommends that TRIX should be shaken frequently for maximum effect.

I started by spraying liberal amount over the surface of the wheel and behind the spokes.

The effect was almost immediate. CarPro TRIX began to change colors almost instantly, turning a deep purple as it dissolved the iron.

With in thirty seconds of spray the face of the wheel was running in purple.

To agitate the solution I filled a BLACKFIRE 5 gallon bucket with water and used my several year old Wheel Woolie.

Now I am fanatic about my paint and I am a fanatic about my wheels. The Wheel Woolie is made form extremely soft, electrified lamb's wool. It will not scratch or dull the wheel's finish. Best of all it allows easy access to the face of the spokes...

The barrels of the wheels...

behind the spokes...

Since CarPro TRIX did an amazing job disolving the iron fall of the brake dust, the combination of the Wheel Woolie and water made cleaning the wheel extremely easy. The afixed brake grime ran off with the gentlest touch.

I used the bucket to rinse out the Wheel Woolie and prevent scratching the wheel surface.

A quick rinse of water left the wheels sparking clean.

Now to test the tar and bug residue power of TRIX.

I spray a liberal coat (after shaking) onto the painted area of the wheel well.

After 20 second of dwell time.

After 1 minute the tar had begun to soften and run.

I used a Wheel Woolie and water to lightly agitate the tar, then rinsed clean.

Finally I dried the wheel with a All Purpose & Wheel Microfiber Towel. These towels are definitely soft enough to use on paint (remember I am a fanatic) but color coded for wheel duty.

The end results.

 

[Old Pirate]

Great write up there Todd, everyone needs to look into these products and the World Famous " Wheel Woolies ".:bigups

 

[Pats300zx]

Great stuff Todd !!!

 

[Bunky]

Nice write up and review. How much do you think you would use for 4 wheels or how many sets per bottle?

 

[Todd@RUPES]

Nice write up and review. How much do you think you would use for 4 wheels or how many sets per bottle?

Its really hard to say because I have the large bottle. I have done 8 wheels with it so far and a whole car and have barely lowered the level. I will post a photo of the bottle later today.

The orange trigger sprayer (special for TRIX) is perfect and laying down a liquid mist with out overspray. There is VERY LITTLE wasted product per spray. TRIX is very impressive!

 

[juliom2]

will these be a better option over apc's to target wheel decontamination??

 

[Todd@RUPES]

will these be a better option over apc's to target wheel decontamination??

If you have embedded or caked on break dust these are a great option because they chemically remove the bond. Also, just like on your body's paint, they remove any bonded iron contamination.

You won't need these type of chemicals every time you clean your wheels (just like you don't need to clay your paint) but to give them a thorough cleaning it is a powerful tool to have. :bigups

 

[jedi_force]

If you have embedded or caked on break dust these are a great option because they chemically remove the bond. Also, just like on your body's paint, they remove any bonded iron contamination.

You won't need these type of chemicals every time you clean your wheels (just like you don't need to clay your paint) but to give them a thorough cleaning it is a powerful tool to have. :bigups

Very impressive. So I can replace Optimum Power Clean with TRIX, right?

 

[glfahlc1]

i use iron x and the soap gel when i wanna do a thorough cleaning of the wheels and paint. it does all it advertises to do... however when doing the soap gel on the paint it seems to strip whatever protection it has on it.

 

[mrclean81]

I've been wanting to try this entire line for a while now. Looks like some killer stuff. Nice writeup and review.

 

[opie_7afe]

give carpro a try mrclean, it took me a while and once i got iron x and realized its potential i wanted to try more ,tried perl today and imo i do like it but not on my front tires, but no dressing makes my front tires look good(they need to be replaced soon anyways. im going to try fixer tomorrow and do a review...good products so far though...tar-x is one i wont try due to high price when tarminator works just as good or even better then tar-x....the trix does look interesting for vehicles loaded with tar and would need to do most of the car anyways.

 

[GTO_04]

Great review! Is it true that you can wipe the TRIX off with a MF towel instead of rinsing it off? That may be useful when doing tar spot removal on painted body panels.

GTO_04

 

[Todd@RUPES]

Great review! Is it true that you can wipe the TRIX off with a MF towel instead of rinsing it off? That may be useful when doing tar spot removal on painted body panels.

GTO_04

Yes it can be 'wiped' off according to the manufacturer (who would have a lot to loose if they lied to you!). That said, I still prefer rinsing it off or would recommend using a damp cloth to wipe away any trace residues.

 

[ELD OF NC]

Its really hard to say because I have the large bottle. I have done 8 wheels with it so far and a whole car and have barely lowered the level. I will post a photo of the bottle later today.

The orange trigger sprayer (special for TRIX) is perfect and laying down a liquid mist with out overspray. There is VERY LITTLE wasted product per spray. TRIX is very impressive!

I'm not sure if this is the right place for this or not but I figured if not you could point me in the right direction thanks in advance for your :help:

I was swayed by the orange trigger sprayer (special for TRIX) and the VERY LITTLE wasted product comment only to be disappointed when my delivery came at the fact I didn't receive said sprayer just curious as to if I was suposed to request it or if it was just overlooked or what happened? I really want this mysterious TRIX sprayer incase you can't tell

 

[Dr Oldz]

Nice review. I have become a real fan of TRIX for wheels. Not only does it remove the built up break dust, it also does a fantastic job at removing the tar that magically finds its way onto the wheel barrels(I never understood how it gets there :dunno: )

For you guys trying this stuff out for the first time, Shake shake shake this product very often as you are using it. Also allowing it to dwell allows the chemicals to work and you to work less!

 

[IID]

Thank you for the review Todd.

Just a word of caution.Be sure to fully rinse your tires if spraying TRIX on your wheels as the run-off on your tires will stain them (from personal experience).

Can't really tell from this picture but the stains looked like the sidewall of this tire:

 

[JSFM35X]

I have only used the Iron x to date and it worked as expected. The car was white so it was easy to see the reaction. After the car was rinsed the lsp was either gone or not beading anymore? I was going to clay and re-apply lsp so it did not matter to me but it also seemed to me that the iron x had stripped off all lsp prior to the clay. Is it designed to do this? And will the iron x soap also do this also?

Lastly. Todd did you experience your wheel weights (zinc type) turn green with the trix? From the pictures I think yours might be plastic coated so it might not happen. Iron x does this to mine. The green comes off easily with APC and a brush.

Thanks for the review.

 

[Yellowblaze2011]

Ordered! Along with the wheel Woolies.......your killing me.:autopia:

 

[honda2112]

I haven't used TRIX but have used them separately (TarX/IronX), tell me, does the TRIX smell as bad is the IronX? You could use that stuff for GITMO interrogations! I'm very impressed with both products, what was your dwell time on the wheels? It seems to work much faster that Sonax and time is money!

 

[BobbyG]

Great review as always Todd, very thorough and easy to read. :yourrock

I guess my question is how close CarPro IronX is to CarPro TRIX? They appear to be very similar but most of us have never tried IronX on bug splatter, tar, and adhesive residue.


Iron X Trigger Spray- Iron X Trigger Spray is a powerful iron remover that you simply mist on to the paint and allow to dwell. Iron shavings will turn purple as the solution dissolves them, above and below the surface.


TRIX - CarPro TRIX is a combination of TaR x and Iron X, hence the name. It works to remove iron fall out as well as clean bug splatter, tar, and adhesive residue from the paint, in one step.