Review: CarPro Dlux & Full engine detail write up

4u2nvinmtl

4u2nvinmtl

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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:
 
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
 
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?
 
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!
 
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! :pray:
 
Re: Review: CarPro Dlux & Full engine detail write up

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
 
Marc08EX said:
Amazing write-up and review!
Click to expand...
Thank you very much :)

Marc08EX said:
And you didn`t cover the cone air filter like you did the alternator? Yikes!
Click to expand...
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)!
 
4u2nvinmtl said:
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)!
Click to expand...

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!
 
Re: Review: CarPro Dlux & Full engine detail write up

Angus said:
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! :pray:
Click to expand...

512detail said:
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
Click to expand...
I just used a expired bottle yesterday on the wife`s car. It was still unopened so I am hopeful it will last.
 
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
 
4u2nvinmtl -

Wow - beautiful job, pictures, and write up !!!

It does look better than brand new and I know this because I also have an `09 Grand Cherokee .. :)
I like that these engines are covered so well, there is never any danger of hurting something..

Do the same thing you do, but I use my gas powered pressure washer with a long nozzle to get all that stuff out quicker..

The underhood is beautifully done !! That is what the Client sees and remembers most because it is in line of sight when you open the hood...
Thanks for all that hard work, pictures and write up..
Dan F
 
JBM said:
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
Click to expand...

Not really, it`s an "off road only filter" that gets banged around a lot as I regularly adjust the piping for the best cold air intake temperatuers. The filter was really dirty because I don`t use a dry charger (nylon bag that prevents dirt and water from getting to the filter). The dirt and water don`t make it past the filter (inside was clean same with the piping) but they do make it on the filter, so it just requires a little more maintenance.

I wash the filter every 3 months religiously or before I go racing.

Tip for more cold air: I redirected one of my break vents to the intake filter and ran another tube from the grill to the intake filter (called a dual snorkel mod) unfortunately I can`t drive in the rain with it set up like that so I just take out the extra pipes after I race.

Another tip for more cold air: remove the weather strips under the hood to allow more airflow (need to put them back after racing through or the engine will get very dirty).

The two tips/tricks above give me another 0.1-0.2 off my quarter mile time. I got lots of tricks (ice on the manifold, fold in mirrors, saran wrap the front for better aerodynamics).
 
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