CarPro takes paint decontamination to a whole new level!

[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.


While I plan on reviewing every product in the CarPro line up, this article will focus on the excellent and unique decontamination abilities of CarPro Iron X Trigger Spray and CarPro Iron X Soap Gel.


CarPro Iron X Soap Gel

Iron X Soap Gel is easy to use and you can see it working! Iron X Soap Gel is a clear solution in the bottle but it turns purple when it comes into contact with sintered iron particles. Iron X Soap Gel turns the iron into a water soluble complex for easy removal. After five minutes of dwell time, wipe down the surface and rinse thoroughly. After using Iron X Soap Gel, you can polish and clay your vehicle as you normally would. After your car is prepped properly, it has a perfect surface to be coated with CQuartz Paint Coating.

For a wash sponge I choose Lake Country`s excellent Car Wash Sponge. I filled up a bucket with 5 gallons of water to rinse the wash sponge in to avoid scratching the paint`s surface.




The directions from CarPro state that first you should rinse the vehicle well to remove as much loose soiling as possible.




Do NOT mix Iron X Soap Gel into a wash bucket. Instead apply it directly to the wash sponge.




This picture shows how much I added to the sponge.




Squeeze the sponge a couple of times to work the soap into a frothy lather. Now gently wipe the surface in straight lines like you are washing the paint. Iron X Soap Gel has a long dwell time and actually requires several minutes for the iron disolvers to work.



Rinse your wash mitt frequently, add a little more soap. Continue working with out rinsing the vehicle. I was able to wash the entire Tahoe in about 10 minutes with out rinsing.




As the Iron X Ingredients begin to your you will see the iron contamination turn purple and begin to run off the paint.



Wait for the color change to occur. You can see the hood (as well as the other horizontal surfaces) had the heaviest amount of contamination. This is common.



After several minutes the iron fall out was running off of the hood.




Now simply rinse off and dry as normal.

Note: Iron X Soap Gel is not as concentrated as Iron X, Iron X Paste, or TRIX. It is a great occasional maintenance wash on vehicles that have been previously decontaminated. This Tahoe is almost 8 years old and has never been clayed or decontaminated so I new we would need something stronger.


CarPro Iron X

Iron X is easy to use and you can see it working! Iron X is a clear solution in the bottle but it turns purple when it comes into contact with sintered iron particles. Iron X turns the iron into a water soluble complex for easy removal. After five minutes of dwell time, wipe down the surface and rinse thoroughly. After using Iron X, you can polish and clay your vehicle as you normally would.

Application: Applying Iron X is extremely easy. Simply mist a light coat on the paint, allow it to dwell and rinse off. For heavy contamination you can use a damp towel to agitate it into the surface. You do not want to let it dry on the surface.

Mist on and wait.




The effect was almost immediate and continued to grow in intensity as the heavy iron fall out was cleansed from the paint.






Any horizontal areas, including the wheel lips, showed heavy fall out contamination. Remember that a clay bar can only access and remove contamination above the paint.




The rear of the Tahoe also head heavy contamination.




The front bumper was fairly bad.






If you remember above, with the Iron X Soap Gel, how much came off the hood then you will remember how bad it was. Iron X Trigger Spray had a field day on the hood, cleaning the heavy amount of iron fallout.




Now simply rinse off and you are ready to clay (if needed to remove other forums of contamination) or begin polishing/waxing.

Questions/Comments welcome.

[DealerDetailer]

Great write up Todd! Thanks for taking the time to present it to us. Good to know where to use a particular product in the cleaning regiment.

I will be picking up more of these products in the next day or two!

[Gurge]

good writeup

pretty much use iron x now on any decontamination job

its a lifesaver if the owner has gone way too long without changing their brakes in the past. bits of dust from the warning indicator and eventually the pad shim just shower the car. total nightmare to clay

note how to the right of the front wheel on the bumper, the iron exposure is low, but the entire side of the vehicle is a disaster

[Todd@RUPES]

good writeup

pretty much use iron x now on any decontamination job

its a lifesaver if the owner has gone way too long without changing their brakes in the past. bits of dust from the warning indicator and eventually the pad shim just shower the car. total nightmare to clay

note how to the right of the front wheel on the bumper, the iron exposure is low, but the entire side of the vehicle is a disaster

Do you mind if I use your picture to show how well this works on paint?

[Old Pirate]

Wow, this is amazing look on a whole car.

[glfahlc1]

i used the soap gel on my vehicles after claying and i still got a little purpling but i really noticed how much it ridded the paint of any previous lsp and/or wax. leaving a totally clean surface to correct.

[juliom2]

Is a pretty interesting line of products with a great focus on surface restoration.
And of course a very cool science.....
Thanks for the write up maestro!!

[Gurge]

Do you mind if I use your picture to show how well this works on paint?

you`re more than welcome to!

additional photos and full story on my blog

What have you done little bro?! Hyundai Elantra vs. Iron X

this page actually gets a fair amount of traffic from google for people searching for iron x. I monitor the google analytics

[Todd@RUPES]

you`re more than welcome to!

additional photos and full story on my blog

What have you done little bro?! Hyundai Elantra vs. Iron X

this page actually gets a fair amount of traffic from google for people searching for iron x. I monitor the google analytics

Great! Thanks!