Review: CarPro TRIX

[CEE DOG]

Review: CarPro TRIX

Introduction:


Silly rabbit, TRIX is for detailers! That was the first thing I thought when I heard the name. But it's no joke, the name is a take off on TarX and IronX. The folks at CarPro are always clever with the names, which are generally somewhat creative and still straight to the point.

TRIX dissolves brake dust, rail dust, tar, organic fallout, and grease while being perfectly safe for paint, glass, and wheels. Clay only removes contamination down to the surface level of the paint and does not reach the portion of iron particles embedded below the surface. While clay is still a great tool and is not made obsolete TRIX does make the process much faster while allowing clay to last much longer and sometimes eliminates the need to clay altogether.

Oh, by the way… if you only watch one of the three videos make it the one in the wheels section of the review.

Product Claims: (Copied from AG)

CarPro TRIX Tar and Iron Remover combine’s two paint decontamination steps into one, saving you time and money! This product is designed specifically for pro detailers to prepare vehicles for detailing using less time, materials, and labor. CarPro TRIX is a strong degreaser, cleaner, tar remover and iron remover for virtually any exterior automotive surface.


Details:

1.- Packaging: Black/Dark Burgundy Plastic Bottle
2.- Directions: Clearly labeled
3.- Viscosity: Spray
4.- Color: Clear
5.- Scent: Lemon with a hint of perm
6.- Price: $17.99 - 600 ml
7.- Price: $27.99 - 1000 ml
8.- Manufacturer: CarPro
9.- Made in: Korea

Directions:

1.-Shake bottle well and very often (Important)
2.-Spray across affected area
3.-Allow to dwell approximately 5-7 minutes
4.-Agitate with sponge or other media
5.-Thoroughly rinse all surfaces

Precautions:

Test on small area first
Avoid allowing to dry on plastic
Avoid allowing the product to dry on the surface in Direct Sunshine
Use with proper ventilation and use proper hand and face protection
Avoid polycarbonate headlights
Do not allow on clear bra material


Application Wheels:

Sunday I was mobile for a good bit of the day, which gave me a chance to put TRIX to work on some particularly nasty wheels!

Video: CarPro TRIX on BMW Wheels

-High Definition available-

After a good shake of the bottle I sprayed it directly on one of the filthy wheels. Remember when applying TRIX to shake the bottle very often if not after every spray. I allowed the product to dwell about 5 minutes.

Next I agitated with a combination of my SV brush, wheel woolies from PPL, and my Daytona Brush for the hard to reach areas and rinsed the surface clean while agitating.

The Front wheels followed a similar routine

After

 

[CEE DOG]

Without TRIX:

On the final wheel I decided to clean it first without TRIX using only wheel cleaner for comparison. The surface mess was better but baked in brake dust was left at the corners of each spoke as well as a lot of iron and tar in the barrels.

I followed with TRIX as shown here

After TRIX almost all of the tar and iron the wheel cleaner had left behind was removed. Only one spoke corner still had visible baked on brake dust. Here I applied IX paste and allowed it to do it's job while I moved on.

Observations:

The bleeding that is so familiar with IX becomes apparent within about 30 seconds of spraying TRIX onto the surface. However, with TRIX it moves a little differently as it runs off. I assume that's due to the solvents from the tar remover portion of TRIX. The runoff is also a bit different in color depending on the contamination. When used on a wheel that had a lot of grease TRIX dissolved the grease, which joined the runoff creating a darker runoff fluid.

The plastic covering in the center of the wheels was sprayed as well during my application and I found no discomfort to the plastic.


What did you call me?

Upon returning home to meet up with the owner of the next vehicle I came a cross the elusive Skink creature! For those that don’t have them in your area I thought I would share my “Skink” sighting with you. They run rampant around here…

Here I was handing him a wash mitt but he appears to be the lazy type and headed for the hills…

Application Body Paint:


This vehicle was extremely contaminated on almost every surface. Rubbing my hand across the drivers rear panel felt like 80 grit sandpaper. It was downright nasty! WooHoo! The perfect test for TRIX on body paint!

Before

Application was same as described with the wheels but a sponge was used to agitate the surface after waiting about 3 minutes. Then it was left to continue working until I simultaneously agitated and rinsed off about 7 more minutes later with a MF mitt. Note: the TRIX label recommends 5-7 minutes dwell time.

After

Observations Body Paint:

After rinsing, a check of the paint with my hand revealed a noticeable difference in how smooth it was. While there were some things that only clay would remove TRIX greatly reduced the amount of time needed to clay!! I also noticed TRIX seems to adhere to the surfaces better than IX. On vertical surfaces this was most noticeable.

Video: CarPro TRIX on Paint

-High Definition available-

Cons:

1.-Product must be shaken before every spray
2.-Trigger nozzle should have a higher quality to it on a product of this caliber
3.-Use caution on sensitive plastics (Avoid clear bras-I did not test it on them myself)


???:

1.- I was about to post my review tonight when my buddy Jim mentioned to me it was now in the AG store. I had the cost in the ??? section expecting it to be higher so just moved this to the Pro section and added the price at the top of the review.

2.- Side by side IX vs. TRIX testing may be in order but will have to wait for now


Pros:

1.-PH Neutral
2.-Decontaminates both Iron particles and Tar, road grime, organic fallout, etc. simultaneously
3.-Saves time and labor
4.-Prolongs clay life
5.-Cost (At less than the price of IX and the added component of TarX this is great news.





Final observations and summary:

TRIX clings more than IX spray but not as much as IX paste.

The scent is not as offensive as Iron X. You can still smell it and its certainly not vanilla but as long as you are shaking the bottle regularly (as you should) it's not bad relatively speaking. What TRIX accomplishes is the real treat though. It cuts through decontamination in style while being safe for paint, wheels, glass, and trim.

I've had a few people ask me if IX stains concrete. I just spray the driveway around the vehicle and it rinses right off. I've seen no staining of any kind with IX or TRIX.

I take a bit of an issue with the trigger quality. It works fine and sprays as it should every time but I personally would prefer a bit higher quality feel to my triggers. I have to nitpick right?

In summary Trix is an excellent decon product that saves time on vehicles that have both iron contamination from brake dust, rail dust, etc. and organic fallout like tar and tree sap. Some vehicles Iron X may be all that is needed but for those that have more than iron TRIX appears to be an excellent tool and obviously versatile. At the price point set today on AG, TRIX appears to be cheaper than IX, which I would think makes it a no brainer for many situations. Great price for an all in one decon product imo.


-PS-

Product Link: http://www.autogeek.net/carpro-trix-paint-cleaner.html

During my research with my professor (Dr. Google) I came across the you tube video below. From the looks of the intro video it is from CarPro. I thought the PH test at the beginning was a nice touch so I thought I would add it here.

 

[Mobile detail]

Well as always,outstanding review Corey. I know you touched on this, but do you think this will take the place of IX? Does it do as good of a job as IX by itself?meaning out of the 2 could you just buy trix and accomplish as much? The price point is decent,but still a bit pricey. I love how IX cuts down on clay time,and the results of IX r hard to beat.

 

[604_Snooze]

price wise, the new TRIX is cheaper than IronX and it is a tar remover too. Hope the 5L will be out soon.

 

[CEE DOG]

I agree, hard to beat IX! Well, if I get the same results that I did on these last two I will certainly switch to TRIX at it's current price. Let's just say the IX I have will last a good bit longer.

I do not think it will replace Iron X completely for some if they don't want to remove the wax but for me (and I imagine most of us here) I prefer the wax stripping that it performs simultaneously. At the price of TRIX it's hard to imagine why most of us would use IX anymore unless it doesn't remove iron as well. I know everyone deserves some controlled IX vs TRIX testing on iron in this review but I just didn't have the time so the best I can do is offer the observation that TRIX did a great job of removing iron in my first two uses.

On one side of it even removing the tar, organics, waxes, and grease like it does you would think helps it reach the iron.

On the other side you would think it's very difficult to mix something with IX and expect it to still work as well. Bless those chemical engineers!

I have a QA with Avi I need to finish that has a couple questions that might help us with IX vs. TRIX question. Hey, I'll ask him when he would use IX over TRIX.

 

[Flannigan]

Great review, as usual Doggie! Quick question, how does this product do with no agitation on wheels? The product that I've been using lately can be sprayed on and rinsed off of most wheels without the need for agitation. Is this product any stronger than the normal Iron X? Thanks!

 

[BobbyG]

Hey Corey,

Thanks for the comprehensive review on what looks like another winner from CarPro!

I was amazed at how quickly the cleaning action began and it seemed to cut through and dissolve all the contaminates present. Your photos are always excellent but that video really tells the tale of how good this new product really is...

I'll give it 3 thumbs up! rops::dblthumb2:

 

[embolism]

Hey Corey, very enjoyable read as always

if you pop those center caps off the wheels then you'd have access to even more stuff for the TRIX to work on, and you'd also have less residual bleed when rinsing the stuff off.

 

[BookemDano]

Corey,

Great review as always! Any idea how Trix compares with P21 wheel cleaner?

Thanks,

Dan.

 

[AeroCleanse]

Wonder how this compares to Wolf's Decon Gel

 

[TimmyG]

Thanks for the write up. I was curious to see how TRIX stacks up to Iron X.

I'm also interested in finding out if one could use this product without agitation to clean the wheel sufficiently.

 

[Kaban]

Carpro is on a roll with all these products. Great review.

 

[RTexasF]

As always very well done, thank you. Obviously this works very well but the versatility of the product impresses me even more. A wheel cleaner that's safe for paint and glass? Yes, many wheels are painted & cleared, I meant safe on the auto body itself. Great product.

 

[shoeless89]

Thanks for the awesome review Corey! For sure getting some of this on the next order

 

[Flannigan]

Wonder how this compares to Wolf's Decon Gel

That is my decon product of choice! :dblthumb2:

 

[CEE DOG]

Great review, as usual Doggie! Quick question, how does this product do with no agitation on wheels? The product that I've been using lately can be sprayed on and rinsed off of most wheels without the need for agitation. Is this product any stronger than the normal Iron X? Thanks!

Thanks DAVEY! If you look at the second vehicle int he review those wheels were completed without agitation as I recall it. I didn't focus on that as they were not in too bad of shape.

It's my personal opinion that wheels in bad condition like that BMW must be agitated. Sure, I could spray TRIX on them and it would dissolve the iron and tar it came in contact with but just like any product you will get better results if you agitate wheels.

As far as attacking Iron I do not think it is any more powerful but I've only used it twice. So far I estimate it is equal in it's iron decontamination power. Of course it is more powerful towards tar, wax, organic fallout etc, and you could possible make the case that the fact it strips everything else off the vehicle allows it to better reach iron.

Planning to ask Avi in my QA about the concentration of The active iron dissolving ingredient in TRIX compared to IX.

Hey Corey,

Thanks for the comprehensive review on what looks like another winner from CarPro!

I was amazed at how quickly the cleaning action began and it seemed to cut through and dissolve all the contaminates present. Your photos are always excellent but that video really tells the tale of how good this new product really is...

I'll give it 3 thumbs up! rops::dblthumb2:

Thank you Bobby!! Greatly appreciate it my friend rops:

Hey Corey, very enjoyable read as always

if you pop those center caps off the wheels then you'd have access to even more stuff for the TRIX to work on, and you'd also have less residual bleed when rinsing the stuff off.

Tim, thanks for the excellent tip but then how would I have tested it on plastic? :laughing:

Seriously though! I really do appreciate the tip :cheers:

Corey,

Great review as always! Any idea how Trix compares with P21 wheel cleaner?

Thanks,

Dan.

Hi Dan, Thank you! If you mean regular P21S wheel cleaner TRIX definitely works better in my experience. if you mean the gel I couldn't say as I have never tried it. I bought two bottles once thinking I was getting the gel. Didn't realize they had a liquid form back then... I will say this based on what I've read of the Gel. I believe it has to remain on the wheels for a much longer time. I don't recall for sure if P21 actively dissolves iron but I don't believe so.

Wonder how this compares to Wolf's Decon Gel

I've never tried Decon Gel but I believe it has a lower concentration of the active iron dissolving ingredient shush means it has to stay on the wheels much longer to be effective.

I hate to comment without using it but that's the best I gather from what I've read.

Thanks for the write up. I was curious to see how TRIX stacks up to Iron X.

I'm also interested in finding out if one could use this product without agitation to clean the wheel sufficiently.

Thank you! Please see previous comment on this a couple quotes up.

Carpro is on a roll with all these products. Great review.

I agree!! About the products that is :laughing:

Thank you!!

As always very well done, thank you. Obviously this works very well but the versatility of the product impresses me even more. A wheel cleaner that's safe for paint and glass? Yes, many wheels are painted & cleared, I meant safe on the auto body itself. Great product.

I agree! Excellent analysis :dblthumb2:

Thanks for the awesome review Corey! For sure getting some of this on the next order

Thank you very much Shawn! I look forward to your experiences with it. :cheers:

 

[BookemDano]

Corey,

Well, It looks like I'll need to get a bottle of Trix to try it out. It will be on my order tonight with some other things.

Thanks,

Dan.

 

[Bunky]

Another interesting product and not involved with the sealant, coating race.

 

[CEE DOG]

Corey,

Well, It looks like I'll need to get a bottle of Trix to try it out. It will be on my order tonight with some other things.

Thanks,

Dan.

Sounds good Dan, let us know your experience if you get the time. :cheers:

Another interesting product and not involved with the sealant, coating race.

Hi Al, I hope your Friday is going well. Have a good weekend. :dblthumb2:

 

[604_Snooze]

So TRIX is not an adhesives remover right?