This is a completely unbiased review...
Good.
So I love this product. I've used it a lot, always had excellent results and so has every other keen clean bean on this, and most other, forums.
But to get into it a little more, it's worth noting there are (as always) other products on the scene. So having been given a 500ml tester sample of Auto Finesse's Citrus Power, it was a good opportunity to get the comparison down, once and for all.
The two contenders for today;
Auto Finesse Citrus Power (CP)
Carplan Rapid Dirt Shifter (RDS)
Instructions... well pretty much the same to be honest. Spray on, leave to dwell, rinse/powerwash off. Although Auto Finesse mention something called the Sun. Not a clue what a paper has to do with detailing. Can't think of anything else we see in this country that could affect this product... (yes it rained constantly today)
The test mule.
First round - CP and RDS on the two front alloys. I run DS2500s so the wheels need to be protected and cleaned quite often, so an ideal test of their cleaning abilities.
Sprayed on, left to dwell, agitated with a brush, p/w'd off.
CP rinsed
RDS rinsed
No real surprises there. Both clean to a shine. Please note, the whole alloy was not cleaned on each side. It was tipping it down, so this had to be a quick test unfortunately.
OK, next up, dirt on the rear of the car;
I have been using RDS a lot recently, due to the deals I'll come onto in a minute, so am well aware of the stark contrast between jet washing an untreated car and a treated car. So time to see how CP could perform.
Sprayed on, left to dwell as per the alloys, jet washed off;
So yeah, obviously a massive difference between the treated area and untreated.
Next up, I wanted to find out how both performed when diluted 1:1 with warm water;
Finished results comparisons are unfortunately difficult to pick up on a camera. It was also raining, so the light wasn't helping.
- Basic findings were that CP neat shifted more grime, based on the swipe test, than neat RDS.
- 1:1 CP shifted as much grime as neat RDS
- 1:1 RDS shifted much less grime, but still worked enough to consider using it in this ratio
Now what is more interesting to most is how these products compare on costs, because, let's be honest, with this cleaning power, you're going to want to use it every wash. I also found I used circa 250ml of neat CP and the same of RDS.
250ml of CP (based on £10 per litre, with no postage costs from Polished Bliss, other retailers are available folks ) is £2.50. Simple enough. It works just as well at 1:1 so you're talking £1.25 per wash, based on just doing the lower half of the car. Obviously more if you cover your favourite piece of metal in pre-wash.
RDS is £6 per litre from ASDA, currently. So that's £1.50 per wash, as you need to use it neat. So RDS is now more expensive to use. However, if the deals come around again, where the bottles were £2.25/£3 from the afore mentioned retailer, it's a whole different ball game.
My position;
I have 27 1l bottles of RDS last time I checked my shed... all bought at £2.25, so my "per wash" cost is 37.5p. So CP at £1.25 does not make sense. For now. Most others will be able to work out their "per wash" cost from the above and will find CP more cost effective (if you dilute, which I assure you, you might as well). Naturally the figures are skewed if you have the 342 offer from PB/CYC/other retailers for AF products. Or if you buy the 5l container. etc etc etc.
Any other things to note? Smell, both inoffensive. Colour, clear or orange (CP and RDS respectively). One thing that was mildly... frustrating? RDS' spray pattern was wider, so being majorly OCD about it, you could use less RDS due to the coverage from the spray head being better. But the spray head bungs up about 50% through the 1l bottle... CP's spray head continues to spray until the end, but has a much more "direct" spray. Seem to recall there being two settings on both heads; one jet, one spray, but neither made a huge difference. Guys, jump in if my bottle was faulty etc, but I have to point out, the Dressel style spray head is far superior (although perhaps not chemical resistant?).
Anyway, thanks again for sending this through Auto Finesse - another review complete, another great product. If you made it through my waffling, thanks!
Jamie
Good.
So I love this product. I've used it a lot, always had excellent results and so has every other keen clean bean on this, and most other, forums.
But to get into it a little more, it's worth noting there are (as always) other products on the scene. So having been given a 500ml tester sample of Auto Finesse's Citrus Power, it was a good opportunity to get the comparison down, once and for all.
The two contenders for today;
Auto Finesse Citrus Power (CP)
Carplan Rapid Dirt Shifter (RDS)
Instructions... well pretty much the same to be honest. Spray on, leave to dwell, rinse/powerwash off. Although Auto Finesse mention something called the Sun. Not a clue what a paper has to do with detailing. Can't think of anything else we see in this country that could affect this product... (yes it rained constantly today)
The test mule.
First round - CP and RDS on the two front alloys. I run DS2500s so the wheels need to be protected and cleaned quite often, so an ideal test of their cleaning abilities.
Sprayed on, left to dwell, agitated with a brush, p/w'd off.
CP rinsed
RDS rinsed
No real surprises there. Both clean to a shine. Please note, the whole alloy was not cleaned on each side. It was tipping it down, so this had to be a quick test unfortunately.
OK, next up, dirt on the rear of the car;
I have been using RDS a lot recently, due to the deals I'll come onto in a minute, so am well aware of the stark contrast between jet washing an untreated car and a treated car. So time to see how CP could perform.
Sprayed on, left to dwell as per the alloys, jet washed off;
So yeah, obviously a massive difference between the treated area and untreated.
Next up, I wanted to find out how both performed when diluted 1:1 with warm water;
Finished results comparisons are unfortunately difficult to pick up on a camera. It was also raining, so the light wasn't helping.
- Basic findings were that CP neat shifted more grime, based on the swipe test, than neat RDS.
- 1:1 CP shifted as much grime as neat RDS
- 1:1 RDS shifted much less grime, but still worked enough to consider using it in this ratio
Now what is more interesting to most is how these products compare on costs, because, let's be honest, with this cleaning power, you're going to want to use it every wash. I also found I used circa 250ml of neat CP and the same of RDS.
250ml of CP (based on £10 per litre, with no postage costs from Polished Bliss, other retailers are available folks
) is £2.50. Simple enough. It works just as well at 1:1 so you're talking £1.25 per wash, based on just doing the lower half of the car. Obviously more if you cover your favourite piece of metal in pre-wash.RDS is £6 per litre from ASDA, currently. So that's £1.50 per wash, as you need to use it neat. So RDS is now more expensive to use. However, if the deals come around again, where the bottles were £2.25/£3 from the afore mentioned retailer, it's a whole different ball game.
My position;
I have 27 1l bottles of RDS last time I checked my shed...
all bought at £2.25, so my "per wash" cost is 37.5p. So CP at £1.25 does not make sense. For now. Most others will be able to work out their "per wash" cost from the above and will find CP more cost effective (if you dilute, which I assure you, you might as well). Naturally the figures are skewed if you have the 342 offer from PB/CYC/other retailers for AF products. Or if you buy the 5l container. etc etc etc.Any other things to note? Smell, both inoffensive. Colour, clear or orange (CP and RDS respectively). One thing that was mildly... frustrating? RDS' spray pattern was wider, so being majorly OCD about it, you could use less RDS due to the coverage from the spray head being better. But the spray head bungs up about 50% through the 1l bottle... CP's spray head continues to spray until the end, but has a much more "direct" spray. Seem to recall there being two settings on both heads; one jet, one spray, but neither made a huge difference. Guys, jump in if my bottle was faulty etc, but I have to point out, the Dressel style spray head is far superior (although perhaps not chemical resistant?).
Anyway, thanks again for sending this through Auto Finesse - another review complete, another great product. If you made it through my waffling, thanks!
Jamie
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