I mentioned a post or so back that the chaps over at Ninja Shine had kindly sent me over a couple of products to try out, one of which being the widely respected Citrus Pearl Autowash Shampoo. Last Saturday the weather looked decent enough to give it a whirl and a friend’s car was in need of an intermediate clean. First Impressions
Now when I reached inside the parcel and pulled out the bottles of shampoo and wheel cleaner I was instantly surprised at just how much the bottle of Citrus Pearl Autowash Shampoo seemed to glow in the light. It’s a really vibrant orange (not yellow as my phone camera shows) and in certain lighting it does have a sort of pinkish purple pearlessence, hence the pearl reference in the title perhaps. I was also informed that it could be concentrated to 400-1 which is incredible and a promising testament to its quality. Now I understand you can apply this via a pressure wash bottle adapter or hand wash and as I’m still undecided how I feel about pressure washers, went with a hand wash. This also made sense as the previous shampoos I’ve reviewed were also hand wash tested. I will also say that of all the shampoos I’ve tried such as the Turtle Wax Zip Wax, Carplan triple wax and Astonish car care crystal clear wash and wax, this carries the largest price tag and also doesn’t claim to wax as it washes, a pointer to this being a true detailing product designed to be part of a complete wash, complemented with true waxes or polishes after.
Onto the test
Firstly I took a clean bucket (always swill your bucket out with clean water first to make sure no grit or grime is left in from a previous wash) and poured a healthy amount of the Citrus Pearl Autowash Shampoo into the bucket, I used more than perhaps needed but was keen to really let it go to work. It pours out quite thickly, again reassuring you that it is a quality shampoo. I added warm water to the shampoo and the bucket was soon full of large bubbles and suds, which look very promising.
The shampoo also smelled orangey which is much nicer than the smell of a strong chemicals or detergent. I then filled another bucket up with clean water as part of the two bucket technique (that I’m always banging on about!). Going out to the car I topped the bucket up with some more water from a hose, further adding to the amount of bubbles, then thoroughly rinsed off the car. Now my friend’s car had been recently waxed so I knew that the majority of dirt was dust, meaning that a shampoo and additional quick detailer would be sufficient this afternoon. After rinsing the car, I grabbed a Kent Microfibre noodle wash mitt and set about liberally applying the Citrus Pearl Autowash Shampoo all over the car, starting with the roof. The amount of suds that hung to the car really impressed me and it soon became apparent that it was much better than the budget end options out there. I worked around the car, finally finishing at the wheels, they were plastic hub caps as opposed to alloys (further review to come on this), but the shampoo didn’t seem to struggle taking off the layer of brake dust that had built up. Even after I had finished washing the car, many of the suds could still be seen clinging to the paint work, in a white like foam.
I took the hose then blasted off the remaining shampoo, then stood back from the car. The Citrus Pearl Autowash Shampoo really gave the paint a bright glassy look, albeit there was still some wax on there. A close up image of the beading really shows how glassy the car looks.
I am truly impressed with this shampoo, and it has showed many shortcomings, that I previously hadn’t noticed with other shampoo and wax combos. I thoroughly recommend the Citrus Pearl Autowash Shampoo.
