The first time you head out with your selection of top-rated car cleaning products to clean a car after letting it sit filthy for a while is a disheartening but potentially therapeutic experience. On the one hand, you'll have enough muck to sow potatoes in to strip away, but the end result of shiny paintwork will surely make it all worth it, so long as you use the right stuff.
For these deeper cleans, Autobrite Direct has just released its Decon Shampoo, a stronger (but still pH-balanced) car shampoo that's designed to effortlessly clean away big buildups of grime, all without leaving behind streaks or eating away at any paint protection.
There were a number of obstacles we placed in the way of this shampoo, some by choice and others by fate. We had no access to a pressure washer, limited hose water and an entire winter's worth of road film and mud to contend with. To get the results we did with such limited tools is a testament to just how good this car shampoo really is.
Verdict: Simply outstanding for cleaning a really dirty car
Score: 5/5
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Pros
- Excellent cleaning abilities
- Versatile
- Biodegradable
Cons
- Only makes sense for a dirty car
What's good?
The biggest selling point of this shampoo is its cleaning ability, something that was demonstrated by how effortlessly it removed months of winter-driving dirt. With only 50ml added to a 10-litre bucket of water, the shampoo offered excellent lubrication and plenty of suds, gliding over the bodywork with minimal risk of scratching. Even with the enormous amount of dirt attached to the car, the wash mitt could glide over with no resistance. Best of all, there were no streaks after the car was dried, a common leftover with some stronger car shampoos.
Beyond working as a shampoo, the Autobrite can be applied via a pressure washer for a touchless wash or as a pre-wash to treat your car before properly washing it. While we were unable to test it with a pressure washer, we've since tested it as a pre-wash, applied via a pump sprayer and found it to be just as effective on road film as Autorbrite's stand-alone Citrus pre-wash. It's a versatile and effective product.
To top it all off, this car shampoo is completely biodegradable. Those powerful surfactants (the stuff that cleans the car) are nearly all organically formed and will break down naturally leaving behind no damage or nasty chemicals.
The pear drop scent is also really nice.
What's okay?
This shampoo is almost pure in its formula, meaning there are no protective or gloss-enhancing elements to be found within. This means that any gloss or shine you'll get from the shampoo will largely depend on the quality of your car's paintwork.
This isn't a huge negative, the gloss from a car shampoo rarely lasts long, but it will probably get you wanting to dig out the polish to get your car properly shining.
Autobrite do claim it'll naturally top-up an applied protective coating, but this won't be on the same level as a proper protection-infused option. As there are no included waxes, any hydrophobic abilities it offers will not last very long.
Any negatives?
The only real issue with any shampoo of this calibre is that it's designed to be used infrequently for a deeper clean. If you're meticulous with your car shampooing schedule, you won't ever need a shampoo of this strength, its cleaning power will be wasted on your meticulously maintained paintwork.
Other items to consider:
How we tested this product:
The Autobrite Direct Decon Shampoo was tested as a shampoo and pre-wash to clean grime off a daily-driven car. The test car was pre-treated with a citrus pre-wash before being washed with 50ml of product diluted in a 10-litre bucket of water.
Ryan Gilmore is the Deputy Autos and Tools Editor for CAR, specialising in car cleaning and hand tools. With an MA in Automotive Journalism, when he's not testing buckets he can be found looking at old Porsches.