CarPro Elixir is a product I have had recommended to me by others for as long as I can remember. As some of my regular readers will know, I recently did a guide on How to Apply Ceramic Coating. In this application, I used one of CarPro’s Ceramic Products called Cquartz Lite. Since I am keen to keep this coating looking and performing as best as possible I decided to pick up a few products to help maintain its appearance.

One of these products which I plan to use regularly is CarPro Elixir.

Aside from the purpose of maintaining the glossy appearance of the coating, we are coming into summer and I was in the market for a good quick detailing product that I could use to keep the car clean between maintenance washes. CarPro Elixir seemed like the perfect product to try out!

I put my order into one of my detailing suppliers and waited patiently for it to arrive. Let’s take a look at how it performed and my initial thoughts on the product.

What is CarPro Elixir?

CarPro EliXir is designed to offer you the quick application of Ech2o with the hydrophobic energy of the industry leader in ceramic nanotechnology. This amazing quick detailer created by the chemists and fanatics at CarPro provides a quick layer of depth, gloss, and hydrophobic energy to a variety of surfaces. Beyond the incredible levels of gloss and its excellent hydrophobic nature, EliXir is easy to apply in rain or shine and lasts for weeks on end.

Legend has it that this product was born after some guys on forums were mixing CarPro products together in their own solutions ( Mainly Mixtures of CarPro Echo2 and CarPro Reload ) and were actually achieving some great results.

CarPro then had taken that and refined the formula and have brought it to market. The Name Elixir is a hat tip to one of the guys on the forum named Merlin who used to call the mixture “Merlin’s Majic Elixer”

One of the main benefits I can see with this product is that it is actually intended to add some lasting protection, which you don’t find in many quick detailing products on the market. It certainly claims to be a very versatile product and I was very excited to try it out.

It also claims to be extremely glossy, so I was looking forward to seeing how it stood up to those claims.

How to Use CarPro Elixir

This weekend I was itching to clean my car, but it just was not dirty enough to warrant a complete wash. From a distance, it looked perfectly clean but up close I noticed some nasty water spots and mineral deposits from a recent rain shower. Given most of the world is on lockdown at the moment, I have not been driving my car too much so it didn’t have any “real” dirt on it.

I decided this was a perfect chance to try out CarPro Elixir.

Here are some of the before shots of my paint, as you can see there are some unsightly water spots and minor dust

 

As I mentioned previously, CarPro Elixir is pre-mixed so there is no need to dilute the product even further with water, you should just use the product as is. The steps you should follow when applying this quick detailer are

• Shake well ( as you should with all products of this type )
• Spray half a panel sparingly
• Immediately spread even with a microfiber cloth, buff in, and buff off
• Use a clean “final wipe” towel or cloth and check for perfection before moving to the next section or panel.

One thing I did notice about Elixir it did require definite buffing to remove the product entirely, which I have not experienced to this extent with any other quick detailing product. My guess is that because Elixir is laying down some decent protection to the paint, it does require that bit of extra effort in application.

Note: I did apply this product on a warm sunny day ( but not too hot ), but that should have not affected the application as I was told Elixir is safe to use in direct sunlight.

 

CarPro Elixir Review – Before and After

I must say as far as quick detailers go, Elixir did a fantastic job removing any spots or dust on the car and left a mirror-like appearance on the paint. The increase in gloss levels was noticeable when comparing the before and after shots.

I would almost go as far as saying it looked better than if I had performed an entire maintenance wash on the paint!

I was very pleased with how it turned out! The ease of use compared to the result was quite incredible. Granted the car was not very dirty in the first place ( i would never use a quick detailer on an overly dirty car and always revert to a full wash ), but the difference Elixir made was very noticeable.

CarPro Elixir – Can You Use it on Glass?

I have read that you can use it on glass but, to be honest, I didn’t try it. Once I noticed the behaviour of the quick detailer and the need for buffing for complete removal, I decided not to risk any streaking or smearing on my glass.

I tend to lean towards the use of a dedicated glass cleaner or coating rather than using a quick detailer on any of the glass areas of the vehicle.

CarPro Elixir – Can You Use it as a Drying Aid?

You can use Elixir as a drying aid but given that it is not a cheap product, I probably wouldn’t use it as a drying aid. I may try it sometime as a drying aid but I will either use it extremely sparingly or else dilute it down a bit more with water. I wouldn’t want to risk any streaking.

I will continue to use it as intended as a QD and make sure I am on point with the buff on / buff off steps to get the best out of the product as intended.

CarPro Elixir – How Long Does it Last?

Although Elixir is not a dedicated coating, it does indeed lay down some protection and water-repelling properties on your paintwork. ( Due to its CarPro Reload content ). From what I have read from others you can expect MAX 1 month from the product. This is a best-case scenario.

As I am using a Ceramic Coating on my car I’m not too concerned about the longevity as I only used Elixir for its gloss enhancing effects.

CarPro Elixir – Final Thoughts

Overall I am impressed with this product so far and will continue to use it for now. It is not the cheapest quick detailer in the market but I can safely say it is one of the best I have used so far.

Next time I may go the “merlin” route and try to mix my own and play around with the concentrations of each product and find what suits me best.

CarPro Elixir – Where To Buy

If you want to try CarPro Elixir for yourself – please consider purchasing it through my Amazon Link HERE

This helps me keep this blog up and running.

Have you tried CarPro Elixir? If so, let me know your thoughts in the comments or over on the DriveDetailed Forum.

Until Next Time,

Happy Detailing!

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About the Author – Darren O Hara

Darren is the founder of the DriveDetailed blog and is a keen detailing enthusiast living in the rainy south of Ireland. When he is not cleaning his car he is always researching ways he can improve his techniques and enjoys testing out new products.

Darren currently drives an Audi TTRS and is a big fan of performance cars.

You can follow Darren on Instagram @darrenoharacork