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review
Brunox Carbonpflege Carbon Care£4.99
VERDICT:
Effective multi surface polish/protectant, although some claims difficult to judge outside of laboratory environments
Weight:
0g
Contact:
www.brunox.co.uk
At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.
What the road.cc scores meanGood scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.
- Exceptional
- Excellent
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- Quite good
- Average
- Not so good
- Poor
- Bad
- Appalling
According to the blurb, Brunox Carbon Care not only cleans, polishes and repels dust but also displaces harmful humidity, which is damaging to the epoxy resin and therefore component integrity- fork failure can prove fatal after all, but then again we've never seen any warnings about not riding your carbon bike in the rain or indeed about taking it in the sauna.
Carbon Care is by no means a one trick pony, the formula works a treat on aluminium, magnesium, and enamel/ two-Pac finishes too. Playing devil's advocate, good quality furniture polishes achieve similar cosmetic results while the protective qualities are difficult to measure outside of laboratory conditions and/or prolonged, four season's testing. It's a tricky one as to whether £4.99 is a lot to pay or not for the peace of mind of using a dedicated carbon polish - a 400ml tin of pledge costs between £6.50 - £8.50 depending on whether you go for the 'natural' or 'professional' versions.
Carbon doesn't corrode or degrade in the commonly accepted sense that metals do but since you're just as likely to find it on winter hacks as thoroughbred race mounts these days; the ravages of road salt, slush and everyday grime become an issue. Common to Coca Cola, Brunox give little away as to the ingredients, other than saying the formula contains no silicone, PTFE or acids and uses Isoparaffine as the propellant.
To use, wash and dry the bike(s) thoroughly before setting aside some clean, lint free rag. Shake the Carbon pflege for thirty seconds or so and spray in short bursts from a distance of 10-15centimetres onto forks/frames/components and wipe clean. This will remove any ingrained/prevailing dirt and makes spotting hairline cracks or similar traces of fatigue much easier. Once you're satisfied everything is clean,spray a second round into a fresh rag and buff to a brilliant, glossy sheen.
Being a protectant, it doesn't remove traces of light oxidisation like hard paste polymer car waxes do but still knocks silicone based products into a cocked hat on every level. Riding extensively without mudguards through a wet, muggy summer, there's been no telltale streaking, grunge and only the faintest evidence of road grime along the inner fork blades, crown, bottom bracket and chainstays. Funnily enough the barrier qualities come into their own on plated and polished surfaces, which is great news for older framesets and components without a clear lacquer topcoat.
Verdict
Effective multi surface polish/protectant, although some claims difficult to judge outside of laboratory environments
road.cc test report
Make and model: Brunox Carbon Care finishing spray
Size tested: 125ml
Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?
"For ultimate care and maintenance of carbon fibre and aluminium parts.
Cleans, polishes, displaces humidity, repels dust and dirt
The essential after care product for all carbon fibre and aluminium components. Returning precision components and panels back to their pristine state after pro longed use or contamination with oils, tars and other difficult residues. Simply remove excess with warm soapy water then allow to dry. Simply spray or add to clean cloth and gently buff the component. You will be really amazed at the high gloss results.
For the finest shine and continued resistance to dust and dirt, use Carbon Care. Great for aluminium and other metals. Totally neutral to plastic, leather and rubber.". Generally agree on the strength of short-term testing.
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
125ml aerosol no silicone, PTFE or acids...
Rate the product for quality of construction:
7/10
Rate the product for performance:
7/10
Rate the product for durability:
7/10
Rate the product for value:
6/10
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
Leaves behind a brilliant glossy all-surface sheen that seems highly resistant to road spray/contaminant. However, I'm going to give the benefit of the doubt when it comes to carbon specific protection.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
Leaves all finishes positively gleaming and seems loglived too.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
Nothing
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes
Would you consider buying the product? Quite possibly
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes
Anything further to say about the product in conclusion?
Judging by the Holdsworth, presently hibernating in the workshop awaiting frame repair, the carbon pfledge should keep season specific mounts protected and pre-ride prep to the bare minimum, of course the Holdsworth isn't carbon
About the tester
Age: 37 Height: 1m 81 Weight: 70 kilos
I usually ride: Rough Stuff Tourer Based around 4130 Univega mtb Frameset My best bike is: 1955 Holdsworth Road Path and several others including cross & traditional road
I've been riding for: Over 20 years I ride: Most days I would class myself as: Experienced
I regularly do the following types of riding: cyclo cross, commuting, touring, fixed/singlespeed, mtb,
Shaun Audane is a freelance writer/product tester with over twenty-eight years riding experience, the last twelve (120,000 miles) spent putting bikes and kit through their paces for a variety of publications. Previous generations of his family worked at manufacturing's sharp end, thus Shaun can weld, has a sound understanding of frame building practice and a preference for steel or titanium framesets.
Citing Richard Ballantine and an Au pair as his earliest cycling influences, he is presently writing a cycling book with particular focus upon women, families and disabled audiences (Having been a registered care manager and coached children at Herne Hill Velodrome in earlier careers)
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8 comments
FYI Poundworld have Pledge and Mr sheen for a pound a can.
My reading of the above review is:
1) it's really good for polishing up your bike
2) it's no more expensive than a can of pledge
so, if you want something to polish up your bike, it's a 'good' product, 7 being a 'good' mark.
whether or not it 'repels harmful humidity' is largely moot, so far as i can tell. brunox claim it does, shaun says he's not heard of it ever being a problem and it's impossible to accurately test. if they made that claim and it was £15 a can, it would be an important consideration. as it is, it's not.
If you don't want to polish up your bike, then don't buy it.
Psychologically formulated to gently remove stubborn traces of disposable income from the wallets of suggestible cyclists.
Your initial statement in this review is completely bogus, making the rest of it pointless.
Carbon fiber has no issues with humidity- they make BOATS out of it. If a boat made of carbon fiber can sail around the world in all conditions (Volvo Ocean Race)- how is it that we need to displace humidity from a bicycle?
I occaisionally read through the reviews here- are they all this flawed? If so, I'll stop reading them. And you should stop writing them.
Er, hello. The first four words are "According to the blurb..." making the point that it's the maker's claim Sean is quoting and not his own view. I think Sean makes it pretty clear that the benefits of the product are questionable and 7/10 is hardly a ringing endorsement. On the other hand, it doesn't seem that much pricier than Pledge so assuming you'd use *that* on your G-Plan furniture or, indeed, ocean-going yacht, you might as well use Brunox Carbon Care. Personally, I agree with Joemmo above and wouldn't use either but if pushed I'd rather put the money in my bike shop's pocket than Tesco's
Er, Hello to you, too. I didn't see anything discussing a quote from the label. Maybe there are some cultural differences from an Atlantic separation involved here- but it certainly seemed more like pandering. I'd say that 3.5/5 seems pretty ringy to me. The review was fishy enough to make me register for a site that I only vaguely followed previously in order to comment and certainly made me question the integrity of both reviewer and the site. The whole thing leaves me thinking the money changing hands doesn't involve a local bike shop's pocket- but instead that these are compensated reviews.
Shaun clearly refers to 'the blurb' which is a shorthand way of saying 'manufacturers marketing spiel'. You have misunderstood what he wrote by a large margin.
Really? Then you owe Shaun and this site an apology.
No, these are not 'compensated reviews'. You make it clear that you aren't familiar with road.cc. Perhaps you should read some more before slinging out cheap, offensive and 100% wrong accusations?
Do you really think that a manufacturer of bike polish is going to try to bribe us to produce what is a pretty modest review? I don't think so. I've got some chain lube on test from the same company (several hundred miles and so far, so good). I've not had so much as an e-mail from them, let alone any kind of kickback. I'll be writing my review based on what I think of the stuff I put on my chain. Nothing more. Same goes for any of the reviewers on this site.
It's your reading that's flawed. You clearly didn't read the first four words let alone the rest of the paragraph.
I'll help you out - Shaun says "...we've never seen any warnings about not riding your carbon bike in the rain or indeed about taking it in the sauna", which makes a mockery of your complaint.