About ChemCX

What is ChemCX?

ChemCX helps you understand why you love the products you love—and how to find the best product for what you need at any given moment.

No marketing fluff. Just chemistry.

Why we exist

Every detailing product promises to be the best. But when you actually use them, some just work better than others.

I kept coming back to the same products—Griot's Garage Speed Shine, Carbon Collective Detailer, P&S Brake Buster—without really understanding why they felt better than the alternatives. The marketing all sounded the same. I wanted to know if there was something objectively different, or if it was just in my head.

Turns out, the answers are in the Safety Data Sheets. The chemistry explains what marketing won't tell you.

How we analyze

We dig into Safety Data Sheets (SDS) to understand what's actually in each product. We read Section 3 at the ingredient level, not just the hazard summary, cross-referencing with California SB258 disclosures and voluntary ingredient lists where available. When a brand's SDS only lists hazardous components, we note that limitation in the transparency tier.

CAS numbers from ingredient disclosures take precedence over SDS data when they conflict. We do not infer ingredients. If it isn't disclosed, it isn't listed.

For a full explanation of our scoring formulas, transparency tiers, and badge system, see our Methodology page.

Where we are

We started with wheel cleaners as our first category. Now we're expanding into iron removers, bug removers, and beyond.

We're adding new categories and new products every day. If there's a specific product you'd like us to analyze, we're open to requests and suggestions.

ChemCX by the numbers

548 products analyzed across 9 categories from 47 brands, each sourced from publicly available Safety Data Sheets and ingredient disclosures.

Who's behind this

I'm Dean. I became obsessed with detailing when I bought my first "good" car, a race red Ford Bronco. While I do go mudding and rock crawling regularly, detailing gave me a way to connect with my vehicle and keep it looking new. There's a calm to it. The slowing down, the patience, the gentle touch, and the challenges too. Detailing lets me be present and in the moment, and I enjoy the art of it all.

For all that, it's also really fun to let the collector brain go into high gear. I've tested hundreds of products, I keep a detailed spreadsheet of every product I've used, and a running list of products I look forward to trying. Living in Maine, every season brings different detailing challenges and is a good excuse to test everything from rinseless washes to touchless setups to a multi-day full detail.

It started with Adam's Bug Remover. I'd had it on the shelf for about a year before trying it out. Once I did, it became my go-to for summer bug splatter. Let it dwell for a minute, wipe off, and 9 times out of 10 it gets the entire bug. I wanted to know why it was so darn good when other bug removers I'd tried just couldn't match it. That question started me down the path of digging into formulations and comparisons.

Then I was comparing microfiber washes and realized that hot water and chelating agents mattered for hard water. That discovery meant I'd been getting worse results than I could have. It made me wonder what else I was missing.

I began to read SDS documents and ingredient disclosures and found the insights fascinating. I figured others might enjoy learning what's in their favorite products and why they feel enjoyable to use. So, over a week vacation I got started building ChemCX. I hope you find it interesting and useful.

What we don't do

No sponsored rankings. No paid placements. Everything is objective based on disclosed chemistry.

Nothing is gamed.