Review: DoDo Juice Red Mist "Tropical" Detailer

[heatgain]

This is Dodo Juice Red Mist “Tropical” Protection Detailer.
I won it in a giveaway by AutoGeek, so I thought the least I could do is review it.
If you read my other review on DoDo Juice Time To Dry, you’ll know a few things about me. One, I’m a Frugal Detailer. Two, although I really appreciate being given these products free of charge by AutoGeek, I pride myself on being “Neutral and Detached” and will always be so in my reviews. Also I’m more an enthusiast than a professional detailer. I tell you these things so you’ll understand my mindset as I post reviews.
This is an orange/peach colored liquid with water-like consistency in a plastic 250 ml (8.45 oz) bottle with a non-adjustable trigger sprayer with a typical DoDo label.
The smell is sort of like a fruit flavored children’s cough syrup, certainly not over-powering or unpleasant.

From the label:
Dodo Juice Red Mist Tropical is a high performance quick detailer, designed to fortify wax or protect bare paintwork. Containing sophisticated synthetic ingredients, it boasts superior shine, protection and durability versus normal quick detailers. This tropical formula dries slower than regular Red Mist – handy for use in hot climates.
Use: Ensure that paintwork is clean and dry. Spray Red Mist onto panel and buff with a soft, clean microfiber, folding regularly. Do not apply more Red Mist until previous traces have been buffed and any smearing has disappeared.

The price is $16.99 for 250 ml (8.45 oz). Approximately $2.01 per oz., before shipping. This puts it in a price range that would preclude this Frugal Detailer from buying it with his own money. At least under normal circumstances.
I used Red Mist immediately after drying my just washed car with DoDo Juice Time To Dry. If you read my review or read about Time To Dry elsewhere, you’ll know it aids drying by flattening water beads causing a lot of the water to run off the car before drying with a towel. Although intellectually I prefer water sheeting to beading, there’s something about tight beading on a glossy car that appeals visually. And that’s the main reason I used Red Mist, to restore the beading action. Oh, and to possibly add some bling.
As I stated before, the trigger sprayer is non adjustable. When the trigger sprayer is depressed, a VERY fine mist of Red Mist shoots out. Now that I ponder it, Red MIST is a good name choice. The mist is so fine that if you do not hold the bottle very close to the vehicle when spraying, the mist emitted floats away on the gentlest of breezes, never even touching the car. So the non-adjustable sprayer aspect is a good idea if you keep it close to the car when spraying. Knowing me, if I was able to adjust the spray, I’d use too much. And at $2 per oz, too much is not good. With this sprayer, I did the whole car and only used a minuscule amount, certainly less than 1/8 of an oz. Perhaps only 1/16th of an ounce was used. I saw no problem of the Red Mist flashing off before I could wipe it in as I read about the previous version.
By then it was dusk so no full sun, but the car looked terrific afterwards. It had that rich glow, a beautiful gloss emanating from it in that particular light. The Red Mist did not leave one streak. I liked the result; I liked the combination of Time To Dry and Red Mist. It looked very nice.
Keep in mind, though, that my car has 3 coats of OptiSeal on it. But the Red Mist certainly added something to the look.
I can’t tell you what it looks like the next day in sunlight, because the pollen around here has laid a soft coat of yellow-green fuzz over the car overnight.
But I did open the trunk to get something, and, my car designed the way it is, some water came out from behind the chrome strip on the trunk and dripped across the trunk. It beaded.
I’ll rinse my car with a hose before I drive to work tonight (midnight shift), as I’ve done since pollen season began and perhaps I can see if the car finish looks any different in the parking lot tonight.
It’s a very good product and not much is needed to achieve a nice finish.
Final thought: even though the Red Mist is $16.00 for 8.45 oz, the non-adjustable stingy sprayer and the resulting look makes this a product I actually might purchase with my own money…….if it were on sale or free shipping. I am, after all, a Frugal Detailer.

[ScottB]

Cannot wait to try this qder+ type product, thanks for review.

[nitro78]

i concur with killr, i think i will give it a try. however i wonder why the geek doesn't carry the 500 ml sizes in red mist and time to dry. it is definetly a better value in the larger size. thanks for the great review.

[Waxmax]

Good review. I have Red Mist and found it to be very nice, but obviously pricey. IMO, Z8 looks as good, although Red Mist is more of a QD+sealant whereas Z8 is a pure spray sealant.

[Surfer]

Sounds like a nice product

[AeroCleanse]

Are there any updates? I'm looking into buying some.

[ScottB]

I have used it several times. I like the look, the smell, and the outcome but the pricing and size of the bottle does not put it in the cabinet with so many other great products in the detail spray or qder+ area.

I would consider it a specialty spray and keep mine for special occasions. It is however quite a nice product.

[Dibbuz]

Nice review! It's a great product but I hate the sprayer. It's too small.
I also found that it's better to spray it on a microfiber applicator and spread it than spray it directly on the car. It's better too let it completely dry before buffing to prevent streaking. The Tropical edition contains less solvents so it needs to dry longer than the normal version.