Decoding Koch Chemie Product Labels: A Quick Guide for Detailers
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When you first pick up a bottle of Koch Chemie (KCX), it can feel overwhelming — bold letters, cryptic abbreviations, bright colors, and technical descriptions all fighting for your attention. But once you understand the system, you’ll realize Koch Chemie designed its labeling to give you everything you need at a glance.
What first attracted me to KCX products was the logical and systematic way its products were organized and labeled. I didn’t understand it all at first, but I sensed there was a method to their madness and indeed I was spot on!
Koch Chemie Labeling Examples
In this guide, I’ll break down Koch Chemie’s product designations, colors, and labeling so you can quickly pick the right product for the job.
The Color Coding
The first thing I notice when looking at KCX products are the bright colored labels. Each of the KCX bottles feature colored bars or accents that make category recognition faster. The colors reflect the category in which the product resides. Below are example products within each category along with a short description of its use.
Green: Alkaline/Cleaners
· Green Star (Gs): An excellent all purpose cleaner (APC) that is highly dilutable for the level of cleaning needed. While it can be used on interiors at higher dilutions, I find it best suited for exterior surfaces as a pre-wash (often mixed with Gsf) and engine bays.
· Multi Star (Ms): Affectionately known as Green Star’s big brother, Ms is a strong pre-soak/wash for heavily soiled exterior surfaces.
· Pol Star (Po): While not an alkaline (it’s actually pH neutral), Ps is a highly effective interior cleaner suitable for leather, Alcantara, and even plastics. It foams well.
Pink: Fragrances
· Fresh Up (Fu): While not a robust category of products within the United States (other countries do have more products in this category), Fu is designed as a part odor neutralizer and fresh fragrance to lightly spray on the carpet (under seat) at the end of a interior detail to give that “just cleaned” smell.
Red: Acid cleaners & rim cleaners
· Magic Wheel Cleaner (Mwc): A somewhat viscous iron removing wheel cleaner that clings extremely well to the wheels to help break down iron deposits from brake dust. It works like “magic” - many times it’s almost a touches wheel cleaner.
· Alkali Wheel Cleaner (Awh): A high pH wheel and tire cleaner that is very effective at removing embedded dirt and brake dust. It is dilutable based on the level of soil. Foams extremely well and helps cling to the surface when foamed from a suitable foam sprayer.
· Reactive Rust Remover (Rrr): Iron remover for painted exterior surfaces as part of the chemical decontamination process.
Teal: Leather & interior plastics
· Top Star (Ts): A pleasantly fragrant interior plastics dressings that provides anti-static and UV inhibiting protection to dashboards and other interior plastic surfaces after cleaning. It leaves just a slight satin finish and can be leveled if needed.
· Leather Star (Ls): Another pleasant smelling product that conditions leather surfaces. It does not leave the surface glossy or slick, but provides a nice OEM refreshed look to leather. Often used after the leather is cleaned with Pol Star.
Orange: Solvents
· Eulex (Eu): This is the big daddy of solvents designed to remove tar, adhesives, or tree sap. It is very strong and is extremely effective, but it cannot be used on plastics. It is designed to exterior metal surfaces.
· Orange Power (Op): This is the softer side of the solvents, safe for all surfaces and can be used as a first line of defense when removing contamination. Effective at removing chewing gum embedded into interior surfaces.
Yellow: Shampoos
· Gentle Snow Foam (Gsf): The holy grail of pH neutral snow foams. Smells great, foams great, and provides tons of lubrication. Can be used effectively in foam cannon and a bucket wash.
· Active Foam (Af): An effective cleaning pre-wash and foams well. It smells even better than Gsf (in my opinion) — it reminds me of being in a barber shop — it has a sandalwood fragrance that I associate with shaving cream. It’s thick producing foam also looks like shaving cream.
Blue: Glass cleaners
· Glass Cleaner (Gc): As the name says, it cleans glass. It does a nice job (hey, there are a lot of great glass cleaners available, this is one of them).
· All Round Surface Cleaner (Asc): If I’m unsure about cleaning a certain interior surface, generally Asc is a safe bet. I often use this as a quick wipe over navigation screens. Some screens are very sensitive to chemicals so I try to keep these screens away from anything, but I know Asc is safe and leaves nothing behind but a clean surface.
Black: Body & paint
· Micro Cut (M3.02): KCX has a suite of compounds and polishes for external painted body surfaces, and M3 is one of my favorites when minimal correction is needed or as a final polish after Fine Cut or Heavy Cut.
· Fine Cut (F6.01): F6 offers a great mid-level cut and nice gloss as well. I have used this as a one step polish when I needed more cut than M3 could provide.
Silver: Rubber & exterior plastics
· Motor Plast (Mp): This is a classic Kcx product that while highly specialized, does its job perfectly. After cleaning an engine bay, spray Mp all over the still wet plastics and rubber surfaces under the hood and then simply shut the hood. Later, come back and peek under the hood to find a beautifully dressed and shiny (not greasy) engine bay. It just works.
· Hydro Plast Care (Hpc): I’ve been using Hpc diluted 1:2 as a water-based tire dressing. It doesn’t have much endurance, but it doesn’t sling, it’s not slimy, and it’s easy to use. You can change up the dilutions depending on the desired gloss. Works well on all exterior plastics and rubber surfaces.
Brown: Dryers & conservers
· Protector Wax (Pw): Just foam or spray this on after a wash, allow it dwell a short time, and rinse. Watch the hydrophobics appear. It was originally designed for automated car washes as a final “wax”, but detailers love its ease of use and it provides a nice finish to a wash when you are not providing any additional protection, such as a ceramic coating.
The color coding system is especially useful when shopping for products in a retail location where each product is displayed or even when you’re mid-detail and need to grab the right bottle for the job at hand. Organizing your Kcx products by color (product category) can add efficiency to your detailing game.
The Abbreviations (Two- or Three-Letter Codes)
Every KCX product has a shortcut name like H9.02, Gs, Mp, etc. These codes aren’t random as they reference the product names. In the case of polishes and compounds, the first letter indicates the category:
H = Heavy Cut (aggressive cut)
F = Fine Cut (Moderate cut, moderate gloss)
M = Micro Cut (Minimal cut, and heavy gloss)
For other chemicals, the abbreviation is given as a reference to the full product name:
Asc = Allround Surface Cleaner
Mp = Motor Plast
Gs = Green Star
👉 Pro Tip: Once you learn the shortcut of the product name and its associated color, you can walk down a shelf and immediately know which bottle is a compound vs. polish vs. cleaner.
The Label Design
Every Koch Chemie bottle provides a lot of information packed in its label which doesn’t require reading lengthy descriptions. Simply glancing at the label provides the product category, shortcut name (abbreviation), pH value, and in the case of the polishes/compounds, you can easily determine the expected cut and gloss.
Product Shortcut Name + pH + Quick Category Color
Polish/Compound labels include: Shortcut attribute + Cut + Gloss + version number + Color code within the group
For example, let’s look at H9.02
H9.02 = Heavy Cut (level 9 out of 10), version number 2
But it also shows 5,0 below the .02 which represents the gloss, 5 out of 10.
In the case of chemicals, such as Green Star. You not only see the shortcut name, but also the pH value of the product along with category color.
How Detailers Can Use This System
KCX labels provide a wealth of information that is available with only a quick glance. You may choose to organize your chemicals according to the category (color of label) which reinforces the product’s use and allows you to quickly grab exactly what you need for the job at hand. Honestly, it also makes for a pretty colorful and impressive display of products.
My Favorite KCX Products
Green Star (Gs) - Very flexible all purpose cleaner
Gentle Snow Foam (Gsf) - Slick and foamy shampoo
Motor Plast (Mp) - Engine bay dressing
Alkali Wheel Cleaner (Awh) - Heavy duty wheel and tire cleaner
Eulex (Eu) - Powerful solvent to remove tar, adhesive, tree sap, and other contamination on non plastic surfaces
Fine Cut (Fc) - Polishing compound with medium cut and gloss
Fresh Up (Fu) - Odor neutralizer and deodorizer
Some of my KCX related videos from my YouTube Channel:
Conclusion
At first glance, Koch Chemie’s system looks complex, but once you learn the abbreviations, colors, and cut/gloss scale, you’ll see it’s actually one of the most detailer-friendly labeling systems on the market. It saves time, removes guesswork, and makes your detailing process more efficient.
Next time you’re in your garage or shop, take a minute to line up your Koch Chemie bottles and read them side by side. You’ll quickly appreciate how much information is packed into that simple design.