Iron remover update

[JSFM35X]

So I have my neglected DD that needed a post winter cleanup. It was bad. I ordered the nano skin iron free and the megs over the counter iron remover liquid clay. Both worked equally badly. They produces small red pin dots. I used one on drivers side and the other on the base get side. After letting them dwell I went over with a wash mit and rinsed. The surface still felt rough. I had a small amount of iron X and Poorboys iron remover left and decided to use them on the previously decontaminated area and it bled like I am used to.

The surface was noticeably smoother and I will be spending the money on these better products in the future. In this case you do get what you pay for in my opinion.

At the very end of a long wash here is a before and a few afters.

Not sure why the photo uploads are failing ? Wil try later.

[Lonnie]

OK JSFM35X:
Of the two "other" iron removers, CarPro`s Iron X and Poorboy`s Iron Remover, that bled so well compared to Megs OTC "Liquid Clay" Iron Remover and NanoSkin Iron Free, which of the first mentioned iron removers "work" better in your opinion, IE, which of those two would your consider your go-to iron remover?
I ask because I bought Meg`s Pro Detailer RTU "Liquid Clay" Iron Remover because it was "inexpensive" (Still $25.00 for 32 ounces is not cheap to my "fugal detailing budget"!), to help remove embedded iron dust-filings in paint, but if it does not "work" as well as the first two iron removers mentioned, then it is NOT a "bargain" and I may need to re-evaluate my iron removing detailing products future purchase!

[Setec Astronomy]

As I had detailed here during SEMA, Stoner Car Care introduced an "odorless" iron remover, and as I think I mentioned in the other thread started by JSFM35X ( Looking for Iron remover recommendation ), it got such bad reviews that apparently out of embarrassment and explanation, Stoner has addressed the whole subject of iron removal on YouTube:

Embedded Iron at a MICROSCOPIC Level - YouTube

Avoiding Mistakes: Proper Embedded Iron Removal - YouTube

It`s not clear to me whether they have a 3rd video coming in that series, but it`s interesting and will be interesting to see if their thesis is borne out by other people`s testing, it could be we have been misunderstanding the iron removal process, in the same way loss of beading on an LSP was always thought to be failure of the LSP, when it turned out that in most cases it was "clogging".

[JSFM35X]

They were both equally ineffective in my opinion. I would not use either because they did not do their job.

so it was a waste of time and money.

OK JSFM35X:
Of the two "other" iron removers, CarPro`s Iron X and Poorboy`s Iron Remover, that bled so well compared to Megs OTC "Liquid Clay" Iron Remover and NanoSkin Iron Free, which of the first mentioned iron removers "work" better in your opinion, IE, which of those two would your consider your go-to iron remover?
I ask because I bought Meg`s Pro Detailer RTU "Liquid Clay" Iron Remover because it was "inexpensive" (Still $25.00 for 32 ounces is not cheap to my "fugal detailing budget"!), to help remove embedded iron dust-filings in paint, but if it does not "work" as well as the first two iron removers mentioned, then it is NOT a "bargain" and I may need to re-evaluate my iron removing detailing products future purchase!

[LT4]

Coincidentally, without having read this thread, I tried yesterday to de-con wash my DD, a 2015 Impala. I know that said car has not be de-con washed for four years. My first problem was finding an iron remover locally. I drove all over looking for Iron-X and didn`t find it. The only iron remover I could find was from Adams. I had not viewed the above videos so made no attempt to clay while washing. I did pressure wash the car prior to using the iron remover. As far as I`m concerned the product I used was a complete fail. It only ran/displayed any red on the wheels, with the car`s paint showing no indication of the product`s doing anything. So even if I didn`t do it right, will not be purchasing the same product again. Sorry if this is distracting from the gist of this thread.

[Lonnie]

I was with the "understanding" that iron contaminants on vehicles came from two sources : rail dust when the vehicle is transported from the manufacturing facility to a dealer or distribution center OR from cast iron or steel alloy brake rotors as they are being used-and-abused (and the way people drive these days in any major metro area or even in rural mountainous areas, it is "used-and-abused"). Am I "wrong" about that? I cannot believe it is industrial fallout, UNLESS you live near a foundry or steel mill.

[noorth]

In my experience iron removers are nice and help in some cases but they are not necessary if you do a good clay process.

On car paint it`s kinda hard to see besides white.

I had one good experience with an iron remover on my father`s white Nissan. You could actually see the little rust spots in the paint and the fine clay was working but it took a lot of passes to remove so after 30min or so - the car was covered - i thought about my iron remover, which i kinda gave up on. It really did seem to help the process but maybe it was just because i had to take a break to go get some iron remover lol I hate the smell! I hope they don`t work so i haven`t got to use it. I will try it again later this year with my father`s new honda white CRV to see if i have a good experience. If not i doubt i will buy anymore.

btw iron removers are terrible on sealed pavement, They definitely have some kind of active ingredients.

Thinking about more..., it really helped me get rust spots off an old stand up freezer - all white last year. Not sure if an APC would of done the same but the purple effect was fun that time. Even my father thought it was cool and he`s not impressed easily haha

[Accumulator]

I tried yesterday to de-con wash my DD, a 2015 Impala. I know that said car has not be de-con washed for four years. My first problem was finding an iron remover locally. I drove all over looking for Iron-X and didn`t find it. The only iron remover I could find was from Adams...As far as I`m concerned the product I used was a complete fail. It only ran/displayed any red on the wheels, with the car`s paint showing no indication of the product`s doing anything. So even if I didn`t do it right, will not be purchasing the same product again..

Leaving aside the passage of time, do you have reason to believe that the body of the car was contaminated with ferrous [stuff] that the product did not detect/remove? Why not assume that only the wheels had the contamination?

While every situation is potentially different, I have light-colored vehicles that will readily show rust-blooms, and I drive them year-round while sometimes letting them go a very long time between even basic washes, yet they do not display indications of ferrous contamination even after many years (since the last decontamination).

Guess I`m trying to look on the brightside, like maybe you just don`t need to worry about that one!

[LT4]

I`m sure you are both correct. I didn`t see red `cause there wasn`t iron in/on my paint. Lonnie, Accumulator, I appreciate your tact in pointing out my folly.

[Lonnie]

In my experience iron removers are nice and help in some cases but they are not necessary if you do a good clay process.

On car paint it`s kinda hard to see besides white.

I had one good experience with an iron remover on my father`s white Nissan. You could actually see the little rust spots in the paint and the fine clay was working but it took a lot of passes to remove so after 30min or so - the car was covered - i thought about my iron remover, which i kinda gave up on. It really did seem to help the process but maybe it was just because i had to take a break to go get some iron remover lol I hate the smell! I hope they don`t work so i haven`t got to use it. I will try it again later this year with my father`s new honda white CRV to see if i have a good experience. If not i doubt i will buy anymore.

btw iron removers are terrible on sealed pavement, They definitely have some kind of active ingredients.

Thinking about more..., it really helped me get rust spots off an old stand up freezer - all white last year. Not sure if an APC would of done the same but the purple effect was fun that time. Even my father thought it was cool and he`s not impressed easily haha

noorth:
Who is the manufacturer and their product name of the iron remover you were using on the stand-up freezer? I assume it was the same as that used on your vehicle.
I ask because I myself am trying to find a great, not just "good", iron decontaminate remover detailing product, as are other Autopians.

As far as "active ingredients" that are in iron removers, I highly suggest looking at the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) from the manufacturer to see what specific chemicals are used in their particular formula AND any specific warnings or safety concerns they may have on how and where to use that product and what impacts it may have on other materials, like the sealed pavement you alluded to.
Good example is the Super Heavy Duty Degreaser sold by Harbor Freight Tools. Right on the label it says NOT to use as a daily wash for floors (specific material or type of flooring is not identified or listed), unless diluted 200:1!! (at that ratio, all you need is 5/8 of an ounce (about 4 teaspoons) of it per gallon of water) Not sure what would happen if you did not follow the directions, but it must be sever enough from previous experience by users to place this warning information on the product label itself.

[noorth]

It was Fireball`s Iron Burn extra cut 3:1.

You can`t get it in 1 liters anymore actually just 500ML RTU bottle. No idea of the dilution rate. (You can still get iron burn extra in 4 or 5L i think it is.)

The 200:1 dilution ratio for Super Heavy Duty Degreaser is rather surprising! That`s only 5ml of product in a 1 liter bottle.

I`m sure you can make it stronger however.

edit: looks like fireball-us is selling a sample 50ml of iron burn extra if anyone is interested. The angel tears coating looks interesting too. I never seen it on carzilla...

[Accumulator]

I`m sure you are both correct. I didn`t see red `cause there wasn`t iron in/on my paint. Lonnie, Accumulator, I appreciate your tact in pointing out my folly.

Heh heh, and I appreciate that you didn`t take offense!

At least you now have reason to believe that there`s no ferrous contamination problem And that your situation might not lead to much trouble with that in the future either. IMO the color-change indicator was great in this case, you just had to *believe* it!

[LT4]

Heh heh, and I appreciate that you didn`t take offense! ....

I try not to take offense when people help me. And I don`t come easily to believing.