CHECK OUT THIS RAIL DUST or what ever it is pic?

R

Redcar GUY

New member
I went and got the RSX that I wash almost weekly today, it was time for a fresh coat of the Z stuff. I washed and dried and as I was drying I noticed a little speck of what looked like rust on back bumper... I thought hmm , so then I looked at the roof and hood and didn’t see any. I Z'ed the hood and roof then went to do the front bumper and saw this....

1046mvc-217s-med.jpg




I was like WTH! I had seen Rail dust before but this was unreal! I called the owner and told her what I had seen and she said that she hadn’t changed anything (like where she parks and such) then she really didn’t want to pay for the clay job and was just going to let it go :( So I told her I would email her a pic and then she could decide. I did, LOL then she wanted me to do what ever it took to get it off! Need less to say my wash and wax turned in to a 4 hour clay mission. it didn’t come off easy but it did. She was very happy with the look but not to happy with the bill for $40 on hour.



Now what the heck was it? It did seem to be rust but it was only on the front, back and a little on the sides. It didn’t look like it was "flipped up" off the wheels but then it wasn’t on the horizontal surfaces like Industrial fallout? Anyone have any idea? THX
 
I'm pretty sure I've seen something like that before here and there. I think it's just tar kicked up from a freshly paved road from the car driving in front of it.



That's my theory anyway...
 
maybe she went through a constuction site and a car in front of her kicked it up and she drove right into the rust cloud.

I have a few customers that happened to.

I see it alot when they use the metal planks to cover the ground
 
The same stuff was on my Tacoma when i got it for my BDay. it had been my moms truck that she used to drive to work, rather than her 02 Tahoe. She is a construction worker. The body was covered in that. It took me 4 days to get it all off with clay bars and paint cleaner. Not sure what it is though :nixweiss
 
Redcar GUY said:
I went and got the RSX that I wash almost weekly today, it was time for a fresh coat of the Z stuff. I washed and dried and as I was drying I noticed a little speck of what looked like rust on back bumper... I thought hmm , so then I looked at the roof and hood and didn’t see any. I Z'ed the hood and roof then went to do the front bumper and saw this....

1046mvc-217s-med.jpg




I was like WTH! I had seen Rail dust before but this was unreal! I called the owner and told her what I had seen and she said that she hadn’t changed anything (like where she parks and such) then she really didn’t want to pay for the clay job and was just going to let it go :( So I told her I would email her a pic and then she could decide. I did, LOL then she wanted me to do what ever it took to get it off! Need less to say my wash and wax turned in to a 4 hour clay mission. it didn’t come off easy but it did. She was very happy with the look but not to happy with the bill for $40 on hour.



Now what the heck was it? It did seem to be rust but it was only on the front, back and a little on the sides. It didn’t look like it was "flipped up" off the wheels but then it wasn’t on the horizontal surfaces like Industrial fallout? Anyone have any idea? THX
Click to expand...



From the look of the picture, it may be fallout or it may be environmental damage from trees (either sap or pigment from leaves). I have done many vehicles that have had the colour transfer from the leaves to the paint and actually stain the clear. Depending on how deep it goes it sometimes is not repairable. If it is washed weekly I doubt that is fallout as it wouldn't have had sufficient time to set up on the paint. I'm going with my sap theory.
 
thanks for the ideas everyone, I dont think that it is tar because my Stoners tar stuff didnt budge it at all and if it was sap I would think the same, and it wasnt on any of the hood top or trunk lid? the only thing that worked to take it of was the clay and it didnt take it off in one swipe.. It would just like take a little at a time till it was gone. I think that is how the clay is suppose to work anyhow right? Thanks again for the help :)
 
You can try the RED(medium) clay in the future for the stuborn spots of rail dust. These little metal particles that fly around in the air will settle down on the car in the morning(if left outside over night) when dew is present. Then the dew dissipates during the day leaving the metal particle behind stuck to the clear coat. Even in a one week period the metal particles will start to rust leaving those little redish spots all over. I live about 6 blocks from a set of busy railroad tracks and if the wife leaves the car out of the garage even one night by the end of the week when its time for the weekly wash they are there. This is only one source that I know about but, these particles are everywhere just in heavier concentration in certain areas of your city or town.





Dave
 
If the car was near someone drilling or grinding metal it could be the metal dust has created this......



I have seen this before....someone drills a hole for some gadget and does not clean up immediately and then little rust specks show up.....it is from the very small metal dust left over that did not get cleaned up.



Ask her if she had something added to the car or was in in a shop for repairs etc etc...or metal construction near where she parks....



HTH:nixweiss
 
Guess My Name said:
If the car was near someone drilling or grinding metal it could be the metal dust has created this......



I have seen this before....someone drills a hole for some gadget and does not clean up immediately and then little rust specks show up.....it is from the very small metal dust left over that did not get cleaned up.



Ask her if she had something added to the car or was in in a shop for repairs etc etc...or metal construction near where she parks....



HTH:nixweiss
Click to expand...



you know Guess I think you hit gold... when I went to pic up the car, her husband had been working on his car. He may have been cutting/drilling and who knows what else he had been doing:rolleyes: he is doing major work too so this is a good idea. THX again :)
 
My stock-painted rear bumper had that. Clayed and got rid of it. Rear bumper was repainted. Haven't seen anything like that yet. A lot of Honda's I see have that happen only to rear and front bumpers.
 
Redcar GUY said:
thanks for the ideas everyone, I dont think that it is tar because my Stoners tar stuff didnt budge it at all....
Click to expand...
I forgot to mention that tar remover didn't budge the spots I worked on either. Sounds like it may be the same thing. I suppose "tar" is the wrong word then, but they seemed like something similar (if more brownish) to me.
 
RedCar Guy,



I experienced the EXACT same markings on my 2002 Subaru Legacy GT a month ago. I believed the spots to come from road salt/chemicals put down. My wife was driving back in December,and put us right behind a road truck one day, with no way to get around it. So needless to say the car was dusted with road chemicals/salt quite a bit. (ARGGGGHHHH!!!!)



It was too cold to wash for a week, but I took it to the do it yourself spray off. After five more days, it was warm enough for a hand wash. After the hand wash, noticed spots similar to yours. The areas were not rough, but were smooth, and the same color. I washed, and gently spot used PPCL to remove, and did a quick touch up of KSG in those areas.



This was not my preferred method of attack, but the Scooby is a daily driver right now, and I could not take it out of commission for several days to clay, polish, and relayer sealant.





I just wanted to get the crappy spots off the car, and protect the paint from the elements again.



So it might be road salt/chemicals???! or effects from these chemicals???!!
 
I had the same type of spots all over my '02 Formula when it was brand new. Z18 did the trick but it wasn't easy...

I always figured it was just rail dust... tons of it.



-Gabriel
 
Maybe it's the paint they use to paint those yellow lines on the road.



Don't they put little slivers of metal in there to make it reflect?



Could the slivers have oxidized and turned brown or rust colored?
 
I've seen it many times. On my car (before I used to baby it) yes, I was wax nieve then.



My car is silver and the other car I saw it on was white.



It clearly looks like oxidation (rust). The issue is what is oxidizing. But then you think, where does the iron come from?

So yes it is a mystery.



I can tell you that I had next to no success with clay. I don't really prefer clay for this problem because it seems that I'm rubbing clay in a same place over and over again (which I don't like to do).



I ended up using PPCL and 3M finished restorer and elbow grease, both "chemical" methods of removing this. ABC would be a great way, most likely (hard to get).



I also think that all of us don't have this problem because our cars are completely clean and that doesn't give any contaminents enough time for that stuff to form.
 
I had that on the I30 the day I bought it (pre-owned). I immediately used clay and it came off with some effort.



As an insurance auto appraiser over a 3 year period, I saw this quite often. It's rail dust or a form of it (some ferrous matter). I lived near a RR track in Jax, FL and I would have to clay every 3-6 months it was so bad.



On the I30, it was just on the deck (trunk) lid and rear bumper. Typically due to driving through a "rail dust" cloud and then the particles dropping on the horizontal surfaces (in my case) as the airstream went over the vehicle and circulated above the deck lid and bumper.



At least that's my theory for my situation. It did look just like your photos.
 
stuart hicks said:
Maybe it's the paint they use to paint those yellow lines on the road. Don't they put little slivers of metal in there to make it reflect?
Click to expand...



Actually the use glass particles I think with some additives or maybe the just get some guy to break a bunch of mirrors until small pieces.....and he wonders why he has bad luck............:D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top