Clay or FK1 Decontamination

[SuperBee364]

I took a trip to the local auto detailer (the one my dealer uses).

He said that the little spots of rust were definitely brake dust.

For $25.00 gave the sides and tailgate of the truck an acid wash...Spots all gone!

He said that they would definitely would keep coming back, and recommended that I gently use a little polishing glaze to remove the spots as they re-appear.

He also said that acid washing should be left to the detailing professionals.



Any suggestions on a polishing glaze to remove brake dust from clearcoat?



Thanks...

Tim, if you want it done right.... well, you know the rest.



Just buy the decon products that Accumulator suggests in this thread. Follow his post on how to use these products, and do a good decon job on the vehicle. After you're done with the decon, then do a good thorough clay job. Then either put on a good wax (any of the Collinites), or polish it, then wax it. You are far more apt to get a good, high quality job by doing it yourself. Of course, they're going to tell you to leave it to the pros; that's how they make their living.



The decon and the clay job should get rid of all your brake dust problems. The wax will help keep the stuff from adhering again.

 

[Accumulator]

..The decon and the clay job should get rid of all your brake dust problems. The wax will help keep the stuff from adhering again.

Sometimes the rust just keeps coming back no matter what you do- if the ferrous conatmination has been there long enough, and corroded *deeply* enough, it just doesn't stay gone. Let's hope that's not the case.



Yeah, between decon and clay and wax/sealant you should (usually) be OK. A good LSP, layered on there, will trap the subsequent ferrous contamination. Then you can clay it off without even claying away all the LSP if you catch it early enough. I *just* did this last time I washed the MPV...tiny rust specks were on it in a few spots and I clayed them off quite easily with Sonus green Ultra-fine clay. Didn't even get deeply into its many layers of KSG.



The trick is to *NOT* let the ferrous contamination get into the actual paint...keep enough LSP on there to prevent that, and clay the contamination off as soon as you see it starting to corrode.



FWIW, I haven't had to decon the MPV since the day I brought it home, and it gets used hard year-round (and its silver paint makes rust-blooms pretty obvious).



And yeah, I'd sure rather DIY the decon than trust the dealership guys to do it (not a real slam against dealership employees, hey, I was one myself at one time). But again, if you keep on top of the maintenance you shouldn't *need* another decon.

 

[TimL]

I live in an apartment, so my truck washing is all done at the local coin wash.

I purchased some Meguiar's mild detailing clay (C-2000) from the local Finishmaster paint shop, and I just ordered some Meguiar's Final Inspection (M34) and Collinite #476 from Autogeek.

My plan is to give the truck a good wash (using DP Auto Bath Shampoo), and then apply a good coat of Collinite #476.

Then if any brake dust spots appear, I'll use the Meguiar's clay and M34 to remove them.



One quick question, will I need to reapply Collinite to any area's which have been clayed?



Thanks for all the advice.

Tim

 

[Spilchy]

The third/"C"/ph-neutral step is the regular Valugard shampoo, which doesn't impress me much. Note that, being ph-neutral, it doesn't really neutralize/counteract the acid, it just washes off whatever might remain following the earlier rinse. It has a cool green color and its relative lack of lubricity probably doesn't matter as everything is very clean by this point anyhow. But I just use my regular shampoos instead (I now only order the "A" and "B" products).

Great write up as usual.



Are you using the Griot's shampoo in lieu of the Valuguard?



I'm taking delivery on Monday of a spankin' new, off the truck 2008 Honda Accord EX-L V6 coupe in Belize Blue Pearl and black leather :heelclick I spoke to the sales manager and STRESSED no prep. He laughed and agreed that I would do a better job than his "assembly line prep jobs" as he called it.



With that said, I will be using the FK system that I have. I'm curious as to your opinion on using Meguiar's #62 or Meguiar's #00 instead of their soap. I have both and want the lubricity while washing to prevent marring the new, soft Honda clear. They are labeled as PH neutral. Any thoughts?



Or since you don't need to literally wash the clean surface, rather, just remove traces of step #2; why not just foam gun a heavy solution of their step #3, let dwell and rinse?

 

[Accumulator]

.. will I need to reapply Collinite to any area's which have been clayed?

Depends how aggressively you clay. If you do it aggressively enough to get the rust-blooms off, I'd expect you'll have to rewax. If you keep a lot of Collinite on there, some subsequent (new) rust-blooms might just be in the outer layer of wax, and then maybe you can clay them away without taking off all the wax. But if in doubt, rewax.

Are you using the Griot's shampoo in lieu of the Valuguard?

Yeah, at least most of the time.

..I'm taking delivery on Monday of a spankin' new, off the truck 2008 Honda Accord EX-L V6 coupe in Belize Blue Pearl and black leather I spoke to the sales manager and STRESSED no prep..

Hey, congrats! Gee, haven't chatted with you for a while, didn't even know you'd ordered that.

.. I will be using the FK system that I have. I'm curious as to your opinion on using Meguiar's #62 or Meguiar's #00 instead of their soap. I have both and want the lubricity while washing to prevent marring the new, soft Honda clear. They are labeled as PH neutral. Any thoughts?

I'd use the Meg's shampoos for exactly the reasons and rationale you mentioned. Yeah, the lubricity/etc. shouldn't really matter...but IMO it still might. For similar reasons, I'd wash with a high-lubricity shampoo *first*, before using the "A", just for a little added insurance against inducing any marring in case there's some abrasive dirt on there. Waste of time? Well, yeah, maybe...but IMO better than wasting time *and clear* fixing things if you guess wrong and cause marring.

..Or since you don't need to literally wash the clean surface, rather, just remove traces of step #2; why not just foam gun a heavy solution of their step #3, let dwell and rinse?

I just feel better with some mechanical agitation in the mix :think: Yeah, that *oughta* work...but I sure wouldn't want to somehow miss a little of that "B". I actually wash very thoroughly (consider the context when *I* say that ) to make sure I get everthing back to utterly bare paint with no possibility of product residue left behind.