"Rust" spots on white car

I thought I posted this already, but I couldnt find it.



This is from another forum, and people are telling the guy to bring it back to the dealership for an "acid" bath and to "scrub " it off.



I have never heared of such siggestions.



I have dealt with the same spots on a white passat and they came out with the claybar, no problem.



Here is the original post with pics.



I just was able to hand wash my GTI (weather finally nice enough) in preparation for waxing. Upon inspecting every inch of the vehicle, I have found these rust colored spots all over the area that were not plastic covered during shipping. I cannot get these spots off with any means that I have at my disposal.

My dilemma is that I have an appointment to get the windows tinted on Monday. I do not know whether to cancel the appointment to wait to see what the dealer / VW will do about the spots, or to go ahead. My worst fear is getting the windows tinted, then having to trade for a new vehicle.



Here are the images, BE WARNED, They are 1600x1200 macro shots, and are not 56k friendly. I believe they are barely broadband friendly.





http://www.neutralized.net/spots/IMG_1955.JPG Driver side door

http://www.neutralized.net/spots/IMG_1950.JPG

http://www.neutralized.net/spots/IMG_1951.JPG

http://www.neutralized.net/spots/IMG_1952.JPG

http://www.neutralized.net/spots/IMG_1953.JPG

http://www.neutralized.net/spots/IMG_1954.JPG





note: this is just a sampling of the spots, they are all over any spot not covered by plastic during shipping.






Any input is appreciated and I will forward it to the original poster.
 
I would use a clay. I like to keep my cars as far away from my dealer as possible when it comes to paint work.
 
Clay just shaves down the particle, often leaving a tiny bit still embedded in the paint. This will cause the rust come back. At first it is almost unnoticeable, but when the rust starts to bloom, then you will see those ugly brown spots.



It is a case for a paint decontamination system (Finish Kare or AutoInt). True, an acidic bath which dissolves the metal particles. Then you have to seal the paint well, and everything is gonna be OK.
 
I have found that the clay pulls the particles out. I had a bunch on my new Impreza over a year ago I clayed it and they have not come back even through are salt covered roads.
 
Clay may lift out particles, but keep in mind that it is basically a mild abrasive, therefore it will rather shave the tops of the particles off. The remaining particles will rust.
 
It just looks like common rail dust to me. I think the "acid bath" would be overkill. Even if you do the acid bath new spots will return eventually. I would just clay the area and seal it with a quality sealant. That should fix the problem for a couple of months at least. This is a common problem with white cars from what I've seen.



Just my $.02
 
I've dealt with this for many years. I first used paint cleaners (1970s-1980s) then switched to clay when "detailing clay" first came out. Short answer: what Bence said :xyxthumbs



Sometimes the clay and/or a paint cleaner will do the job, permanently. But more often they keep coming back because the clay/cleaner doesn't get all the embedded ferrous contamination out of the paint. Once it starts corroding again you see the rust blooms reappear. I used to have to deal with them on a regular basis, year-in-year out, a constant hassle on our silver and white vehicles.



Since I started using the ABC decontamination system on our new vehicles, no more rust blooms. It's a dramatic difference that has absolutely sold me on the ABC. Now I'll occasionally get *new* rust blooms, but they clay off/out of my LSP and don't come back (I catch them right away and they're apparently not embedded in the paint, just the LSP). But no more of the recurring ones that used to *always* come back. IMO those come from ferrous contamination that gets into the paint before it's ever protected with healthy layers of LSP.



StoicDude- The acid dissolves the metallic contamination. No more ferrous contamination = no more rust. I clay while the acid is dwelling. And it's a milder acid than most people might expect. I've had to do the process twice on a couple of vehicles. But I'd rather have it be a bit too mild than too strong ;)
 
^^^I agree. Accumulator directed me to the ABC system and its a huge time saver. If I see rust spots, out comes the ABC and with a normal amount of claying after the B part, the rust spots come out quickly and easily. Leaves you with a perfectly clean surface to polish...
 
I have rust spots on mine that I clay barrred and can no longer see but don't really want to worry about them coming back. Which FK1 kit do I need? DK1B, DK1, DK2??
 
If you have wash mitts (new or clean!), and accessories, then the DK-1B (as Basic) kit is enough. Just buy a bottle of 2180. FK has its own forum (small and a bit slow), and the decon has been discussed there a couple of times. You can find more answers there too.
 
I experienced rail dust rusting on my white Alfa when I originally bought it. I clayed it and rust blooming has never returned in two years - even when I've neglected it without any LSP protection :faint: (I know...you don't have to say it. :o )



However, I can see the merit of using a decontamination procedure. :up
 
All depends on how deep the particle is embedded. While it is still rather on the top of the surface, causing just a minimal damage to the clear, the clay will 'pull' or shave it away completely. But when it penetrates further, the clay cannot grab it any more. This is the classic decon case.
 
How long are you guys talking before the spots should/could come back?...



I clayed my wife's car for the first time about a year and a half ago and I haven't seen one spot come back...and thats with Chicago winters. 98 Grand Prix and it was BAD with the spots...one quick comparison shot.



DSCN1096.jpg




DSCN1100.jpg
 
If they've stayed gone for over a year you should be home free. When they're gonna come back it happens in a matter of months, sometimes even weeks.
 
wickedwrx02 said:
It just looks like common rail dust to me. I think the "acid bath" would be overkill. Even if you do the acid bath new spots will return eventually. I would just clay the area and seal it with a quality sealant. That should fix the problem for a couple of months at least. This is a common problem with white cars from what I've seen.



Just my $.02



The reason the problem is only "fixed" for a few months is exactly because

you didn't take the extra steps to really deal with the problem. If (as already

mentioned) the deposits are sitting at the very surface of the paint, then you

can pull them off with clay. And once done with that, you can apply sealant. If

you're lucky, you never have to worry about seeing the rustspots for a long time.

If the the spots are bleow the surface of the paint, then you need to step

up the game. No clay, regardless of how soft, pliable, or tacky, is going to be

able to pull up deposits sitting below the surface of the paint. Claying will remove

the deposits close to the surface, but once you put on your sealant, all you've done

is lock in the remaining deposits until the sealant wears off.... and then you'll have

to deal with the problem all over again.
 
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