What to do about these rust spots?

MattZ28

MattZ28

New member
This is on the rear bumper of my friend's 1997 Pontiac TransAm. It has a custom blue pearl paint job, and it also did it on his factory white paint job as well. He lives about a mile from railroad tracks, and he lives near the beach so it's usually windy there. I have 1Z Paint Polish, do you guys think it will be harsh enough? He took these pics just after claying, and the clay didn't remove them.
 

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if you can get your hands on it, an abc type wash is perfect that kind of thing, especially if clay doesn't get it out.
 
He also tried S100 paint cleaner on it but that didn't work. Here are some more pics.
 

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On a side note, I convinced him to try S100 instead of using Zaino, and his car looks a lot better now ;)
 
Sorry, zoned out when I read your post, but I haven't had any trouble removing rust specks with Clay Magic or the Autopia block. When he used the S100 cleanser did that remove the rust?
 
From what've been reading here about Valugard ABC wash and Finish Kare's equivalent, I've become convinced that the only thing to truly remove and prevent rust spots from returning is to use these 3 step washes in conjunction with clay--usually I think during the second step wash.
 
TriPinTaZ- The ABC stuff is available HERE . I've used it and it worked well for me. For the FinishKare, run a search on that name (with that spelling). There was a thread with a link to the right page on their site.



Yeah, you clay during the acidic step. But if the rust has become too established, it might not all come off/out. That's why it's such a good idea to use this stuff when the vehicle is new...
 
Well, from what I read, it's not safe to clay or use the 3-step wash that often, so what would help prevent the spots besides a car cover?



*EDIT* He said they started appearing about 2 months ago. He applied 3 layers of Zaino Z5 about 8 days after the car got re-painted. Neither of us have had luck with Zaino lasting longer than a month or two here in south Florida, so I'm thinking maybe the Zaino wore off, and that's when they started appearing? He said it stopped beading around the same time the spots started appearing, so this would be my guess.



Before trying the 3 step wash, I'll try my PC with some 1Z PP and see how it turns out. I'll put on some EX-P and S100 too, and tell him to just apply S100 monthly.



I'll keep you guys updated!
 
MattZ28- There shouldn't be a problem claying frequently as long as you do it gently. I've been spot-claying my vehicles at almost every wash for years, no problems. But aggressive claying (to remove rust spots) might be a different story. Still, letting the rust go wouldn't be good either!



Using the 3-step stuff all the time would *NOT* be a good idea, but the point is that the acidic step is supposed to burn out all the rust- it shouldn't come back. And this is why this method is preferable to claying. Clay doesn't always remove *all* of the ferrous contaminants so the rust keeps coming back.



I dunno about polishing the spots away...much as I love the 1Z PP, that's not how I'd approach this. I'd at least clay them until they appear to be gone (I know you tried, but still, I'd try it again).



Hard to say if something was in the paint before the Zaino or if the Zaino wore away and something got in there then :nixweiss Either way, I'd think the problem is the same, unless there are ferrous contaminants *under* the repaint, in which case your friend has real trouble in store.



As far as preventing them (new ones), just claying while such contamination is just in the LSP (you clay stuff out of the LSP, so gently that you don't *remove* the LSP), before it affects the paint itself, and keeping the LSP refreshed works for me. My silver vehicles really show those rust spots too, and this method is the best I've come up with.
 
Alright, I have 2 Autopia clay bars that I haven't used yet, so we'll give them a try. The Zaino ones never worked that great for me anyways.
 
which clay bar are you trying, ive noticed that you may be able to remove them if you use the red ClayMagic but it is pretty aggressive. or you could go over it with a rotory and some compound/ or paint leveler that may help
 
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