Paint Decontamination for rail dust?

[sxShep]

My 09 Mazdaspeed was a Florida car prior to me buying it last April... Around August I started noticing some brown specs in the clear coat, and now they've blown up after this winter (first time it's seen snow and salt, I imagine). In doing research, I've been told it's "rail dust", and essentially bits of metal rusting on my clear coat.

Being OCD about my car's paint, I want to get rid of it... before you suggest "just clay bar it", I've already done that three times in the year I've owned it (followed by sealant and wax each time), and it does nothing.

I'm looking for somewhere that sells a good supply of car care stuff, more than you're average AutoZone... and if you've had this issue, does a paint decontamination kit work for neutralizing the rust particles?

Thanks

[9cobra4]

Wet sand and buff it.

[sxShep]

Not sure that it's that bad, just need to stop the small rust particles... The rest of the car finish is perfect, if it can be done with a decontamination/clay/buff/sealant/wax, then I'd much rather not be taking sandpaper to it

[sxShep]

I'm sure there's an easier way, I'm still doing research but trying to find some sprays/kits for taking care of it before something more serious


EDIT
Just found a product called Iron X, may give that a go before getting a 3-step kit

[9cobra4]

Can you post a picture? Wet sanding and buffing is not a difficult job, if it's not super noticeable, you can just skim over it with some 1000/1200 grit wet paper and just use the polishing pad instead of the cutting pad process.

[87poopra]

Get ahold of Jordan at Flawless Reflections. He has a chemical that needs to be used to get rid of the brown specs.

[Carbon01GT]

^This
The guy knows his stuff.

I don't think I would use sandpaper or buff on a clear coat that has something embedded in it

[Biturbowagon]

FYI.....


The Mazda corrosion warranty protects against any rust-through, or perforation, on the vehicle body. It will cover the cost of repairs to rust-through that are caused by manufacturer defect or workmanship. The Mazda corrosion warranty begins the day the vehicle is delivered to it's firs owner (in-service date) or the first date of use.

What is Covered Under the Mazda Corrosion Warranty?

Under the Mazda corrosion warranty, any perforation from rust is covered. If the rust through is caused by normal use of the vehicle and/or a manufacturer defect or workmanship, then Mazda will cover the cost of repairs.

The Mazda Corrosion warranty covers what is listed above. For items that are not covered please refer to the "What is Not Covered" section of the warranty booklet.

How Long is the Mazda Corrosion Warranty?

The Mazda corrosion warranty applies for 5 years regardless of mileage. This warranty is also transferable with little or no work needed on the part of the previous Mazda owners. Also, the Mazda corrosion warranty has no limits on the number of owners the vehicle can have in order for the warranty to be valid.

[Carbon01GT]

Rail dust does not fall under the corrosion/perforation warranty.

[Biturbowagon]

true. i just saw rust and didnt think about it. lol

[Carbon01GT]

Originally Posted by Biturbowagon

true. i didnt think about it. lol

True.

[9cobra4]

^This<br>
The guy knows his stuff.<br>
<br>
I don't think I would use sandpaper or buff on a clear coat that has something embedded in it

Why not? If it's in the clear, and not the paint. It will come out, with plenty of clear left, that's why I said skim. Now if it's in the base coat, it'd be a bigger problem.

[Carbon01GT]

Would you wax your car if its dirty? Same concept.

If not, then I wouldn't recommend buffing it with rail dust in the clear. Might as well add some sand to your polishing compound/wax.

First you would want to clay bar it first. Otherwise the buffing pad will pick up the rail dust and continuously rub it across the clear coat as you buff, scratching it.

[badcoupe]

Gm has a lot of tsb's on rail dust issues from where their vehicles are transported via rail ill look one up on the global connect and see what they recommend

[dsmawd350]

That's why he said wetsand it first...you know to sand the rail dust out, then buff back to a shine

[Carbon01GT]

Ahhhhhh....I missed the "wet paper" part

Carry on...


I would suggest the clay bar route for the majority of people, who aren't comfortable or don't have the equipment to wet sand and buff.

[dsmawd350]

Originally Posted by sxShep

before you suggest "just clay bar it", I've already done that three times in the year I've owned it (followed by sealant and wax each time), and it does nothing.

This..

[Carbon01GT]

You know, they make fine and coarse clays...

The rail dust likely isn't coming off because its under levels of wax, that have been previously applied...as the OP stated, he has waxed over top of the rail dust, since claying in the past didn't work.

Using some sort of wax and grease remover, prior to claying the car, would likely allow the clay to actually get to the rail dust and work.

I've done this on my white wrx, which had it bad. It's time consuming, as just running clay over the car isn't going to pull it right up. It takes some elbow grease.

Spelled out enough for you now?

[9cobra4]

Clay barring is more for contaminates on TOP of the clear coat. IE: those stupid marks leaves make when they sit for a while, tree sap, etc.

[push]

This will remove it.

http://www.valugard.net/index.php/va...zation-system/

I may still have some hanging around my parents house. Did it on all our new cars as a just in case. It's a bit pricey, but it lasts a while. Clay will not work, it will just take the top layer off, and leave some of the rail dust still embedded in the paint.

http://www.valugard.net/store/p-167-...on-system.aspx

Edit:

If you don't want to f with doing it yourself, Auto Int. has a detailing shop you can pay to do it. It is a little unnerving doing it because of how your paint looks after the A + B step, but it does work and cleans up nice. When I last went up there they were based out of Blue Ash, not too far from Point Blank Range.