Inspect your paint closely for rail dust!!

Got my truck Thursday which was a really busy day for me. Squeezed time in to wash the truck so I could check for damage but didn't have time for much more.

Rained all day Friday and is still wet and overcast today.

Since my truck sat at the plant and rail yard for so long I wanted to clay bar the truck so I could make sure all of the contaminants got cleaned off.

So I came in to work 2 hours early this morning and rinsed, spray waxed and got ready to clay bar the truck. Once I started looking closer at the paint I discovered rail dust. Rail dust is fine particles of metal that stick to the paint surface. The metal rusts and creates a stain on the paint. The only effective way we've found for removing it is clay bar. Fortunately it takes it off and doesn't seem to leave any permanent effects if it's caught soon enough.

Id imagine the trucks that will be more prone to this will be the ones that sat at the rail yard or ramp for quite a while. Much easier to detect on lighter colors and it may be difficult to detect on darker colors. So look closely.

While the clay bar does work to remove the rail dust, you can make it a little easier to address by decontaminating the paint first with Wheel Cleaner, which will dissolve the metallic particles, then follow up with the clay bar to remove any other bonded contaminates.

Check out this video:

Thanks for the video. Just watched it. Looks like good product right there.

I've also found that some brake pads cause a similar condition on the paint of lighter colored cars. I'm assuming it's from the heavy metallic contact of some pads. Happened on my wife's Explorer

Hey , Thanks for the photos and Thanks AdamsPolishes for the quick tip on how to remove the rail dust! My dealer said that his paint guys are going to clean and detail my truck when it comes in. They do a great job on the cars and trucks! Hope they do a great job on mine! How long did it take to clay bar your truck?

Thanks for the heads up, ill have to order some CarPro Iron X Snow Soap.

Like others have said, use a decontamination cleaner like Iron X or Sonax Fallout. Iron X seems to work the best, but the smell is horrible. Re wash the car and use a Autoscrub mit or claybar to remove any further contaminants. Polish and coat with your favorite wax or sealant.

Took me about 1 1/2 hours for the entire truck including the roof.

For any of the trucks that have sat for any amount of time before shipping I would suggest a good clay bar cleaning.

I washed my truck Thursday when it came in and then rinsed and clean with quick detail this morning before clay barring. When I clay barred the quick wax I use while clay barring looked like dirty water. So the clay bar took a fair amount of contaminants off the paint.

Never mind, I just watched the video and he is using the older formulation.

AdamsPolishes said:

While the clay bar does work to remove the rail dust, you can make it a little easier to address by decontaminating the paint first with Wheel Cleaner, which will dissolve the metallic particles, then follow up with the clay bar to remove any other bonded contaminates.

Click to expand...

Maybe a silly question but does this work the same for the older formulation wheel cleaner vs the newer formulation. I have almost a gallon of the older stuff that I'd like to use up first.

What I typically do on new car prep is spray the car down with Car Pro's Iron X if it has any rust spots from rail dust or whatever the car may have encountered and then after letting Iron X dissolve the contaminants I spray the car with cool water. Do NOT let the stuff dry and for Christs sakes don't get it on any of the painted or natural trim and let it dry. The grille, bumpers and fender flares WILL have streaks in them and letting it dry on the paint is also bad. Finish the truck up by using a lot of clay lube and gently claying the truck and folding the clay to a fresh side constantly. Contaminants that stick in the clay will scratch your paint something horrible.


Disclaimer: My 14' Raptor had runs in the front bumper, grille and fender flares from some ******* using a cleaner that they either let dry or the cleaner was just too aggressive so you can actually see the drips and runs where the cleaner stopped and then dries. Not cool.

Wolfeman said:

Never mind, I just watched the video and he is using the older formulation.



Maybe a silly question but does this work the same for the older formulation wheel cleaner vs the newer formulation. I have almost a gallon of the older stuff that I'd like to use up first.

Click to expand...

Yes, the older version will work fine, and the video posted above actually uses the older version.

The new Wheel Cleaner is a little thicker formula, so it stays in the surface just a bit longer, and it really improved on the smell of the product. These various products that contain the active ingredient to dissolve the metallic particles can really stink bad. Compared to the various brands available, our Wheel Cleaner is one that really cuts out most of the offensive order.