Clay Bar is a lot of work ;) (RAIL DUST)

So due to the appearance of rail dust spots I decided to clay the car today and man is it a lot of work !!! My arm now feels like its gonna fall off . When I first saw these spots I was unaware of what they were and started to panic, but thanks to the wealth of knowledge on this site I was able to identify the contaminant and solve the problem without dealer chaos ! Results are impeccable and removed all rust stains with the mothers kit and meguiers synthetic polymer liquid wax ! It was a lot of work but worth it and I would recommend claying any car from new (wish I did). I saw a few others post with rail dust contamination and am wondering how they made out ?

I'm glad you got your spots cleaned
But if you are having so much effort on claying, you must not be using enough lubricant...claying should be a very smooth process across the clearcoat...it should not be dragging.

I used plenty of lube ! 2 bottles !! It's still a lot of work claying and waxing a car , that's all I ment ! The spots took a bit of work not just a one pass deal !

The next time you wash your car, use the wash water as a lubricant for the clay bar. It really doesn't take alot of effort. I have done it dozens of times and the clay should slide easily over the paint. You should see a transfer of dirt from the paint to the clay bar. Just rinse and massage the clay bar into itself and come out with a clean surface.

That's a great idea !! As I was waxing I saw a few rust stains I missed .thanks

I use just a little bit of dish detergent and water in a spray bottle as lubricant when I clay bar our cars while detailing them.

For rail dust, you should have sprayed an iron decontaminator like Iron-X or Iron Cut first to make the job easier and save your paint from aggressive claying to reduce chance of marring. Quick spray will basically loosen the iron deposit from the paint which makes it simple to give it a quick clay pass to remove.

Love the clay bar... I used to clay bar my 2003 dodge ram 2500 quad cab every fall and spring then hand apply the McGuires three step cleaner, wax and polish. Talk about thinking your arm would fall off....

I had my car clay barred and detailed when I had the clear bra put on: it was two weeks old. There are a lot of impurities from shipping that are attached to a new car, and dealer prep is usually not that extensive. I hope it translates into longer paint life.

aznwhip said:

For rail dust, you should have sprayed an iron decontaminator like Iron-X or Iron Cut first to make the job easier and save your paint from aggressive claying to reduce chance of marring. Quick spray will basically loosen the iron deposit from the paint which makes it simple to give it a quick clay pass to remove.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice ! I knew not such a product existed ! I think with candy white this will be a annual project due to brake dust and plow slag as well ! I need to know all the tricks , as this is my first white car and it's way more work than reflex silver

x2 on the clay bar

its a lot of work. but in the 1st week of my new cars life I clay bared, and put on multiple coats of Zaino polish.

worth it for sure.

This spring she will get clayed, and polished again. and then be good for the summer.

you'll get the hang of it, it seems like alot the first time u do it, but it gets easier every time u do it.
i do full detail every 6 mont: wash, clay bar, polish, sealant, wax , etc
and a quicker was job in between every full detail.
you might want to invest into 7424XP and full set of pads. makes job so much easier, fast, but most important effects are far superior then doing it by hand.

The last 2 times I have clayed, I used the 3 part system, its a liquid clay mix that you sort of "Wax" on then wipe off, then go back with the actual clay bar/polish. Seems to make the entire process much easier on your arms/back.

Just wash your car and instead of drying, go over it with a clay bar and a bottle of QD (I prefer Finish Kare 425) or spray wax (I prefer Duragloss Aquawax) for extra lubrication, then a final quick wash and dry. Usually do this half yearly in my detailing routine. Just be careful, once you start walking the detailing OCD path, it's hard to go back. I've spent thousands on detailing supplies and equipment... lol.

You must keep it lubed with a Quick detail and constantly keep fllipping the clay inside and out, or you'll scratch the paint if the dirt gets stuck in the clay.

I got the clay bar pad for my random orbital at Griot's. I can do a whole car in 15-20 minutes. It's the only way to go.

Resurrecting an old thread after searching for "rail+dust" and only getting this thread.

I have a silver JSW that was getting some 'rail dust' rust in the door sills. Rail dust is little iron particles, probably from other vehicles' brakes and such. And they get on your car, in your paint, and rust on the surface of the paint. I never had this problem with my 2000 Golf because it was dark green, so I never noticed it. But it's very noticeable on the rockers of my silver JSW.

So I tried some Iron-X that I learned about here on this forum. Wish I had done it sooner. Amazing stuff. Just wash the surface, spray a little on (wear gloves and goggles), and within a couple of minutes the rust particles turn purple and run off the car. Just wipe and rinse away.

These aren't my pictures, but a few google pictures....

http://www.amazon.com/Carpro-Iron-Remover-500-Ml/dp/B004UM6DLE

Another google picture for reference.

I had clay-barred this before, but never again. The Iron-X worked great.

I agree that claying is a bit of work but I love running my hand along the paint before, rough, and then after, so smooth!

I agree that claying is good, for debris, little bits of tar, etc....

I'm just commenting that I've done rail dust removal with clay, and it was a slow process. And really it was using the clay as an abrasive. This Iron-X is da bom. Spray on, watch the rust dissolve, and wipe/rinse off. Smells bad, though.