Rail Dust

J

Jman136

:
2021 Acura RDX
Hello!

I am going to be detailing my white cx-5 gt in the next week or no. I noticed some rail dust when I washed it last week. I have never had to remove this, and I am not sure what to use. What is the easiest method to use? Claybar? I also saw that there is a new synthetic clay mitt. Has anyone ever used anyone of these?

What grade clay/mitt would I want? I was looking at the Meguiars clay kit. I really don't want to scuff my paint and have to polish out the panel (don't have a DA.)

Any recommendations? What do you all use?
 
Jman136 said:
Hello!

I am going to be detailing my white cx-5 gt in the next week or no. I noticed some rail dust when I washed it last week.
Click to expand...

I can't help, but am wondering how you think it got like that? Might have come from the dealer?

Does it show in a photo and can you post one?
 
A clay bar is idiot proof if you keep the surface lubricated. I would do that as it is easy, quick enough, and should not require any poslishing. And if you did have to polish, it is done by hand or with a buffer, not a DA.
 
Rail dust is the metal shavings that get airborne when vehicles are transported by railroad cars.

When a train is traveling down the metal tracks, the metal wheels contact the metal rails and create a small metal shaving that gets airborne.

Think of brakes on a vehicle. Brake dust is similar to rail dust.
 
I thought most CX5's travel by freight and not by rail. I guess it depends where you are. On the west coast it arrives at the LA port via barge and then hits the dealerships with a semi car transport. It NEVER sees a rail yard.
 
Rail dust is contaminants in paint from railway. Iron particles. Your paint will feel rough even after washing. It happens over time from the air -other contaminants.

Clay bar is a piece of clay you flatten into a disk and wipe on wet surface. It pulls this stuff oit of pain and makes it smooth again. Comes in a kit with a liquid lubricant.
 
alphadog00 said:
A clay bar is idiot proof if you keep the surface lubricated. I would do that as it is easy, quick enough, and should not require any poslishing. And if you did have to polish, it is done by hand or with a buffer, not a DA.
Click to expand...

Always follow claying with a wax or sealant. Clay will removing existing wax and may leave tiny holes where contaminants have been removed. They must be sealed in order to protect the paint from corrosion. So, claying does remove wax and should therefore be re-waxed afterwards.
 
Thanks. "Rail dust" is exactly what it says then. That's a new term to me.

Up here we are concerned with the sand and salt that's used on the roads. Combined with some wet it's an awful mess that gets thrown up all winter long as we drive.
 
isketerol said:
Thanks. "Rail dust" is exactly what it says then. That's a new term to me.

Up here we are concerned with the sand and salt that's used on the roads. Combined with some wet it's an awful mess that gets thrown up all winter long as we drive.
Click to expand...

Think of the rail dust term more generically. There are contaminants in the air that will settle onto your car and embed in the paint. It is what makes your sirface feel rough after a wash and may or may not be related to railroads.

clay-graphic-wash.jpg
 
alphadog00 said:
Think of the rail dust term more generically. There are contaminants in the air that will settle onto your car and embed in the paint. It is what makes your sirface feel rough after a wash and may or may not be related to railroads.

clay-graphic-wash.jpg
Click to expand...

Great picture. Thanks!

I feel I should use the term "rail dust" in conversation now. :)

IskiE
 
Before you go about with claying the car I highly recommend you use a product like CarPro Iron-X. It is specificially designed to deal with rail dust and bonded iron contaminates in the paint. Wet the car down, spray Iron-X on the surfaces, specifically the horizontal surfaces like the roof and hood and watch as the Iron-X dissolves all the little iron bits turning purple in the process! It's very safe to use and easy to do as well. Once you've waited several minutes rinse the car off and proceed with a standard 2 bucket wash. Using either the suds from your wash or a dedicated clay lube, then clay the car to pick up anything that isn't iron bonded to your paint. Doing it this way reduces the chances of marring the paint form dirty clay. It's important to need the clay quite often so you are putting cleaner clay on the car for each panel.

As for which clay to use, the meguairs kit is pretty darn good and all that you really need. I have one of those clay towels that I use, they are nice cause they last a long time and just need to be rinsed off when done. I do several cars per year as I detail on the side. If I wasn't so into detailing and just doing my own car I would just use traditional clay as it works just as well and is cheaper for one or two cars.
 
Ride92 said:
Before you go about with claying the car I highly recommend you use a product like CarPro Iron-X. It is specificially designed to deal with rail dust and bonded iron contaminates in the paint. Wet the car down, spray Iron-X on the surfaces, specifically the horizontal surfaces like the roof and hood and watch as the Iron-X dissolves all the little iron bits turning purple in the process! It's very safe to use and easy to do as well. Once you've waited several minutes rinse the car off and proceed with a standard 2 bucket wash. Using either the suds from your wash or a dedicated clay lube, then clay the car to pick up anything that isn't iron bonded to your paint. Doing it this way reduces the chances of marring the paint form dirty clay. It's important to need the clay quite often so you are putting cleaner clay on the car for each panel.

As for which clay to use, the meguairs kit is pretty darn good and all that you really need. I have one of those clay towels that I use, they are nice cause they last a long time and just need to be rinsed off when done. I do several cars per year as I detail on the side. If I wasn't so into detailing and just doing my own car I would just use traditional clay as it works just as well and is cheaper for one or two cars.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I wish I had done this. Clayed my car for the first time in 4 years of owning it, and pretty sure I caused a lot of scratches that granted you can only see real close, but scratches nonetheless, probably from what you described.

This will be what I do in the future.
 
I understand rail dust to be the wear debris from cast iron brake blocks which are very common on the railway. Interestingly, there was a biological study of fish in the San Fransisco bay area that caused some concern due to the presence of heavy metals like lead and antinomy. Further investigation found it was coming from the wear debris from car disc brake pads because it gets distributed on the road and the washed into watercourses. It led to the banning of certain heavy metals in pad materials. Of note is that a brake pad is made from about 60% steel fibre and that ends up on the roads too. Some years ago, a friction manufacturer near me had problems containing the dust from the grinding machines that dimensioned the pads and all the cars in the area suffered with tiny specs of rust. All Im getting to is that your car is a carrier and distributor of everything you need to cause these specs or rail dust and you dont need to be near a railway.

It can be extremely difficult to remove. Clay might help but it can embed itself into paint.
 
Anchorman said:
I understand rail dust to be the wear debris from cast iron brake blocks which are very common on the railway. Interestingly, there was a biological study of fish in the San Fransisco bay area that caused some concern due to the presence of heavy metals like lead and antinomy. Further investigation found it was coming from the wear debris from car disc brake pads because it gets distributed on the road and the washed into watercourses. It led to the banning of certain heavy metals in pad materials. Of note is that a brake pad is made from about 60% steel fibre and that ends up on the roads too. Some years ago, a friction manufacturer near me had problems containing the dust from the grinding machines that dimensioned the pads and all the cars in the area suffered with tiny specs of rust. All I’m getting to is that your car is a carrier and distributor of everything you need to cause these specs or “rail dust” and you don’t need to be near a railway.

It can be extremely difficult to remove. Clay might help but it can embed itself into paint.
Click to expand...

That's the whole point of Claybar and iron-X like products, to remove the embedded containments form the paint.
 
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