How to use Iron X

kantonburg said:
I've seen this mentioned a few times. This may be a dumb question, but how do you keep it away from wheel weights? If you spray it on a wheel it'll undoubtedly find it's way to the weight.
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Don't stress about it while using the product. Afterwards a small squirt of APC onto the wheel weight will remove the green effect (you may not even need to agitate), rinse and you are done....

Never had an issue with a 'permanent' staining of the wheel weights using this method using both Carpro Iron-X and Autofinesse Iron out (which I also prefer over Iron-x by the way).

I have also never had any issues on black trim with either product.

The key points are:

Safety first (appropriate PPE) - but this should be the case with all detailing products (and anything in life actually)
Do not let it dry, especially in the sun
Rinse, rinse and rinse some more.... then rinse again to be sure:xyxthumbs:
 
lawrenceSA said:
Don't stress about it while using the product. Afterwards a small squirt of APC onto the wheel weight will remove the green effect (you may not even need to agitate), rinse and you are done....

Never had an issue with a 'permanent' staining of the wheel weights using this method using both Carpro Iron-X and Autofinesse Iron out (which I also prefer over Iron-x by the way).

I have also never had any issues on black trim with either product.

The key points are:

Safety first (appropriate PPE) - but this should be the case with all detailing products (and anything in life actually)
Do not let it dry, especially in the sun
Rinse, rinse and rinse some more.... then rinse again to be sure:xyxthumbs:
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Cool. Thanks a lot.
 
Does anyone have any tips how to keep Iron-X off of the caliper/rotor?

And what is a good APC to use on the wheel weights afterwards?

Thanks.
 
Dman81 said:
Does anyone have any tips how to keep Iron-X off of the caliper/rotor?
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I've only done an iron decontamination on my wheels once. I kept the chemicals off the brakes by removing the wheels. I had to do that anyway to thoroughly clean, clay, polish, and seal the wheels. Now I just wash my wheels with soap and water.
 
Does anyone have any tips or tricks to keep Iron-X off of the brake components without having to remove the wheels?

I was thinking about using aluminum foil and reaching through the wheel to wrap around the components.
 
Iron x comes in a gell also. I use this on the wheels and for spot applications. Never had any issues with spreading with bare finger (other than stinks after). What is essential is to rinse ,rinse,rinse. I rinse with water and use a Master Blaster to make sure the water gets into all the seams. Just my experience.
 
I was a Power Plant engineer, you won't find any other filed that does more water chemistry, or engineers who log more hours in water chemistry classes.

Where does the iron come from, that Iron X removes? It comes from the hose, or other water source, that gets on your ride. A common test for "Fe" (symbol for Iron) in water, was run min. 3 times per day. Water being the universal solvent, picks up water, in it's travels, then you spray it onto your ride.

Softwater removes Ca & Mg (Calcium & Magnesium) & replaces these ++ions with Na sodium. If you treat your softwater, using a RO inline filter, the need for Iron X is, probably not needed. Comes down to cost

softener (initial expense) then salt + RO filters

VS

Iron X cost + labor

Don't know what's cheaper, but the Iron on your ride comes from the water, you spray on it.
 
Ricorocks said:
Don't know what's cheaper, but the Iron on your ride comes from the water, you spray on it.
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This may be true; however, the most severe iron contamination problems seem to originate from rail dust while a vehicle is transported from the factory to dealer by rail or if it is parked near a railway for any appreciable amount of time.

We recently did a brand new Challenger that felt like sandpaper after the journey by rail from Canada to the states. The entire car had thousands of little dots of rail dust that had sintered into the clear coat. In this situation we used Iron-X to dissolve the iron particles from the paint prior to a clay bar treatment. This way we could chemically remove the majority of contaminates from the paint and allowed us to use a mild clay bar, with less chance of marring, to remove the rest of the contaminates from the surface. Contrast this to a dealership who, if they even bothered to remove the rail dust, would have jumped straight to an aggressive clay bar, potentially causing severe marring and swirl marks in the process.
 
Hello Nicholas,

Regarding
This may be true
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Here's one of many many articles that will help in your understanding.

Iron in Drinking Water

How would you explain iron contamination from auto's arriving in ports, & not transported by rail? Example, my Audi arrived at the port of Houston, then was transported, via tractor trailer to the dealership.

Are there "health hazard" reports of too much "Iron", intake by railroad engineers? I believe your suggesting this is an airborne contamination.

Also after removal of Iron (let's say contaminated via rail), the auto later on, becomes re-contaminated with Iron, where does this Iron come from?

I agree fully with the rail contamination method as being one source of iron contamination, the other source being water. Sounds like you were very wise in handling the rail dust problem with the new Challenger.
 
Be advised...IRON-X is NOT to be used on raw metal...IE, un-coated wheel weights and brake rotors
 
Thanks Monguse

Good reminder, for us old guys with CRS disease
 
Couple questions. Just bought a new white car which currently has less than 1000 miles. Looking to do a decontamination with Iron X (Lemon Scent) on my upcoming first wash.

I'm sure the dealership applied some sort of wax to shine it up before I picked it up. Is it necessary to remove the wax? I bought Chemical Guy's Mr. Pink wash soap because it says its safe for wax/sealant and won't take it off. I don't want to buy another soap just so I can strip whatever wax off. Can I use dish soap for my first wash?

Can I spray Iron X on plastics such as tail and head lights? How about glass. My GTI has painted calipers. Is it safe to spray there?
 
Mantilgh said:
From this tread I believe it will remove most waxes and some sealants.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/product-reviews/42651-review-carpro-iron-x.html

It should be safe for the plastics, glass, and possibly safe on calipers.
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Thank you. I ended up washing, drying, applying iron-x and washing again.

I applied to everything except wheels and brakes. Everything is fine. There was a okay amount of contamination especially in the rear hatch area and rear quarter panels.

I guess see less reaction is better than more.

I used half a bottle, and might do it again to mid summer to get what I missed!
 
When I heard about Iron-x and what it does bought me back to my Chem classes and the magic of reactions. I even went as far to recreate something like "Iron-x" later on without the caustic smell. I think the smell was added to give the illusion that it's a powerful product???? I really don't know.
What you see happening on your car IS a reaction of sorts, but put it more properly it's more of an indicator in which a Rxn have to happen...obviously... Like litmus paper turing a particular color depending on the value of the pH (Power of hydrogen concentration, or H+).
Do note, proper measurement of the products and dilution ratio made the difference on how deeply purple the Rxn was with metals. This is why you can buy two Iron-x type products and the purple hue will be a little different.
Hold your horses people, I am not saying Iron-X is BS, I get it!, it gives a cool factor when it changes color to show its "working." And when the tested area is no longer bleeding purple the Rxn have reached its limit or also knowing as "Limited reactant / Reagent" this may bring back some memories for you science guys.
Over the coming spring break I should have re-access to the Chem lab I used the first time and I will either make a video or a still picture of the process.. Should be fun!!!
I will do a couple of test spots but as I live in Georgia and it is kind've cold here right now and I do not have a garage.
 
I was going to ask a question on IronX, this seems like a good place to ask it. Just to get started and protect my paint I wased and waxed my truck. I am in the process of getting some gear and before long I will start going over my truck. The question I have is, I know my paint it badly contaminated. I can even feel it under the wax. When I go to decontaminate it I want to first use IronX. I would imagine I need to remove the wax first before I use it, so my question is, what would be the best way to remove it? I think what I have now is Mequiars Ultimate Wax.
 
timsatx said:
I was going to ask a question on IronX, this seems like a good place to ask it. Just to get started and protect my paint I wased and waxed my truck. I am in the process of getting some gear and before long I will start going over my truck. The question I have is, I know my paint it badly contaminated. I can even feel it under the wax. When I go to decontaminate it I want to first use IronX. I would imagine I need to remove the wax first before I use it, so my question is, what would be the best way to remove it? I think what I have now is Mequiars Ultimate Wax.
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I'm not expert but you can use a strong car wash soap to strip the wax. You can use something that is stronger by nature or lower the dilution ratio of an existing soap.
 
Yes, iron x and trix are the same product, however trix will remove tar as well as iron deposits, two for one.
 
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