Aggressive Clay Bar Needed?

[KMdef9]

Here are some pics of my issue:





Pics don't show how bad it really is.


Backstory:
I purchased my used SRX, it has the tri-coat white, over the winter. When I finally got a chance, about 2 months ago, I was able to fully clean it (at least what "fully clean" is in my opinion is). The clean process, for the paint, was as follows:

1. GC Citrus Wash (foam gun, 2 bucket method @ high concentration per instructions for paint cleansing)
2. TRIX Tar and Iron remover (sprayed on, let sit, thoroughly rinsed)
3. CG medium grade clay bar (gray, took over 3 hours and almost 2/3 of a large bar to remove little particles)
4. Spot compounded/polished bad scratches, didn't do the whole vehicle because it's a DD and is difficult to see imperfections in white with my lack of a good light setup.
5. Sonax Polymer Net Shield
6. Meguiar's NXT Wax


The issue I'm having/debating:

1. These spots occurred again after less than 2 months. They occur namely on the rear of the vehicle or on the lower parts of the front doors, just past the wheels. This tells me it's either something I drive through or something coming off my vehicle (rotors). Am I correct in this? Any Suggestions for prevention?

2. I need a quicker, but safe, way to remove these. The medium grade clay from CG worked OK, but on tough spots like in the pics, it required alot of passes. I haven't used aggressive clay, is it guaranteed to mar the paint? Some of these areas I don't think I could a get my polisher into to use a clay disc for the poliosher. Can you "scrub" the TRIX? With what? Any recommendations?


Thanks guys!

 

[kevin_1981]

Weird stuff. That reminds me of my friends car when his car near an elevated train... he had shards of rusty metal all over his car.

 

[jamesboyy]

1) its either something you drove through or the metal savings from when you break, Iron-x would determine if its metal by turning purple and removeing it self

2) clay baring in general will mar your paintwork but having enough lubercaton will reduce or even, eliminate the marring

 

[Setec Astronomy]

Sure you can agitate the Trix. Use a microfiber towel that you're not going to use for anything else, I would use a cheap one from Target or Wal-Mart. Not the cheapest crappiest ones, but one up from that.

Oh, and I'm sure that's brake debris that's causing the problem. How black do your wheels get between washings, out of curiosity?

 

[KMdef9]

1) its either something you drove through or the metal savings from when you break, Iron-x would determine if its metal by turning purple and removeing it self

2) clay baring in general will mar your paintwork but having enough lubercaton will reduce or even, eliminate the marring

The whole backside was purple, lol. Can I leave it soak in longer than recommended?

Enough lubrication can elminate it for the agressive too? Since ONR and UWW, I have plenty!

Sure you can agitate the Trix. Use a microfiber towel that you're not going to use for anything else, I would use a cheap one from Target or Wal-Mart. Not the cheapest crappiest ones, but one up from that.

Oh, and I'm sure that's brake debris that's causing the problem. How black do your wheels get between washings, out of curiosity?

I have some decent MF I dedicate to that. Probably need to be somewhere between washing pressure and clay pressure when using the MF?

The wheels are about average brake dust/chunk accumulation. Nothing like my SRT/Brembo. You and I would notice it, but the average person wouldn't. They accumlate more water spots and dirt rather than brake dust. The dust cleans off really easy with an APC though. The clear must suck those brake particles in much easier than the chrome finish on the wheels. I haven't used a LSP on the wheels yet either.

 

[KMdef9]

Oh, and I'm sure that's brake debris that's causing the problem. How black do your wheels get between washings, out of curiosity?

It's been about 2 weeks since the last wash, I could go snap some pics if that would help.

Also, we do a 50/50 mix of highway driving, and we're not aggressive drivers, lol, in that car at least.

 

[jamesboyy]

KMdef9, I am sure you can let it soak for a bit longer just be sure that it dont dry and if you do see it drying reactivate it by spraying more though the iron x paste is something to consider too

 

[KMdef9]

Does the paste work better?

 

[jamesboyy]

The iron x paste is the same as the spray thought the paste sticks and dissolve instead of run and dissolve like the spray also you can apply the paste where its needed on a panel instead of the whole panel

 

[KMdef9]

Gotcha.


Another thought, is my sealant/LSP good enough for this? Or do these particles coming off the brakes so hot that they will burn through any LSP then into the clear? Seems like how these particles get bedded into the clear coat in the first place.

 

[wdmaccord]

I would try straight IronX instead of Trix. The paste will give you a longer dwell time, so that might benefit you since these spots seem a little pesky. You can also dilute the paste into spray liquid at 1:4 (another poster put this info out here and I tried it and it works just as good as regular IX).

 

[jamesboyy]

The particles that come off the brakes are atleast 100 plus degrees as a result it goes right through any lsp and embed itself into the clear and eventually into the paint

 

[swanicyouth]

My guess is it's coming off the wheels via the brakes. Try to do a little research and see if your car has semi-metallic brake pads on it. If the brake pads have been changed and you can not tell, try cleaning the wheels with an iron attacking wheel cleaner. If they really "light up" purple (assuming they are not neglected), that may be an indicator your brakes are throwing off a lot of metallic particles.

If you find that is the case, the solution is to change to ceramic pads on all axles. Not only will it solve your problem, but the wheels will stay cleaner longer.

But first, try to determine exactly what the stuff is on the paint. You can see if it's iron based by going at it with IronX/Trix and see if it changes color. If not, it's something else you are driving through.

 

[KMdef9]

I would try straight IronX instead of Trix. The paste will give you a longer dwell time, so that might benefit you since these spots seem a little pesky. You can also dilute the paste into spray liquid at 1:4 (another poster put this info out here and I tried it and it works just as good as regular IX).

That's a great idea! Thanks!

The particles that come off the brakes are atleast 100 plus degrees as a result it goes right through any lsp and embed itself into the clear and eventually into the paint

That's what I was thinking too. I didn't want to stop using Sonax PNS.

My guess is it's coming off the wheels via the brakes. Try to do a little research and see if your car has semi-metallic brake pads on it. If the brake pads have been changed and you can not tell, try cleaning the wheels with an iron attacking wheel cleaner. If they really "light up" purple (assuming they are not neglected), that may be an indicator your brakes are throwing off a lot of metallic particles.

If you find that is the case, the solution is to change to ceramic pads on all axles. Not only will it solve your problem, but the wheels will stay cleaner longer.

But first, try to determine exactly what the stuff is on the paint. You can see if it's iron based by going at it with IronX/Trix and see if it changes color. If not, it's something else you are driving through.

I just got some Sonax Full Effect the other day, I'll give it a shot and snap some pics. But they don't get neglected for more than a month.

Since the vehicle is used, bought it at 40k, the brakes could have been changed, so who knows what I got on there. But, of course, will be going ceramic once they need changing.


Here's pics of the first time I used TRIX, a few minutes after application:





Doesn't look like all the little particles are bleeding purple. But that was the first time I did it, so who knows what the previous owner put it through.