Is Iron Fallout a Regional Issue?

[kesmit]

I got started in car detailing about a year ago. I've done lots of basic detailing maintenance, but only a couple of full details from decontamination to polishing. I've used Iron-X on two vehicles so far. One vehicle was a 1999 Chevy truck that has been parked outside for a few years, and a 2011 BMW Z4 which is garage kept. Both are in the Oklahoma area. When using Iron-X on both of them, neither of them 'bled' at all. Apparently there just isn't any fallout on them. Even when I do the wheels, there is basically nothing there (except for the bleeding from the rotors). I hear about dramatic results in so many threads, I'm just wondering if iron fallout is just more common in other regions of the US?

 

[Setec Astronomy]

I've wondered that also, how long did you let it dwell? I originally was never able to get any color change on wheels (except ones that were all rusty from a rotor problem), and always wrote that off to ceramic brake pads. But I've found that if you let it sit long enough you start to see some small purple dots. For disclosure that's not using Iron X but the color changing wheel cleaners like Sonax FE or Griot's HD. I can't really speak to the paint issue as I don't usually do the iron-eating decon on paint, I still have the old FK decon system to use up (which eats iron in its own way), but my perception is it's more brake dust thrown up by other cars rather than falling out of the sky...presuming you don't live or work next to a foundry.

 

[kesmit]

I've wondered that also, how long did you let it dwell? I originally was never able to get any color change on wheels (except ones that were all rusty from a rotor problem), and always wrote that off to ceramic brake pads. But I've found that if you let it sit long enough you start to see some small purple dots.

I'd say it was on roughly 5 minutes. I did get some bleeding on the truck, but that was only on scratches that were deep enough to go to bare metal. I do get some bleeding on wheels (using Sonax or Pinnacle wheel cleaner), but it's not a lot.

 

[FUNX650]

•Fallout contaminates, of which iron
is only one type, are often carried
by wind currents to points all over
the World...until they "fall out" of
suspension, and land on surfaces.
-With that in mind: What goes up,
usually does come down.


•The reddish "bleeding" color is an
effect of a chemical reaction taking
place...not always an indicator of
how well the product works, IMO.



Bob

 

[galaxy]

Iron deposits don't have to be fallout either. I experience it (and fairly bad case of it too) on my truck in the winter. Took me a long time and many conversations to finally figure out what it was, but in the winter, the road salt/spray they put down was reacting with brake dust from my brakes and specks were attaching themselves all down the side of the truck. By early spring, greenish/goldish dots were all down the side and were very visible to the naked eye. Iron-X takes them right off.

 

[Tempest45]

I have some BDX and it is the same for me. I've tried it on 2 different cars + the wheels and didn't get a thing.

The product DOES work because I used it on a rusty part and the BDX removed it.

 

[Octopiston]

It works on my wheels, but I've only barely had it color change on the cars I've done in the dfw area.

What I get a kick from is the term "rail dust." We live 2 blocks from a highly used rail road and my wife works in Fort Worth which is a huge rail center. Neither car has shown much of it.

 

[oldmodman]

I have only seen HORRIBLE iron contamination on cars that were transported across the country uncovered on trains. The rail dust was overwhelming in the old days. I once spent almost a full day with the red aggressive clay bar removing all the rail dust on a new yellow Ford. Since then iron-X was invented and now I get a better result in twenty minutes. And once it has been chemically removed it does not come back. You may still get some fallout contamination from the environment but it will never be as heavy as what a train puts into a car's paint.
And as to it being worse in some areas. YES! Here in Los Angeles almost all American made cars are shipped on open rail cars uncovered. While most imports are covered when shipped from Long Beach to the MidWest and points east.

 

[GSKR]

I find working on cars in New England area tend to be worse than south Florida as far as tar and iron.