Is Iron-X really necessary?

I don't use it or buy it,on a white car or light tan car where there is visual contamination I use a different product.any other car that's getting polished I just use clay.
 
TheAverageMan said:
On a practicality level, not necessary, but on a high end detailing competition, maybe. Reality of the matter, only you and other detailers can appreciate. Average joe likes a shiny car thats swirl free, but wont be able to see or feel a iron free car.
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I think maybe you got it backwards,the average joe doesn't know what a swirl is.all they care about is smooth slick paint,you can buff a car till 2016 and make it 90 percent flawless paint.If you use a carnauba with drag,they will say hey joe did you wax this.now if you top it with with a sealer and let's say for argument sake you didn't buff the car,as long as it's slick there happy and you can leave the swirls behind that's how the average joe is.
 
GSKR said:
I think maybe you got it backwards,the average joe doesn't know what a swirl is.all they care about is smooth slick paint,you can buff a car till 2016 and make it 90 percent flawless paint.If you use a carnauba with drag,they will say hey joe did you wax this.now if you top it with with a sealer and let's say for argument sake you didn't buff the car,as long as it's slick there happy and you can leave the swirls behind that's how the average joe is.
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Disagree. If I get a complaint, its about swirls. Especially this time of year when the sun is low and the shadows are long. Iron-X'ed today actually.
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Has/does anyone do an "IronX" treatment repeatedly until there was no more bleeding from the paint?

I have done 3 applications per one session with Dub wheel cleaner on my older wheels and have had it continue to bleed.

I have also used The Dub product on paint with no ill affect.
 
When using iron-x I hear you should rub it into the paint using something like a mf mitt. Wouldn't that scratch the paint as its loosened iron particles?
 
Mantilgh said:
Has/does anyone do an "IronX" treatment repeatedly until there was no more bleeding from the paint?

I have done 3 applications per one session with Dub wheel cleaner on my older wheels and have had it continue to bleed.

I have also used The Dub product on paint with no ill affect.
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Another very good question I would also like to have an answer to!
 
7PaintGuns said:
Disagree. If I get a complaint, its about swirls. Especially this time of year when the sun is low and the shadows are long. Iron-X'ed today actually.
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Yes you are correct,but that's because the gentlemen knows what to look for.the majority of people don't know what a swirl is.let me give a example you are a detailer and you attend car shows to market or earn business,you approach a black Camaro and say to Johnny the potential customer,this car needs a buffing or paint correction or a detail he will look at you like you have 4 heads and will say what the hell are you talking about I just waxed it.80 percent of cars there are all swirled out.and they have no clue what a swirl is,as long as it's waxed and smooth it's very acceptable to them.
 
GSKR said:
Yes you are correct,but that's because the gentlemen knows what to look for.the majority of people don't know what a swirl is.let me give a example you are a detailer and you attend car shows to market or earn business,you approach a black Camaro and say to Johnny the potential customer,this car needs a buffing or paint correction or a detail he will look at you like you have 4 heads and will say what the hell are you talking about I just waxed it.80 percent of cars there are all swirled out.and they have no clue what a swirl is,as long as it's waxed and smooth it's very acceptable to them.
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this might be the best post you've made on here so far, haha.

i agree. people will go through an intensive soup to nuts restoration...and their paint condition will be terrible. i see it ALL. THE. TIME. at shows...even higher level shows.
 
builthatch said:
this might be the best post you've made on here so far, haha.

i agree. people will go through an intensive soup to nuts restoration...and their paint condition will be terrible. i see it ALL. THE. TIME. at shows...even higher level shows.
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I wish they made special glasses that would hide swirl marks so I could enjoy car shows like when I was a kid.
 
even before I got into detailing hard core, I had enough common sense (which doesn't seem very common anymore) to not be wiping my car down with quick detail spray in the middle of the day with the sun blasting down on everything.... and don't get me started on the ppl that use the same MF towel on the whole car AND their wheels
 
choijw2 said:
I say iron X is optional but clay is must if you feel roughness on surface
(taking about average daily driven cars)

if you choose to do both, Iron X and then Clay.
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If you use Iron X, do you really need to clay? Doesn't seem there would be anything there for the clay to remove.
 
parshooter said:
If you use Iron X, do you really need to clay? Doesn't seem there would be anything there for the clay to remove.
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Iron X only removes ferrous (iron-containing) contaminants. "Claying" will remove non-ferrous contaminants bonded to the paint such as tar, sap, overspray, etc.
 
This sounds like something I'd want to incorporate into my process, but the cost is something to consider. What are Iron X alternatives that are effective and safe on paint? I'm reading Meguiar's DUB Wheel Cleaner and some Sonax products. What else is available?
 
roguegeek said:
This sounds like something I'd want to incorporate into my process, but the cost is something to consider. What are Iron X alternatives that are effective and safe on paint? I'm reading Meguiar's DUB Wheel Cleaner and some Sonax products. What else is available?
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Adam's deep wheel cleaner is probably the best priced one. Performs well too. For paint decon use you can dilute it 1:1

Don't let any of these type of products dry on the paint.
 
I have a 2016 Charger SRT Metallic Grey on order. If the car ships with plastic, etc. to Kansas City do I really need to use IronX on the paint prior to claying? I plan a pre wash polish after claying and then BFWD. I can see ironX on the wheels perhaps but I don't want to perform steps that may not accomplish anything or be necessary.

The past ten years I went through two silver MBs and had not heard of the ironX recommendation despite being on these forums. Those cars with claying and BFWD looked fabulous. I''m not arguing or saying it's not a good product, just wanting to be convinced, or not, that I really need this step on a metallic grey. Thanks.
 
Is it necessary? No. Is it advisable? Yes. You don't know how long the car may have been sitting around on a lot uncovered after it was manufactured before being shipped.

Perhaps you may want to test a panel or two to see how much contamination there is to determine if it is worth chemically decontaminating the entire car?
 
I would try it and see what, if any, bleeding you get. I think i read earlier in this thread that Mike P uses it much more frequently than i do and always gets reaction. I am of the opinion that i want it out of and off my paint. Especially my wife's car that's white. I don't want anything left behind that could potentially turn into a nice little rust dot on her otherwise perfectly white paint.
 
•IronX, or its ilk, necessary?
-Depends on numerous factors, IMO.
-Each individual knows best: what man-made
and environmental contaminates their
vehicle(s) face...in the areas they reside.

•But, let there be no doubt that, IMO: whenever
an iron-contaminate remover/dissolver is used...
it definitely becomes a necessity, and behooves an
individual to apply an LSP to the paint—as it now
contains/has "holes" in it—caused from where there
once were iron-contaminates abiding.


NOTE:
By stating: "apply an LSP to the paint"...
What I'm really saying is: 'ensure that the paint,
from now on, always has upon it a film-layer
of an LSP'!


Bob
 
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