WTF? rust everywhere?

[isiddall]

So I noticed today that my 6 month old 2017 white sierra is developing Freckles. looks like tiny rust spots all down both sides and on the front bumper.  When i saw the first bits it was on the door and i thought, oh no, maybe my tires have thrown rocks n stuff up and dug right through the clear and paint etc to the metal and now it's rusting, but as i looked harder there is tiny rust spots forming over most of the truck, including places where there is no chance of road debris hitting, and parts that aren't even metal underneath, like the door trim and the pillar post sticker things. Whole truck is looking like crap now and it's not even a year old. I'm able to rub some of the spots out so it seems like it might just be rail dust in the clear coat, anyone have any thoughts on this? is it covered under warranty? Is it something i can fix myself if not? pretty much new truck looks like a fat irish kid now, not impressed at all.

[lapoolboy]

Well, if you have rust spots on plastic door trim and decals, then it isn't from the truck itself.  Have you parked near a construction site recently...maybe where welding or grinding has been taking place?  It sounds to me like the spots are superficial and from an airborne source.

[grizz_wi]

You need to buy some iron x and clay bar your paint. Its raildust and other contaminates. This is after I washed my truck, I used Iron X then did a FULL Detail, clay bar, compound, polish then a coat of sealant, the pic below show how bad my paint was after washing it. The IRON-X eats the contaminates on the surface of the paint and turns purple. Its awesome stuff.

 

 

If you have any detailing questions let me know!

 

 

[newdude]

Clay bar if they are spots on the paint.  If there is paint missing, that's a different deal.  Warranty can deal with the actual paint removing.   

[tnchevy]

Sounds like rail dust to me.  As others have mentioned above, get a clay bar kit and go at it, should remove it.  This is not all that uncommon but much more noticeable on white paint.

[isiddall]

ok, so sounds like it's not tooooo big a deal to fix up. The only downside is it's very winter up here in the great white north and will be for a few more months, I don;t have a heated garage to work in so spending 4 hours claying is probably going to be a prescription to losing a few more fingertips since you can't do it with mittens on. it was -25c the other day which is -13f it's warmer (relatively) now but still not ideal for this kind of work. I guess for the clay bar I can keep some hot water out (it should stay hot a least a few minutes at a time i hope) to dip the clay in to let it fold etc. compound will probably take a lot longer to break down as well, anyone recommend a sealant that cures relatively fast in the cold? or even better a full very cold weather detail product list/method?

[Loco-diablo]

I realize it'll cost you more, and I don't know your financial situation, but being it's the dead of winter, are there any reputable detail shops around that can do the job for you?

[jacobrmiller05]

Yep its rail dust. you will fight this for as long as you have the truck. Its tiny metal particles from the brakes of your truck as well as other cars that imbed themselves in the clear coat. no matter what you do this will be an ongoing thing for as long as you own the truck.

 

my 2013 was white and i did a full detail with a clay bar and polish every 4-5 months for the 3 years i had the truck. White and Silver are the most common colors for this issue. 

[lapoolboy]

I have never heard of "rail dust" and have owned several white and silver vehicles and have NEVER experienced this issue.  Is it a northern thing where salt is used or what?  I've never even heard of anyone else around here experiencing it either.

[isiddall]

35 minutes ago, Loco-diablo said:

I realize it'll cost you more, and I don't know your financial situation, but being it's the dead of winter, are there any reputable detail shops around that can do the job for you?

this is the way i was leaning after some quick googling, already booked in for monday. my only worry is that the sealant won't cure well since as soon as i roll out of the detail shop into the salt and brine covered roads it's gonna be covered in crap and ice cold. Guy tells me he only needs an hour and a half to get all that rail dust and other crap out, polish wax and seal it.

 

regarding financial situation, the cost of a detail won;t make or break me, not even close, but even if i didn't have a lot to spare this would probably still be the correct route, would be silly to let a nice new truck rust out for want of a good cleaning.

[99silveradoz71]

I had it on my blue granite 08. It's been discussed and asked about several times over the years.

[isiddall]

2 minutes ago, lapoolboy said:

I have never heard of "rail dust" and have owned several white and silver vehicles and have NEVER experienced this issue.  Is it a northern thing where salt is used or what?  I've never even heard of anyone else around here experiencing it either.

the salt and brine they use on the roads up here will rust the heck out of any unpainted metal in no time. And I suppose I've had the rail dust on all my other vehicles too, just this is my first white one, All my other trucks are/have been black or red and I've never noticed the freckles on them. to be honest i don't see them on any of the other white vehicles in the parking lot at work either which is odd since they all drive on the same roads i do to get here. anyways, if a hundred bucks and an hour and a half will fix it I'm good.

[Daly]

Honestly, I'd wait another month or two, until the worst of winter is over. I detail my truck every spring because of this, even on a black truck it's a problem. And every year you'll have to do it. It's chemical fall out and it's in the atmosphere. It's a by product of the industrial age.