When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
someone decided it would be ok to do some grinding beside my car when it was in my workshop on Christmas Eve. It’s been washed since but the metal dust appears to have taken hold of the paint.
is there anything I can do to save this? It’s due paint at some stage soon but if there’s anything simple i can do here, any advice is appreciated. Car has been washed and the rusty bits feel rough to the touch and a fingernail doesn’t shift it. Could clay it but as said, it feels rough to the touch
Last edited by MarkRF; 26 December 2019 at 01:49 PM.
Fallout remover like Troll's Breath or Bilt Hamber Korrosol is ideal for this, and rewarding to use as it streaks purple where ever there is metal contamination on your car. There are many other brands, but you pay for what you get, quality wise. It stinks like hell, and ideally you need to rewax or seal afterwards. The longer you leave those filings, the more they will bond with the paintwork. Angle grinder filings can travel a fair distance, as I have found from personal experience.
is it definitely metal related and not just usual dirty ? , i used t cut on mine then a colour polish , it takes a while but it never came back , t cut can be used when it’s wet outside as it helps the process so good in current uk weather , then as above when weather improves put a good polish on it , t cut can be a bit abrasive so just go gentle with it plus keep the rag you use a bit
damp with water
Fallout remover like Troll's Breath or Bilt Hamber Korrosol is ideal for this, and rewarding to use as it streaks purple where ever there is metal contamination on your car. There are many other brands, but you pay for what you get, quality wise. It stinks like hell, and ideally you need to rewax or seal afterwards. The longer you leave those filings, the more they will bond with the paintwork. Angle grinder filings can travel a fair distance, as I have found from personal experience.
This!Get a iron remover one of the above mentioned or Iron X is another good one apply over the area give it time for the particles to break down i.e turn purple then rinse away,maybe afterwards use a clay bar to really smooth the area down before applying some paint protection.SJ.
Another vote for iron out, give it a pre rinse and snow foam then iron out and then snow foam again. As said above seal the paint work afterwards even if it's with a quick spray wax. I use auto finesse products as they work well and are generally priced competitively but any of the decent brands will do.
+ 1 for Bilt Hamber Korrosol
I wouldn't use a compound on it as whatever you apply it with and work the compound in with will become contaminated with the filings....bad news!
I'd spray something like Korrosol onto the dry surface. You'll see within 5-10 seconds the purple streaking as it "bleeds" This is the reaction to the filings being detected. This process should shrink the filings and allow them to be jet washed off. I'd leave the Korrosol to dwell / bleed for 5 minutes - it's paint and lacquer safe.
Repeat if needed - you may need a clothes peg for your nose! lol
That would be my method....contactless decontamination, and as said, a coat of wax after. Done.
As mentioned a fall out remover dedicated to metal (or rail dust as yanks like to call it). Point to note on jetwashing...adjustable nozzles don’t really have the oomph for this stuff. A fixed 25 or 45 degree solid metal nozzle is far better.
Of course you you could use the pencil jet setting, but that has a habit of damaging rubber mouldings unpainted plastics around the windows etc.
Would probably clay-bar before re-waxing as well.
As a final note, if those metal particles were still hot, you may find tiny permanent micro-sized pock marks in the paint where its melted in. I bought a BMW that was parked by a scrap metal dealers that was like this on the bonnet and roof, the only way to reduce this without a respray ( after removing the metal contamination)is polishing with varying grades of cutting compound...luckily it had a very thick clear coat so much of it polished out.
Im pretty used to this stuff as we used to have a lot of metal foundries and forgers nearby that’d drop this crap on our cars every day...I had to do it every month as a bare minimum to prevent it building up.
Last edited by ALi-B; 27 December 2019 at 08:40 AM.
As above, Iron out will shift it. Halfords do Auto Finesse Iron Out if you are struggling to find anywhere open that will have something suitable.
Exactly what I was thinking, auto finesse is all I could find easily available from Halfords or euro. There is a similar product by McLaren and an Ares one too. All circa £12 a bottle.
Originally Posted by ALi-B
As a final note, if those metal particles were still hot, you may find tiny permanent micro-sized pock marks in the paint where its melted in.
this was my worry. As said; the front end at least will get paint at some stage - probably the spring but anything I can do to prevent it needing done sooner or any further damage to the paint would be good.
Last edited by MarkRF; 27 December 2019 at 10:19 AM.
Great result there, I agree on the auto finesse spray bottles,unless you have deformed crab claws as hands they are useless. I buy my auto finesse in 5L tubs as it's much cheaper that way then I just tip into a more useable spray bottle which I picked up off ebay.
26 December 2019, 01:43 PM
Metal filings oxidising on paint
