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White & Silver sedan owners- what do you do to eliminate rail dust?

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Old 04-09-2017, 10:27 PM
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4DRZ
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White & Silver sedan owners- what do you do to eliminate rail dust?

I have a 2013 G37S sedan in white. Silver is the other color that is bad for showing rail dust. I put Auto Armor wax on the body panels thinking it might help, but that does not seem to do much.

I washed my car yesterday and had to use the clay bar again as the rail dust (orange spots) was all over the car. What do you guys with white and silver cars do to eliminate rail dust? I was thinking of switching to ceramic brake pads for the street, but not sure if that would help.

Let me know your experiences and ideas. Thanks!
Old 04-09-2017, 11:26 PM
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Selym
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Clay bar is the best remediation. Remember that the tiny shards of iron aren't necessarily from your brakes.
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Old 04-09-2017, 11:42 PM
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SupraOfDoom
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Clay, works like a charm, not hard at all.
Old 04-10-2017, 01:47 AM
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Iilac
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Use Iron-X. Alot more easier then clay bar.
Old 04-10-2017, 06:54 AM
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djdiskino
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+1 for IronX I used that too. Made it super easy, just follow the directions on the bottle.
Old 04-10-2017, 07:22 AM
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Rochester
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Claybar works just fine. I clay twice a year, sometimes more, as needed for problem sections... lower doors, rear bumper and trunk face.

I don't use Iron-X, because I don't put enough miles on the car for rail dust build up to be a continual problem. Mostly, it's a springtime consideration, after the paint has been neglected four months or more.

But I relate to your discontent. Moonlight White makes those little orange specs really stand out. On the upside, it's helpful to actually see them when claying the car.

If your rail dust problem is severe... check out Iron-X. And if you do, bump is thread with details.
Old 04-10-2017, 12:29 PM
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JayNIm
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White sedan here. I would just rinse the car with pressure washer, and simply clay the spot if I see one. I usually don't have problem spotting these (probably due to different environment).
Old 04-10-2017, 02:24 PM
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ttv36
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I stopped using a traditional claybar a few years ago when I was introduced to the Nanoskin Wash Mitt:
Amazon Amazon

That should do the trick and can be done while washing the car with the same soap.
Old 04-11-2017, 12:15 PM
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4DRZ
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Originally Posted by Iilac
Use Iron-X. Alot more easier then clay bar.
Originally Posted by ttv36
I stopped using a traditional claybar a few years ago when I was introduced to the Nanoskin Wash Mitt: https://www.amazon.com/Nanoskin-AS-0.../dp/B00DOS0LH2

That should do the trick and can be done while washing the car with the same soap.
Iron-x and the Nanoskin wash mitt seem interesting to me if they are easier than a clay bar. I am just sick of using a clay bar and rubbing the car until my arms go numb. Can either of these products be picked up at a regular auto parts store like O'Reilly, Autozone, Advance, Napa, etc, or do you have to order them?

Another thought I had was switching the stock brake pads over to ceramics. I think this is what I did on my white Evo, but I cannot remember if that helped with the rail dust or not. Anyone else try different pads with any success?
Old 04-13-2017, 01:17 PM
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slartibartfast
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I have never experienced rust spots on my paint and the car lives outdoors. Tree sap, yes. Pollen in the spring, yes. Brake dust? Yes. Rail spots? Never.
Old 04-13-2017, 01:29 PM
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iCrap
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Originally Posted by 4DRZ
Iron-x and the Nanoskin wash mitt seem interesting to me if they are easier than a clay bar. I am just sick of using a clay bar and rubbing the car until my arms go numb. Can either of these products be picked up at a regular auto parts store like O'Reilly, Autozone, Advance, Napa, etc, or do you have to order them?

Another thought I had was switching the stock brake pads over to ceramics. I think this is what I did on my white Evo, but I cannot remember if that helped with the rail dust or not. Anyone else try different pads with any success?
Ceramic pads had like no dust for me. My wheels & car were always clean. now i have EBC Red and the dust is insane... kind of regretting it.

I got my wash mitt from Amazon and it's pretty nice. I've seen it over at advance too.
Old 04-14-2017, 04:01 PM
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4DRZ
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Originally Posted by iCrap
Ceramic pads had like no dust for me. My wheels & car were always clean. now i have EBC Red and the dust is insane... kind of regretting it.

I got my wash mitt from Amazon and it's pretty nice. I've seen it over at advance too.
That's good news about the ceramic pads and wash mit.

Anyone else notice less rail dust with ceramic pads vs. stock pads?
Old 04-16-2017, 01:05 PM
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'11G37S
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You might cut down on the amount of rail dust by changing brake pads, but it won't eliminate the issue. Semi trucks can produce quite a bit of rail dust when braking and there's not much you can do if your car gets caught in the slipstream and they imbed into your paint. I took delivery of a new car that came on the back of a truck and I was shocked how much rail dust there was on it. Your car can pick up a little from other vehicles as well, albeit marginal.

I've had decent results in cleaning with iron x, but it doesn't get every last spec off. After using iron x I'll usually pull the car in the garage and spot clay any spots that it may have missed. Wax is not strong enough to prevent rail dust. You can try ceramic coating and see if that will help cut down on rail dust as well. That would be my suggestion, short of applying PPF on the entire car.
Old 04-17-2017, 12:24 PM
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4DRZ
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Originally Posted by '11G37S
You might cut down on the amount of rail dust by changing brake pads, but it won't eliminate the issue. Semi trucks can produce quite a bit of rail dust when braking and there's not much you can do if your car gets caught in the slipstream and they imbed into your paint. I took delivery of a new car that came on the back of a truck and I was shocked how much rail dust there was on it. Your car can pick up a little from other vehicles as well, albeit marginal.

I've had decent results in cleaning with iron x, but it doesn't get every last spec off. After using iron x I'll usually pull the car in the garage and spot clay any spots that it may have missed. Wax is not strong enough to prevent rail dust. You can try ceramic coating and see if that will help cut down on rail dust as well. That would be my suggestion, short of applying PPF on the entire car.
That is probably true about other vehicles creating some rail dust, but I would think it would be on the front of my car then. I think most of it is still coming from my car since it is mostly behind the wheels and on the back of the car. Maybe ceramic pads will help.

PPF? Paint protectant film- like the wrap they put on the cars at the factory?

Anyone else have good luck with ceramic pads?
Old 04-17-2017, 06:09 PM
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IracknBack
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Ceramic Pro the entire car and you will thank yourself.


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