There are effective strategies to reduce the potential for orange spots to build up on your car. These strategies are described below. These strategies can be summarized in two words: avoidance & removal.
How to prevent rail dust, orange spots, fallout on your white paint? Short answer…Don’t drive your car. Leave it in a garage, under a car tarp! LOL! Unfortunately, this is the only guaranteed method to prevent orange spots. However, you can reduce the risk by determining what is causing the orange spots and removing your car from this exposure. Sealants, not waxes, also offer some level of protection.
Although this may be a rational solution for a rare car collector, it is not a realistic solution for the rest of us. The strategies below can dramatically reduce the risk of orange spots on paint.
How can I reduce the risk of orange spots on my paint?
The best strategy to reduce orange spots on your car is to avoids some of the common exposures to ferrous metal particles. The primary causes for orange spots are listed below. Each cause includes options to help you reduce your risk.
Rail dust
Avoid parking your car near active railroad tracks. Keep this in mind when parking your car at a “Park and Ride” near a commuter rail. Although the spots closer to the track may require fewer steps, they make increase your risk of your prized vehicle being exposed to rail dust settling after every passing train. Rail dust particles are relatively large, so parking further from the tracks will reduce the risk of these particle settling on your paint.
How can I reduce the risk of orange spots on my paint?
The best strategy to reduce orange spots on your car is to avoids some of the common exposures to ferrous metal particles. The primary causes for orange spots are listed below. Each cause includes options to help you reduce your risk.
Rail dust
Avoid parking your car near active railroad tracks. Keep this in mind when parking your car at a “Park and Ride” near a commuter rail. Although the spots closer to the track may require fewer steps, they make increase your risk of your prized vehicle being exposed to rail dust settling after every passing train. Rail dust particles are relatively large, so parking further from the tracks will reduce the risk of these particle settling on your paint.
Brake dust
Choose brakes with fewer ferrous metals. Ceramic brake pads include much less metal than a semi-metallic brake pad. The next time you take your car to the garage for brake work, invest some time into shopping for brake pads. The Original Equipment from the Manufacturer (OEM) may not be the best choice. It maybe the cheapest choice. Last year, I replaced the brake pads on my wife’s car. I had a choice of three brake pads: OK ($40/pair), Better (($50/pair) and Best ($60/pair.) My decision was based completely on how much I hated spending a Saturday changing brake pads, so, I assumed that the $60 brake pads were better and I’d have to change them less frequently. So, I chose the $60 brake pads without considering the impact of the brake pad on the white spots on my car.
Do your research. Consider avoiding the semi-metallic brake pads and evaluate the ceramic brake pads.
Brake dust on automotive wheels is over 90% iron. This iron dust is caused by abrasion of the cast iron brake rotor contacting the pad. Dust is also caused by fibers from the semi metallic elements of the brake pad. The rest of the dust residue is carbon content within the brake pad.
Nearly all of the automotive brake pads made these days are made as a semi metallic meaning a bundle of steel fibers compressed and fused together with other additives. The steel fiber content can be up to 30% of the pad and this abrasive material is what scratches your brake rotor and causes the dust.
Non metallic brake pads are available. They tend to be more expensive and less popular. These pads are made with Twaron or kevlar fiber. Very few manufacturers offer these non-metallic options due to the price. Aftermarket non-metallic brake pads are available. Non-metallic brake pads are also known as organic brake pads. Brake pads mades of these materials tend to outperform and outlast the semi-metallic options.
Industrial fallout
Evaluate your work place. When you park your car at your workplace, take a moment to look around at the potential exposures. Assess the potential sources of industrial fall out and try to avoid them. Here are a few examples:
Cutting/Grinding/Welding: Avoid parking near work areas where there is any metal grinding or welding. Small particles are generated during these processes. A grinder can send a spark up to 30 feet from the metal it is cutting. Plasma cutters can also throw sparks a serious distance.
I read a post on one of the Ford forums about a person who worked at a foundry. Near the work parking lot, acid etching was being conducted on a building surface. Both made an impact on his car’s paint.
Parking near a heavily traveled road, near where vehicles do heavy braking could also increase your risk of orange spots. For example, you may be at a higher risk of orange spots if you park down wind from an exit ramp on a busy highway.
Mother Nature is your friend.
As you work in a location, you begin to realize the weather patterns. The wind rarely blows from the same direction every day. However, you’ll begin to notice general wind directions and the common wind direction. Take this into account when parking your vehicle. The closest spot may not be the best spot. For example:
If you need to park near a railroad track, then, consider parking up wind of the railroad track.
Can I protect my car’s paint using waxes and sealants?
You would probably think that the most effective way to protect your car from orange spot is to wash and wax the car. Wax is the most common layer of protection for a car’s paint. People who want to protect their cars are typically avid “wash and waxers.” However waxing your car could theoretically increase the problem.
Theoretically, wax would allow particles to stick to the surface of your paint. Wax is a thin layer of malleable material that protects your painted surface. Think of any wax that you played with in your hands, the wax will stick to your hands. a tiny particle of a ferrous material floating through the air. If that were to come into contact with this waxy, almost sticky, surface, then it is likely that it will stick to that surface
You’ll need a better bond than wax. Considered sealants. Sealants will do a fantastic job protecting your car from the UV rays that fade the car and oxidized it. A good sealant will keep Industrial Fallout particles or rail dust from coming into contact with your paint. The particles will land on your car but won’t be able to work its way into the paint is easily as with wax or an unprotected surface.
Paints have evolved
I’m not a paint person. Perhaps I’ll do some more research on this topic. However, there are some who believe that the current paint used on late model vehicles is less corrosion resistant. Apparently the isocyanide based bants were phased out because they are carcinogenic, they cause cancer. For at least the last decade, these paints have been replaced with saver paints that are less resistant to the nitric and sulphuric acids produced by the creation of rust on the painted surface (Oxidation of the ferrous metal fallout.)
Prevention:
Vehicle waxes offer some level of protection. However, I’ve learned through the interweb that a paint sealant is more effective. Paint sealants are similar in chemical composition to paintwork. However, apparently these erode over time.
The best strategy does not seem to be wax or sealant. Instead, cleaning the ferrous metals from the painted surface may be the best strategy. Eliminating the cause of the orange spots (rust specs) can be done by eliminating the ferrous particles from the surface of the paint. A fallout remover, such as Iron X that I used, can eliminate the cause of the orange spots. Here’s a link to the Amazon where I bought the container of Iron X shown in my videos and pictures.
In summary: avoid and remove:
Avoid exposing your car to ferrous metal particles from the various sources listed above. In summary: avoid industrial fallout; cheap brakes; railroads; park and rides near a busy exit ramp, etc.
The second strategy is to accept that despite all of your efforts, it is inevitable that your car will be exposed to ferrous particles. Rather than just accept it and give up, consider the industrial fallout removers. There are many types out there. Most of my experience is with Iron X. However, there are some other effective industrial fallout removers available. I summarized the most popular and/or effective options at the resource page of this website. I included links to Amazon sites so that you can ensure a safe transaction, should you choose to buy. Click here to see my resource page.