Will Iron X Remove Orange Spots From My Ford F-150 Tailgate?
Will Iron X Remove Rail DustFrom My Ford F-150 Tailgate? YES, the Iron X formulation removed rail dust that I could see and smaller particles that were more difficult to see. There was no damage to my paint. The tailgate looks like new!
Earlier this week, I received a bottle of Iron X in the mail. I’m excited to test Iron X on the white paint of my Ford F-150 King Ranch. I’ve been looking for a way to remove the orange spots from my white paint. Iron X shows promise.
I’m actually a bit skeptical. I learned decades ago that products sold to make your car run better rarely work. I instinctively put Iron X into this category. However, I can’t scrub hard enough to make the orange spots go away. And, the internet information show promise. So, I’m going to find a corner of my tailgate and do a small test.
First step, read the directions. I admit that I’m not a big reader of directions. However, these directions are pretty short and to the point. Besides, I don’t want to damage my paint. The directions on the side of the bottle read:
Directions (from the Iron X label):
1. Wash the surface of the vehicle.
2. Shake the bottle well.
3. Spray on. Wait 3-5 minutes while contaminants change color to purple-red.
4. Rub in with a damp soft sponge. Avoid drying under direct sun.
5. Rinse well with water
The Scientific Approach:
I’m trying to be as objective as possible. When I’m done with this test, I want to be able to answer the question: Does Iron X remove orange spots from white paint without damaging my paint.
Problem: tiny orange dots have appeared on my white Ford F-150, King Ranch. These spots look like rust, but I cannot remove them by washing or scrubbing.
Testing plan: Spray Iron X onto the tailgate (following the directions) and see if the spots fade or disappear.
Let’s break down the directions:
Wash the surface of the vehicle.
Check: I washed the truck using a 2500 psi pressure washer, with an orange tip. I washed the truck with regular car washing soap using two hand sponges. When I was done, I rinsed with the pressure washer. The water for the pressure washer was from a rain barrel. Pretty standard wash, nothing fancy.
Shake the bottle well
I gave the bottle a good shake. However, the consistency of the color of Iron X looks the same before and after. Not sure if my shake made much of a difference. But, I followed this direction.
Spray on. Wait 3-5 minutes while contaminantes change color to purple-red.
Pause at this step. I decided that I better take one more look at the precautions on the label. If it turns the paint purple-red, then, I don’t want it to turn me purple-red!
The label states:
Precautions:
Test the product on an inconspicuous area before applying.
Recommended eyes and skin protection.
Work in a well ventilated area
Keep in a dry cool place
Keep out of reach of children
A few of the precautions inspired me to take action:
First: Recommended eyes and skin protection:
Before I begin spraying this material, I put on a pair of safety glasses and a pair of nitrile 8 mil gloves. The label states that this is a corrosive material. But, the label was not very specific about what type of chemical gloves to wear. Considering this, the 8 mil nitrile is a good “incidental contact” type of glove, in my opinion.
Second: Test the product on an inconspicuous area before applying.
I wanted to find a relatively isolated part of the truck to test. I chose the tail gate of the truck. I chose the tailgate because if I had to get the tailgate repainted due to some whacky result of the test, then, at least it would the the least impact and cheapest part of the truck to paint!
Third: Work in a well ventilated area
My truck was parked in the driveway, away from my garage. There may have been a slight breeze. I don’t think I’d want to spray this in my garage. Although the label read “cherry scent”, the odor was more of a “rotten egg” smell. A mercaptan odor. (What’s a mercaptan odor? Drive by a paper mill, stick your head out the window. That’s a mercaptan odor.)
I used the spray applicator that came with the bottle. The sprayer worked fine. It did produce a good layer of Iron X across the paint. I sprayed the surface a couple of times just to be sure that the spray evenly covered the section of the tailgate to be tested.
Next, I set a timer for five minutes. In order to give this material a fair test, I wanted to leave it on my truck for the full duration.
Here’s what I observed:
After one minute: the spots began to change color from orange to purple. Interesting
After two minutes: The shade of purple became more dark or intense. Also, tiny dots of purple began to appear in areas where I had not see orange spots before the test.
After three minutes More of the surface area began to show purple dots.
After four minutes No real change.
After five minutes: No change. My timer indicates five minutes. Time for the next step!
Rub in with a damp soft sponge. Avoid drying under direct sun.
Fortunately, the day was overcast, so I didn’t need to worry about drying under direct sun.
I wiped the surface with the same sponge that I used to wash the truck. The sponge had been thoroughly rinsed with a bucket of water and my 2500 psi pressure washer.
Rinse well with water
I rinsed the truck with plenty of water. I don’t know the impact this could have on my paint, so I was sure to rinse thoroughly. I used the 2500 psi washer, just to be sure.
TEST RESULTS:
The orange spots were gone! Not faded, but gone! I needed to study the area carefully to find where the spots were originally located. I could not find any of the original orange spots, I’d have to say that the test was a success!
My original problem was:
Problem: tiny orange dots have appeared on my white Ford F-150, King Ranch. These spots look like rust, but I cannot remove them by washing or scrubbing.
I can say with confidence that my problem statement was addressed. These orange dots were removed without any intense scrubbing.
General observations:
My first impression was: “Wow”! I can’t believe that worked! The Iron X worked so well that I couldn’t find the spots! This was great for the paint on my truck! But, terrible for getting before and after pictures. I needed to review the before and after pictures to determine if this actually worked.
Video of the test:
I took a video of the test and posted it on your tube. If you have any doubts about the honest of my test, take a look at the video. You’ll see that I am far from a camera expert, so there were no camera tricks! Here’s a link to a video that shows the entire Test #1.