I’ve interviewed, Googled, phoned, and experimented to find ways to remove rail dust from white vehicles. Take advantage of what I’ve learned, there are definitely easier ways to remove orange spots from white paint.
What is the easiest way to remove rail dust? Applying a rail dust remover, such as Iron X, requires the least amount of effort. These rail dust removers include an active ingredient that chemically removes the rust stains and allows the tiny iron particles to “fall off” your paint. This is the quickest, easiest, and safest method. The information below shows how easy it is!
You may question my integrity when I say this, but, I may have accidentally lied. The easiest way to remove rail dust is to drive your car to me and I’ll remove the orange spots/rail dust for free! You don’t even need to get out of your car! :) Actually, if you read the information below, there is a method that is even easier than driving to my house!
Don’t worry, I’ll explain the more difficult methods at the end of this page as well.
Here’s the fast version of the method:
How do you remove rail dust using a rail dust remover, such as IronX? The process is actually pretty simple.
You can watch several video case studies demonstrating this process by clicking on this page of this website.
If you are anxious to just get moving…
…..then, here’s a link to our resource page where you can find a link to Iron X on Amazon, and other tools of the trade.
What are the less easy ways to remove rail dust? The clay bar technique is very popular, but, not the easiest method. This method includes scrubbing the paint with an actual clay bar. Also, a spray bottle is used to keep the surface wet. If your trying to follow Mr. Miyagi’s guidance and build muscle by “wax on, wax off”, then, you might prefer the clay bar method. However, I don’t for multiple reasons.
I don’t like the clay bar method for another reason: sand paper. You’d never consider using sandpaper on your paint! However, each tiny, even microscopic, ferrous (iron) deposit on your paint acts like a spec of sand on sand paper. As you are scrubbing the paint with a clay bar, these tiny iron deposits become dislodged from the paint surface and become part of the swirling, scrubbing, clay bar process. This may be the cause of the circular scratches that I see on my paint after a thorough wash and the sun being in the perfect position.
Take your car to a professional detail
Your friendly neighborhood auto detailer may or may not be familiar with rail dust removal techniques. I’ve learned that the people who details cars in my area do not know anything about the rail dust removal. I spoke with two auto detailing facilities in my neighborhood and the local Ford dealer. None offered any knowledge about how to remove the orange spots. Two of them didn’t know what rail dust was, nor did they know how to remove the tiny orange spots from the white paint of my truck
For this reason, taking your car to a local auto detailer did not make my first choice for the easiest ways to remove rail dust from your vehicle.
What other methods are available?
What other methods are available for removing rail dust?
From a visionary perspective, the most effective way to eliminate rail dust would be to develop a paint that is capable of resisting the tiny rust particles. In the past, automakers would use paints heavy in solvents. However, those solvents evaporate and disappear to the atmosphere. They also pose an exposure hazard for employees applying the paint to the cars.
If you are interested, you can learn more about early paints and what causes rail dust in this article on our website. Click here to read the article.
Did you know that in Europe, it is far cheaper to wrap a car than it is to paint a car? Why is this? The European air emission standards make it very expensive to spray paints with volatile organic compounds (VOC’s), such as solvents. Paints that are capable of holding up to the weather and providing the attractive car shine require the use of volatile organic compounds. Also, solvents used to “carry” the paint evaporate quicker and help to speed the curing of the paint. So, many people choose to wrap their car rather than paint it!
As you can see, picking up a bottle of Iron X is the easiest way to remove orange spots or rail dust from your car’s paint. For convenience, I added an Amazon hyperlink to a recommended size and spray applicator, as well as a link to each of the tools described in this article. Here’s a link to our resource page.