Rail Dust

[mariod]

We have a white M3 and have had rail dust on it pretty much from the start. I cleaned it off last summer using Iron X, but it has come back. I'm not clear on why it appears again. Thought it may have been from factory transport, but it seems like that is not the case. Is it maybe from the brake pads? I'm at a bit of a loss. Never seen on any prior cars.

 

[SMAlset]

Not clear on what you mean by rail dust but assume orange in color. Could this be something from your roads up there or car parked by landscape irrigation with high level of iron in the water? Maybe water used at a car wash? Photo would really be helpful and to show where it appears on your car.

 

[mariod]

They are orange in colour, and appear randomly everywhere. Not one particular spot. No irrigation, but could be car wash I suppose. But we use the same car wash with our older BMW, and have seen none on there. Plus, the same older car drives on the same roads.

 

[SMAlset]

Sure that isn’t bee poop instead of rust? I get bee poop on my car periodically here in Calif where we have evergreen plants always in some state of flowering and attracting bees. Plus our ag is year round too. Stuff is much more noticeable on a white car. What color was your last car? Had my Pearl white Model 3 wrapped in PPF and then ceramic coating and it cleans off much easier. Stuff can harden and be more challenging to remove the longer it stays on. Also when it ages I’ve noticed it does get oranger in color.

Here’s a video I found to illustrate:

 

[mariod]

Probably not bee poop, but interesting note. Never would have considered. I think our bees around here have largely died off due to farming chemicals. We are left with wasps galore. I would subscribe to the idea but Iron X seems to be the only thing that removes them.

 

[Premiertint]

Rail rust is usually a one time thing. When the vehicles are shipped from the manufacture on railways, Iron particles get kicked up from the trains brakes and land on the car, then it embeds itself into the paint...then moisture in the air and or weather happens. The tiny particles then rust and turn orange. Once you receive the vehicle and have it detailed or paint corrected, that usually removes the orange specs. Unless you live right next to a rail yard or had you vehicle shipped on a railways again, then you probably don't have rail rust again. It is much more likely that you have insect poop or plant sap.

Hope this helps

 

[Premiertint]

...OR when "they" removed the rail rust the 1st time, they simply missed some of the iron dust

 

[mariod]

I think you are right, most likely some iron dust got missed, and was not an issue until it was more noticeable.