Removing Rust Spots on Tesla White Paint
WHAT ARE THESE YELLOW SPOTS aka rail dust?
Have you noticed yellow spots appearing on your car? These are actually called rust spots or rail dust. Rust spots can accumulate on the surface of the paint after winter months. This doesn’t mean your paint is terrible or that your car is rusting. However, it does mean you need to remove them before it starts to damage the clearcoat. The Clearcoat is a clear layer of paint that protects the outer layer of the car. Rust spots tend to be more visible on lighter paint colours, such as white paint. Metal pieces from the road get stuck on the clearcoat and rust due to prolong exposure to moisture. I’ve found a neat product called CarPro Iron X, which removes these spots without damaging the clearcoat of your paint by forming a water-soluble complex and visibly changing to purple to let you see where the spots occured. Check out below how I removed these spots on my Tesla Model Y.
INSTRUCTIONS
Gently clean the exterior of your car.
Attach your garden hose to the Soap Sprayer & Foam Gun.
Mix Amour All Car Wash Concentrate and water to line on the bottle.
Spray down all sides of the car. Wipe dry with a microfiber cloth.
Remove Rail Dust
Assemble the CarPro Iron Spray bottle. Wear a mask and gloves for extra protection. The iron spray is quite strong after application.
Target and spray down the yellow spots around the car. Most should be along the sides of the car doors, front and back.
Wait until the spots turn purple. This a chemical reaction taking place which gentle removes the rust spots. This took about 5 minutes. I realized there will a lot more spots that I could see, so I would suggest spraying more than less. Generally, 2 sprays per area should be enough.
Rinse off the car with water and wipe dry with microfiber cloth.
Note: I would suggest to do this cleaning outside of your garage, in an open-space to allow for ventilation. I would also avoid doing this cold or hot days. Temperatures around 15 degrees would work best.
RESULTS
I was able to remove all the rail dust off my white paint. CarPro Iron X is safe and pH neutral. It forms a water-soluble complex with the iron deposits so it can be removed freely from your car paint. It is also safe to be used on Aluminum, Chrome, Alloy, and Clear coated wheels. To prevent future build up of rail dust, remember to wash your car and apply wax every two weeks during the winter. Road salt and metal deposits and snow can damage the car over time. CarPro also has a product called Iron X Snow Soap, if you want to wash down your car during winter and dissolve iron deposits in a single step. Overall, I am a firm believer that CarPro Iron X is also a safe way to keep your paint and wheels looking new, and car looking clean.
TESLA PAINT QUALITY
Tesla is a new comer in the auto-industry. They have always been suffering in paint quality concerns. What we know is that Tesla actually uses high-quality paint similar other high-end luxury cars. What they need to work on is application and drying time, due to their speed of production, which may affect their time to do the same quality check. What we do see is that Tesla is getting better every quarter with deliveries and quality. Rail dust or rust spots can accumulate on any car. White cars specifically are more prone. What we need to do is keep the car clean, especially those with cars exposure of heavy moisture from winter, rain and humidity. After applying CarPro to my car, I have yet to see any new rust spots appear again.