Rust discoloration across car...

[Meatball]

Hey guys,

This isn't for actual body rust, but I live in Florida and the sprinkler systems have a habit of being high in sulfur and such and usually can stain/discolor most surfaces. Usually for the side of the house/driveway there's a good product that you can use called RustAid, but I'm looking for something I can use on my car.

Water from the sprinkler system at night has discolored portions of my side panels and I'm wondering if anyone knows a way I can remove the discoloration without causing any problems with the clearcoat or paint.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

[Bruce P]

Any thoughts?

Yeh, Don't drink it!!!

Sorry, could not resist. We have such good water I cannot fathom what you are dealing with.

[Len]

Hey guys,

This isn't for actual body rust, but I live in Florida and the sprinkler systems have a habit of being high in sulfur and such and usually can stain/discolor most surfaces. Usually for the side of the house/driveway there's a good product that you can use called RustAid, but I'm looking for something I can use on my car.

Water from the sprinkler system at night has discolored portions of my side panels and I'm wondering if anyone knows a way I can remove the discoloration without causing any problems with the clearcoat or paint.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

Can you post a picture of the problem? It sounds like a little compounding will do the trick.

[Meatball]

Hehe, yeah, we don't actually drink the water. Have city water, but most sprinkler systems use a well so they don't waste the city water.

I'm attaching a couple of pictures, one of the door panel as well as a few closeups of the molding where you can see the rust streaks. Hopefully they're not too big :)

[fireboat]

Hey Meatball,
Do you live in South Florida where every house that has a sprinkler system has walls that are rust stained? It's a fact of life here unless you have a very deep well of more than 50-feet or so.
Anyway, try a marine store or RV store, they have rust stain removers that are safe for metal and painted surfaces as well as fiberglass. I forget what the active ingrediant is. I would just make you wash it off real good with soap and water or whatever the directions say after you are done.

[Meatball]

Yep :) I do. Didn't think about the marine store, that's a good idea. I'll swing by one and see if I can find anything.

[Robert]

CLR stands for Calcium Lime Rust. Even Citric Acid would probably do it.

The best way I've found to use these things is this.

Mix them in a spray bottle at about 1 part chemical to 4 parts water. Then spray from the bottom up over the area you want to treat. That way you get full strength material all over the stain, the stuff that runs down will interfere with the new product being applied. You should see some reaction with the calcium, some foaming. You can wash the material around lightly with a soft wet cloth.

Leave the chemical on for just a minute or two and don't let it dry out. Then wash it all off with soap and water.

Follow the safety precautions on the labels and don't breath the mist.

It may take a time or two to get it but should work. If there's anything left, Blue Magic Metal polish, or some other non abrasive metal polish should fix it completely.

Robert

[Meatball]

Thanks. Even at the lower concentration, CLR should be safe for the clearcoat/paint, right?

[AutobodyCAD]

Anyway the car could be parked out of the sprinkler's reach?

Also, maybe it's just me, but I'd rather have brown, weedy grass and a clean car. Heck, some people have paved their front yard and painted it green! Tennis anyone?