i just bought an 05 FX4 about 4 months ago. as soon as i got it home i put on a coat of meguiars cleaner wax. unfortunately it got cold in wisconsin and that means salt all over the roads. i have still been washing it about every week or two though. when i wash it i can see that the water still beads up on the upper part of the truck but anywhere there is salt spray it seems like the wax is gone. well anyways, when i was washing it the other day i noticed a ton of small rust spots all over where the road spray is. the spots are small but they still drive me crazy. they are easy to rub off with just a finger or fingernail.
why is an 05 already rusting. does anyone else have this problem.
a buddy suggested that it may be particles from the brakes and brake pads flying up and sticking to the truck and then rusting from the salt.
any ideas.

i already have plans to put on another coat of wax this week which i hope will help but do i need new brakes or a new paint job or what

thanks

 

If there is no pitting down to the bare metal, I would say no it's not rusting.

 

Most likely rail dust. Need a clay bar to remove it. I detail cars all the time, I see it all the time, just get a clay bar.

 

It's not rusting, that sounds like paint contamination. You will probably have to get some paint clay and give it a couple of clay tratments to pull that stuff out of the paint. Then you will need to wax it with some good wax to seal the paint up where the contaminants were. Don't ignore the problem or it will get worse. If you go to the General Care and Detailing forum on this site the folks there have many posts about delaing with this stuff.

 

I get that quite often here in Florida where we never see any snow or salt. It always seems to come off with a little scrubbing and some wax, so I guess it's not really rust. I don't worry about it.

 

Like some guys have said, probably rail dust. Your lucky you can scratch it off, a clay bar should take care of it. I just had my brand new (not even 2000 miles on it yet) fx4 entirely repainted at the dealer for what appeared to be rail dust, turns out it was in the clear.

 

WTF is a clay bar?

 

For you to notice this happening I am going to guess that your truck is white??? My truck is white and I notice something similar to what you describe. Very tiny rust colored specks, my specks also came off using a fingernail. It’s some type of contaminate, I was told that it was from airplanes but never believed it. A clay bar took care of it for me. Looking closely at a white truck on a sunny day will make you dizzy and see spots floating around that aren’t there, believe me. I wouldn’t worry about it being rust because you can’t just remove rust with a fingernail as you described. It took me forever and a day, but it came out pretty good. Good luck.

 

Clay bar is a tool used to friction clean the surface of your paint. It is actually a special clay bar used with a lubricant.


But Try here

 

Brake dust it metal particals. It embeds in paint quite easily. Just like everyone else has said, clay bar, and you are good.

 

Get a clay bar and work the surface. Don't take your finger nail and scratch it off, you are just scratching the surface.

 

thanks for the help. i will clay it and wax it again but will this keep it from happening again or will i have to worry about this problem every couple months.
the truck is dark stone not white, im just very picky about my first new truck and notice every little defect.

 

The contamination may have occurred when your truck was shipped to the dealer or it may be occurring where you drive. Chances are, you will have to do the clay bar periodically to keep your paint in good shape.

 

The rail dust theory may be true for you, but in my case the rust colored dots are a reoccurring problem. Either way, you can get rid of it.