Iron X test - pic heavy

[embolism]

So the idea for these tests came from this thread:

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/38044-iron-x-meets-neglected-civic.html (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/38044-iron-x-meets-neglected-civic.html)

where we were wondering how much bleed we would get if a panel was clayed before iron x. The proper procedure as per Avi is to Iron X before claying. Dissolving any iron contamination first not only makes claying easier and faster but makes your clay last longer.

Another point was brought up though, about organic deposits possibly covering iron contamination, not allowing the iron x to reach it. This made a case for claying first to remove any organic bonded contamination (shaving off any embedded iron in the process) then getting any residual iron embedded in the clearcoat with the iron x afterwards.

Doug (dougaross) has mentioned previously that he didn't notice much bleeding from his car after trying Iron x but he probably follows a regular claying schedule. Audi clear is pretty hard too so maybe that makes a difference in terms of how easily iron gets embedded into and/or removed from the surface.

So with these points in mind maybe the order process should differ depending on the car. For well kept cars with harder clearcoats, the process should be clay, then iron x. You wouldn't expect much bleeding except where the clay missed or exposed some iron contamination. Your clay might get a bit more contaminated but the chances of there being residual iron after the iron x step would be reduced by removing all organic contamination first, fully exposing the surface for the subsequent iron x step.

However, if the car hasn't been cared for or has a softer clearcoat (and potentially more embedded iron), then you want to iron x first, then clay. Keep in mind that this is all conjecture on my part and I haven't done any testing to confirm this. It is sort of difficult to test Iron X since most of the cars I have access to are black, including mine. Perhaps today's tests will help shed some light on the subject.

So this is my coworker's car, a 2010 mazda 3 in pearl white bought new Jan '10 and driven directly from the dealer to the rust proofers.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1226/medium/before24.JPG

Her garage is kinda full so it sits outside most of the time except for winter. Thankfully it is garaged at work but she only started driving in recently. It's gotten exactly 3 washes since she purchased it ( I thought she used touchless but during the "interview", she confirmed she did it herself at the coin op). Not sure how hard the clear is but if I had to guess I'd say it is on the softer side. Should be plenty contaminated for this test!

Products used:
Dawn wash
Mineral spirits (tar remover)
Optimum Power Clean 3:1
Iron X
Mother's clay
ONR lube
KAIO
Duragloss 501
Collinite 845
Zep citrus 4:1 for the wheels
GG6, white 5.5in LC flats

Temperature was a balmy 30C

The test itself was pretty simple, clay part of the car before iron x and see how much residual iron was left afterwards when the entire car was iron x'ed. Getting to that point took some work though. Entire process from start to finish was 4 hours, half of which was just the washing!

Before pics:

My coworker said she bought white this time b/c it was supposed to hide dirt. Marring, yes -- dirt? not so much...

it seemed that oil from the rust proofers was everywhere
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1226/medium/before41.JPG

bumper rash from parking against the wall at work
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1226/medium/before101.JPG

no words
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1226/medium/before32.JPG

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1226/medium/trunk_lip.JPG

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1226/medium/trunk_before2.JPG

apparently, my coworker got sunscreen overspray on the trunk lid recently and it turned black so at the next fill up, she used the squeegee at the gas station to scrub it off! Those residual brown spots are not rust but some leftover sunscreen that has baked on...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1226/medium/before51.JPG

When I put my ear close to the front emblem I could have sworn I heard the car crying...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1226/medium/before91.JPG


Now would have been a good time for a good foam gun presoak but I don't have one (yet) so I pulled out the pressure washer which didn't do a thing to the dirt! Had to pull out the big guns and did a 3:1 OPC presoak. Went through about 35 ounces for the entire detail, including the door jambs and trunk hinges.

hmmm, I seem to have missed a spot...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1226/medium/during1.JPG

kinda looks like kc's sister's half-opticoated car non?
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1226/medium/during2.JPG

Before we get to the main event, how about some before and afters?

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1226/medium/before17.JPG

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1226/medium/after16.JPG

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1226/medium/door_before4.JPG

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1226/medium/door_after2.JPG

Iron rust spots
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1226/medium/rust_spots.JPG

Same panel after Iron X
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1226/medium/rust_spots_after.JPG

Believe it or not, this is the paint rinse water bucket after all the foam was scooped out.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1226/medium/dirty_water1.JPG

Thought I would add a few things to the test just for the fun of it so here is what I came up with:

Prepped 2 large horizontal panels (hood and trunk lid) by taping them off into the following areas:

Hood
1. Nothing
2. KAIO by hand (without claying first, hopefully I don't mar the paint further haha)
3. Clay with mother's and ONR lube
4. Clay with mother's and ONR lube followed by DG501 by hand

Trunk lid
1. Clay with mother's and ONR lube
2. Nothing

I really wanted a full length tape line on either the trunk or hood for picture comparison contrast and figured there was probably more iron on the trunk vs the hood. Also wanted to see if a chemical paint cleaner (KAIO by hand -- didn't want to risk it by machine) would do anything to reduce iron contamination.

In terms of my process, I didn't bother with claying one section a set number of times. If there were obvious rust spots on the section, then I worked them until they were visibly gone. After the panels were prepped came the moment of truth. I gave each section 5 sprays of iron x and let it dwell for 5 minutes. Here we go:

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1226/medium/prepped_hood.JPG

Nothing
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1226/medium/1_Nothing.JPG

KAIO by hand
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1226/medium/2_KAIO.JPG

Clayed
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1226/medium/3_Clayed.JPG

Clayed and DG501 by hand
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1226/medium/4_Clayed_DG501.JPG

Here is the hood again from another angle (taking a cue from Bill, highlight to reveal):

Clayed
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1226/medium/3_Clayed_b.JPG

KAIO by hand
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1226/medium/2_KAIO_b.JPG

Nothing
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1226/medium/1_Nothing_b.JPG

Clayed and DG501 by hand
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1226/medium/4_Clayed_DG501_b.JPG
(hint, that poor fly that landed in a pool of squash scented iron x, found out the hard way that it wasn't as yummy as squash juice...)

For those who think KAIO lays down any kind of meaningful protection, think again. Not sure if you can see it but after I rinsed off the iron x from the hood, there was only one section of the 4 that showed any beading and it wasn't the KAIO section:


http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1226/medium/DG_vs_KAIO.JPG

Here is the trunk (looks like there was more embedded iron here):

Nothing
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1226/medium/Trunk_nothing.JPG

Clayed
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1226/medium/Trunk_clayed.JPG

to be cont'd...

[embolism]

After snapping the photo's I had to finish claying and iron x' ing everything, then did DG501 on the whole car using a couple white LC pads on speed 5. Check out the bleeding on the rest of the car:

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1226/medium/bleed3.JPG

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1226/medium/bleed1.JPG

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1226/medium/bleed5.JPG

LSP was collinite 845. It's probably one of the fastest, most durable lsps I have and my coworker was pressed for time.

Some final shots:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1226/medium/after52.JPG

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1226/medium/after27.JPG

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1226/medium/after34.JPG

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1226/medium/gas_cap_after.JPG

Unfortunately, nothing I had would touch the brake dust buildup on the back rims. The fronts came clean with the zep and opc and I thought it pretty strange for the back brakes to have such bad buildup but I told my coworker to get some Megs all wheel cleaner and it should take it out. I may have to pick some up too. I've heard it's as close to wheel brightener as you can get OTC.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1226/medium/after_problem.JPG

Hope you enjoyed the write up and it answered any questions you might have about the value of the products used.

[callicles]

Hey Tim, yeah I could hear that poor Mazda sobbing too. Should have glued that front bumper mishap up with some clear silicone or even just some white tape. Great job, she must have been impressed. The Sonax wheel cleaner is supposed to be really good and I know you're gonna put another order in soon!!

[oldmodman]

It's always fun to work on a really dirty car. The before and after is so obvious it makes you feel really good about the work.

Did you consider iron-X on the wheels? It may have helped lift off all the pad residue. Kind of like a "Super Sonax"

I bet she was very pleased.

[richy]

LOL @ hear the car crying! I second the motion to use IX on the wheels. You will be amazed at the job it does removing brake dust from there. Do it first on a dry wheel. Get yourself some of the IX soap gel and put it on your wheel brush adn work it in. I have a flat Razeglaze wheel brush that works very well with this method.

[CEE DOG]

Wow Tim!! thanks for all the effort that went into this ironx review. This was very informative, helpful, well thought out, and well put together. The car looks sweet to! I'm on my iPad so I couldn't highlight the reveals but loved the writeup! Thank you :props:

[embolism]

:doh:

didn't even think of trying the iron x on the rims!

oh well

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. I would have liked to have focused on one larger rust spot, clayed it until it was visibly gone, then put iron X right on top of it, to note if there was still residual iron embedded in the clear. I think from the tests, we can conclude that there's less iron there after claying, but it's still there. Would have been a nice side test on its own. Only thought of it afterwards though.

Scott, I was planning to unscrew the molding which is what is pushing the bumper piece out, then pop it back in but ran out of time. Wifey was calling me in for dinner and she didn't want to just eat alone with my coworker.

My coworker called me this morning actually and thanked me again. Said she missed it in the parking lot at the mall today cause she was looking for a gray car at first... haha

[rwright]

Sweet review! The section that showed the beading, I'm guessing was DG 501?

[Rei86]

I used IronX on my cars heavily brake dusted rims...disappointment and not worth it.

Compared to the pictures of before and after you get with Sonax FE, Griot's HD, Royal Brown and Meguaiar's WB; Iron X is a huge disappointment.

[embolism]

Sweet review! The section that showed the beading, I'm guessing was DG 501?

Right in one

if you know where to look you can see the straight tapelines where the DG501 was applied during the testing. I now have white pads that are dedicated to 501 since it also didn't want to come off my pads!

Very surprised that a little Iron X stripped the KAIO though. It isn't one of those sheeting type AIO's is it? I've never just used it on its own so not sure if it's supposed to bead or not.

[embolism]

Hey Tim, yeah I could hear that poor Mazda sobbing too. Should have glued that front bumper mishap up with some clear silicone or even just some white tape. Great job, she must have been impressed. The Sonax wheel cleaner is supposed to be really good and I know you're gonna put another order in soon!!

I think I'm done ordering for a bit. Just found out that the order I put in didn't get the amigo bogo even though the system let me check out with it in my cart. Even called Nick beforehand to ask if I would get it and he said if the system let's you check out then you should get it. System kicked out the UWW but let the prima go through so I figured yippee! but now I'm sad...

Think I'll go with the Griots HD wheel cleaner next time though. Let me know if you're ordering and need some help getting free shipping! :)

[rwright]

Not all AIO's are equal. You have DG 501, then the rest making an effort :).


Sent using Tapatalk

[Buckskincolt]

Nice review!

Do you notice any "feel" difference of the paint after using the Iron-X compared to just claying? wonder if there might tend to be a pitting feeling? The clay takes everything down smooth then this would seem to remove iron below the smooth surface? Thoughts?

[slickooz]

Very in-depth write up, bookmarked for later. Have to speed to work lol.

[callicles]

I think I'm done ordering for a bit. Just found out that the order I put in didn't get the amigo bogo even though the system let me check out with it in my cart. Even called Nick beforehand to ask if I would get it and he said if the system let's you check out then you should get it. System kicked out the UWW but let the prima go through so I figured yippee! but now I'm sad...

Think I'll go with the Griots HD wheel cleaner next time though. Let me know if you're ordering and need some help getting free shipping! :)

Sorry to hear that Tim. I may make an order sometime, want to get the mother's lambswool mitt (I looked for it in my prior order but if you go to exterior car care and then wash products, you can't find it but if you search for the mother mitt, it's there, must be a bug) and also to get some polish cause I don't have anything strong now so leaning towards megs 105/205 combo but we'll see after I use the sample wf tsr to see how that works.

Maybe just try to find the mother's mitt locally for the time being.