Hello all. I have 2017 and saw tiny rust chips in the paint after one week of owning the car. I took it to the dealer and their detail guy says it is only on the white cars that you find this problem. (ALL Mazda cars) He says as the cars move from the factory to the ship for export on the train cars, iron flakes from the train wheels and rails go into the air and settle on the paint. Since they are hot flakes, they work their way into the paint. The detailer says it happens on all car colors, but you will only see it on white. Anyone else have this issue? The rust is the size of a pin head and smaller. His solution is to buff the entire car, which will take at least a full day. I am concerned about the factory finish being buffed off, along with the clear coat. What should I do?
Oh, I live on the west coast USA, so rust of all types are accelerated here.

 

I have owned a full service car wash & detail center for many years. What you are describing does happen on some new cars. The rust colored metal flakes are not in the paint finish but rather embedded in the clear coat. Over time many cars accumulate environmental contamination that embeds it self in the clear coat. You can feel this by running your hand over the cars surface. It will feel a little gritty like sand. The proper way to remove this is by claying and then waxing the car. It is a relatively simple and safe process that will take about four hours for some one who knows what they are doing. Any good detailer can do this. Claying and waxing a car will not in any way effect your clear coat. On the other hand you are correct every time you buff your car it does reduce the clear coat finish.

What ever you do do not let them use a rotary buffer with a wool pad as this is way to aggressive. Good detailers today will use a random orbital buffer with foam or microfiber pad. This is much safer and still produces great results. I would suggest having your car clayed and waxed by a good detailer and having the dealership reimburse you.

 

Thank you for such good advise! That all makes sense and I will check on what process they want to do. Clay sounds interesting, never tried clay. Again, thank you for the information (yes, it happens) and what to do. Jack.

 

 

I never knew such things existed such as iron removers. Seems the car manufacturers know about "rail dust", so I have to wonder why they do not wrap the car for protection.

 

 

Have you never seen a truckload of cars in transit from port to dealer or newly arrived at dealership with white plastic wrap on horizontal surfaces where most of this stuff lands?

 

Iron removers are a good idea for your situation. They are a great products to remove large areas of rail dust on a vehicle. As a side note, iron removers will clean neglected wheels really well. If you end up using the product make sure the area is well ventilated and to wear rubber gloves. It is a pretty harsh chemical. After use you should wax your car as the iron remover will remove all your prior wax. Our wash uses the brand Iron X but I would assume other brands would work as well.

 

I have same issue on my white 2017 CX-5. I noticed several tiny dots rust in the trunk door. I have to call the dealership ask for solution.

 

Try clay barring the spots. Mothers has a kit containing the clay and a spray wash. I also have a white RAM that gets those "spots" over every winter. Little arm muscle with the clay cleans them right out. Stubborn ones just need more rubbing. Last Fall I applied a sealer to the paint (actually 2 coats) and it really reduced the amount of spots I typically get over the winter. Might help you too.

Good luck!