Surface rust on new polo

[snedden9485]

Just washing the car today and noticed some minor surface rust on the car (3days old). It polished out ok, guessing it was from sitting on the docks???

[snedden9485]

Just minor rust dots mainly on rear of car. Polished out without too many issues. Ahh the joys of owning a white car again.

[gavs]

Probably surface contaminants, did u clay it? Probably a whole lot of crap still stuck in the paint....

[GTI JOE]

Yep, when I washed my baby last week, a lot of dock side crap came off. Looks great now

[snedden9485]

No havent done any polish etc yet. What products and process have you guys done? No idea what a clay is. I only have some meguiars wet look polish.

[gavs]

You use even mothers or meguiars stuff from autobarn etc or go for full-on dodo juice clay and born-to-be-slippy clay lube

[snedden9485]

So I'm after clay polish? Will get some today.

[FJ Steve]

Clay is a small flexible 'pad' (like blu-tack) that you use to rub over the surface of the vehicle, in conjunction with a manufacturers solution (usually provided with the pad in the form of a kit). Ensure that you do not drop the 'clay' onto the ground and that you continually 'turn/fold' the clay to ensure you are presenting the cleanest surface of the pad to the car.

Process requires 1% elbow grease, and in reality, would take less time than a wash/chamois of the same area. The process is a pre-cursor to detailing the duco, removing road and air born contaminants, and providing an improved surface for the polish (of your choice) and wax to do their thing.

I clay'd our .:R32 and the Polo and both vehicles showed significant signs of paint presentation than OEM.

Bottom line....you will be amazed.

[NickZ]

I cannot believe a dealer sold you a car without removing rust spots!!!!!!!!!

At least our cars have a 12 year anti-corrosion warranty.

[gavs]

Yeah, so do ours. Alot of these rust spots aren't actually rust persay, it's more airborne contaminants that are stuck to the paint that are oxidizing, it just shows up more on a white car, good reason to wash it more often

[snedden9485]

Thx boys. I willbe giving the dealer a rocket tomora. Bought some mothers clay kit today. Will wash, clay then polish tomora. Excited .

How often should I clay?

[FJ Steve]

IMHO worst case scenario would be every 6 months.....depends on your garage/carport/open plan parking availability. Also (of course) depends on the quality of wash/polish/wax you use and frequency of washing. Plenty of info via the search facility here. Or try the forum linked to Final Inspection (Melbourne)

[snedden9485]

I wash weekly and car is always garaged at home. So you should polish each time after a clay?

[FJ Steve]

I wash weekly and car is always garaged at home. So you should polish each time after a clay?

yep.

10char

[NickZ]

Suggest you go to the bodywork / detailing section of this forum for some useful info. There are quite a few options available for you. I think a clay every 12 months is sufficient, but doing it every 6 months is fine. Also polishing and waxing are important but in terms of protecting the paint the wax is the key step and you should wax every 3 months, whilst a polish can be done every 12 months when you clay. A good quality sealant would last 12 months if you don't feel like waxing every 3 months.