Auto Detailing News Fall 2019

DETAIL
DOCTOR
3. Neutralize damaged panels
with baking soda solution (one
tablespoon soda per quart of
water).
4. Rinse with water and rewash and
dry the area.
Step 3:
Repair the Damage
Level 1 damage (surface):
Wet sand with ultra-fine (1,500-
2,000 grit) that has been soaked in
a soap and water solution for five
to six minutes. Go slowly to avoid
removing too much clear coat.
Buff with medium grit compound
(1,500 to 2,000) and poly/wool pad
with the buffer at 1,750 RPMs.
Swirl marks can be removed by
using a polish swirl remover with
foam polishing pad and buffer at
about 1,300 RPMs.
Level 2 damage (into the clear):
Requires sanding and repainting of
clear coat. Not recommended for
detailers.
Level 3 damage (through the clear coat
into the base coat):
Requires sanding and reapplication
of both basecoat and
clear coat. Not recommended for
detailers.
For More
Severe Damage:
In severe cases the paint will have to
be completely stripped. It is important
that a detailer is able to recognize the
various levels of acid rain damage and
know what can and cannot be repaired.
This helps to avoid damaging the
paint more than it is, and/ or having an
unhappy customer who has the wrong
expectations.
Rail Dust
The major source of rail dust is the
tiny iron particles produced by friction
between a train’s wheels and the tracks.
These particles can actually become embedded,
or melted into, the vehicle’s finish
during transportation.
Rail dust can also be deposited on
vehicles if they’re stored near steel ore
yards or similar operations that produce
iron dust.
Rail dust creates bumps in the surface
of the finish that may penetrate into
the paint. Rust colored spots in the paint
usually indicate rail dust damage.
Like acid rain, there are different procedures
for repairing rail dust damage,
depending on its severity:
Step 1:
WHAT IS ACID
RAIN?
According to the Environmental Protection
Agency, acid rain, or acid deposition,
is a broad term that includes any
form of precipitation with acidic components,
such as sulfuric or nitric acid that
fall to the ground from the atmosphere in
wet or dry forms. This can include rain,
snow, fog, hail or even dust that is acidic.
When sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen
oxides (NOX) are emitted into the
atmosphere they react with water, oxygen
and other chemicals to form sulfuric
and nitric acids. They then mix with water
and other substances before landing
on the ground (or a vehicle).
Acid rain is caused by:
Burning of fossil fuels to generate
electricity
Vehicles and heavy equipment.
Manufacturing, oil refineries and
other industries.
A minor cause are natural resources
such as volcanoes
Where is acid rain in the
United States?
According to Sciencing.com, parts of
the eastern United States once had some
of the highest levels of acid rain in the
world, “due to emissions from Midwestern
coal-burning power plants. In parts
of New Jersey, for example, over 90 percent
of freshwater streams are still acidic
today due to acid rain, according to the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.”
Levels of acid rain have decreased,
thanks to the Clean Air Act of 1970, but
it is still an issue nationwide.
What is rail dust?
According to the Detailers Dictionary
(author, Chris Evans) rail dust is
red or rust color spots on the finish that
can penetrate deep into the carl coat. It
is caused by the transporting of vehicles
on railways.
According to the American Association
of Railroads, the transporting of
vehicle via train started back in the early
1900s thanks to Henry Ford’s Highland
Park assembly plant.
“As demand for new automobiles
grew, railroads designed a railcar specifically
for the movement of automobiles.
This innovation greatly increased the
number of autos carried per railcar from
two to ten or more. Today, a single train
can move 750 vehicles at once.”
Last year, it was reported that U.S.
Class I railroads moved 1.8 million
carloads of motor vehicles and parts
throughout the United States.
24 | AUTO DETAILING NEWS | VOL. 4, NO. 4 • FALL 2019