Citrisurf Treatment for corrosion?

[LordGeo]

Has anyone here done the full citrisurf 77 treatment as recommended by Tesla? I can’t seem to find any videos on it or dedicated posts. I live in Colorado and after driving in the recent snow storm with mag chloride on the roads, it seems it’s done a number on my body panels leaving a lot of rust looking corrosion spots. I’ve tried a handful of different washing methods and can’t seem to get the spots off. So I ordered 2 bottles of citrisurf 77 as recommended by Tesla and plan on attempting to use it today while the weather is nice. If anyone here has done the process, can you give me any tips or recommendations, things to avoid, etc.
thanks in advance!

OR…. if anyone has recommendations to get it off without citrisurf, that’s highly appreciated.

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[CTCotopaxi]

I didn’t wash my truck for a few weeks due to weather and temp , won’t make that mistake again . I have spots actually etched into the stainless ?‍ only way to remove them is refinishing.

 

[tmeyer3]

MgCl2 is pretty nasty for most structural metal, even galvanized stuff. Chromium oxide, the protective layer on your truck, is no exception. I hate that municipalities love to claim that MgCl2 is less corrosive than NaCl, these are half truths. MgCl2 just so happens to be more corrosive in humid and wet environments than NaCl (you know, normal winter weather), while NaCl is more corrosive in completely submerged and arid environments...

Anyway! The citrisurf 77 formula is designed to remove free iron, which could cause corrosion to continue, so that's defintely a good thing to do ASAP!

If you regularly drive on NaCl or MgCl2 coated roads, I highly recommend applying a barrier between the environment and your stainless. PPF or vinyl works well, even a clear PPF if you want to keep the OG look would be a good idea.

Also keep in mind that the underside of any vehicle is not immune to the nasty salts they put on the road! So be sure to regularly get a good undercarriage bath during these months to prevent corrosion. Even if it's actively snowing or you're about to get dirty again, it's a good idea to get old layers of Cl- off your truck.

 

[Shadowmite]

I have the same look on my just delivered CT from last weekend, also in the Denver area. Interested to see your results, I found 91% ipa on a rag worked semi-well with some elbow grease. But not perfect. I figure once the Snow and ice is over in a few months it’s time to do a better job. In the meantime it’ll just happen again…

 

[LordGeo]

UPDATE: after 4-5 hours of labor, a bottle of bar keepers friend MORE foam spray, LOTS of microfiber towels, lots of elbow grease, and a few cramps, we are good as new. That was excruciating. I will be wrapping my truck ASAP. Glad to have found a solution and hope someone in my shoes can find this thread.

 

[koolio]

UPDATE: after 4-5 hours of labor, a bottle of bar keepers friend MORE foam spray, LOTS of microfiber towels, lots of elbow grease, and a few cramps, we are good as new. That was excruciating. I will be wrapping my truck ASAP. Glad to have found a solution and hope someone in my shoes can find this thread.

Wow, looks like new. Thanks for letting us know how you got rid of it.

 

[M0unt41nm4n]

Colorado here too…. SW part of the state. Either use Citrisurf 77 (or citric acid - same stuff but a lot cheaper… search the forums for my post on this) or BKF. Use a polisher tool and you won’t need elbow grease. I use a Milwaukee polisher M18 but you can find cheap polishers or orbital tools for $40-$50 (corded).

Yeah the main thing that sucks about these trucks is mag chloride is really bad. You gotta get it off asap. It’s bad enough that I won’t even drive it in the winter unless it’s dry out. I let my Ford trucks handle winter goodness.

 

[BeFamousVideo]

UPDATE: after 4-5 hours of labor, a bottle of bar keepers friend MORE foam spray, LOTS of microfiber towels, lots of elbow grease, and a few cramps, we are good as new. That was excruciating. I will be wrapping my truck ASAP. Glad to have found a solution and hope someone in my shoes can find this thread.

Try an orbital buffer to save yourself energy and cramps.

 

[CyberGus]

The BKF liquid is more aggressive, and would probably take less mechanical effort. I use it primarily for addressing stains/scratches.

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