Stainless Steel rust

[Robo-Car]

Is it normal for this to happen after a truck wash . It looks almost like rust spots . Sorry if the pictures are bad I really tried to take pics of it
I only noticed it after I pressure washed the truck but I used ph balanced car shampoo.

is there a cleaner I can use to wipe them off ?

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[Known-Background]

Citrisurf 77 will clean that off.

 

[rixos]

BKF and windex.

 

[Robo-Car]

Citrisurf 77 will clean that off.

Just ordered some thank you . Expensive stuff . Is it from me power washing ? Or using the wrong soap ?

 

[That Beast Mode]

I think they all get it.. its probably that rail dust everyone was complaining about. The surface dust rusts with water. Idk about citrisuf, but i ended up having to bar keepers my whole truck. It was a pain in the ass, but it didnt come back after I did it once to remove all of it. Also it looked great after I was done.

 

[REM]

Is it normal for this to happen after a truck wash . It looks almost like rust spots . Sorry if the pictures are bad I really tried to take pics of it
I only noticed it after I pressure washed the truck but I used ph balanced car shampoo.

is there a cleaner I can use to wipe them off ?

yep, those are iron deposits on the surface of your truck; mostly due to other cars always smashing their brakes on the highway.

 

[Robo-Car]

did you go through a touch wash or touchless? And yes, these are iron deposits on the surface of your car; mostly due to other cars always smashing their brakes on the highway.

I power washed it myself And foam soap then wiped it manually . Good to know I thought i, I messed up my truck lol

 

[Qixer01]

https://service.tesla.com/docs/Publ...UID-E37F1326-EB87-4D02-9007-7034DB54C604.html

 

[TWRAPS]

Is it normal for this to happen after a truck wash . It looks almost like rust spots . Sorry if the pictures are bad I really tried to take pics of it
I only noticed it after I pressure washed the truck but I used ph balanced car shampoo.

is there a cleaner I can use to wipe them off ?

Get a clear (matte or satin) wrap, our pattern is super easy to install, and problem solved for good + no more fingerprints:
https://twraps.com/products/protection-film-tesla-cybertruck

 

[HaulingAss]

Just ordered some thank you . Expensive stuff . Is it from me power washing ? Or using the wrong soap ?

pH neutral soap is to preserve the wax layer and protect sensitive paints/clearcoats of painted cars, it's a waste of time to use it on bare metal because it doesn't remove contaminants as effectively as dish soap (alkaline pH or a special acid based car soap meant for deep cleaning). Either will clean more effectively than pH neutral soap which is not necessary with the Cybertruck.

The rust spots you photographed are little specs of iron dust that stuck to the metal. The CitraSurf 77 will take care of them because it's an acid. The CitraSurf 77 Plus will likely take care of them with less dwell time (even though the manufacturer claims they are both pH 1.6). If you want a cheaper solution, just buy some citric acid in powder form, it's very inexpensive. You could even add it to your pH neutral car soap do get the pH down to 4-5 for better cleaning. That might get rid of the iron specs using the combination of a pH below 7 and the surfactants in the soap.

I've had good Cybertruck washing results with both regular dish soap like Dawn or Lemon Joy, which are alkaline, and also with Meguiar's Deep Crystal Car Wash (mine has a pH of 6.5 but newer formulations may have been reformulated to be slightly alkaline). The dish soap cleans faster/better but the Meguiar's creates better sheeting action when rinsing off. That's only an advantage if you aren't going to towel dry it afterwards (sheeting action can reduce water spots). Either one cleans better than pH neutral car shampoos. Both make the Cybertruck shine brightly (but not as bright as products that strip the passivation layer).

It's easier to maintain a Cybertruck if you aren't constantly stripping the passivation layer. My impression is that CitraSurf 77 might strip the passivation layer but it makes up for it by immediately re-establishing it if you give it the proper dwell time. Remember, the dwell time is very temperature dependent, in cold conditions (like in the 40F range) it takes a long time to work compared to at room temperature.

I haven't noticed that CitraSurf 77 stains the plastics, but I always dilute it after I get it on plastic or rubber. It can't be good to leave it on plastic or rubber for long but the metal loves it!

 

[koolio]

Like others have said, it’s iron deposits from brake dust, etc on the roads. These were on your previous cars but not really noticeable since it’s not stainless steel.

 

[BrockN]

Like others have said, it’s iron deposits from brake dust, etc on the roads. These were on your previous cars but not really noticeable since it’s not stainless steel.

I need to wash mine again, and likely give the Citrisurf77 a go in a few places. In my case, I don't think it was typical rail dust as it popped up after a wet drive on a dirt road that had been treated for dust.

I don't know if the dust itself had iron content or if the dust treatment contains something interesting... but regardless, the surface is pockmarked with small equal sized rust spots, mostly at the upper limit of the grime. It took a few days to appear and it's the first time I've seen this after driving the same road many times. Hopefully it won't take too much effort to get it looking reasonable again.

I think the dust suppression material is likely magnesium chloride or calcium chloride. I'm not enough of a chemist to know whether that's relevant or not... but it seems likely to me that the rust spots are triggered by the chemical and not the road dirt, since I've been over that road in the wet before and haven't seen the spots appear like this! Another idea might be related to recent grading work, before the chemical was applied. Maybe I got covered in iron particles from the grader blade...

 

[CybertruckCovers]

Is it normal for this to happen after a truck wash . It looks almost like rust spots . Sorry if the pictures are bad I really tried to take pics of it
I only noticed it after I pressure washed the truck but I used ph balanced car shampoo.

is there a cleaner I can use to wipe them off ?

We recently posted this tutorial video to remove Cybertruck rust spots:

 

[L3it3R]

This.

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