I have an 03 1500 and I live in northeast Iowa. This winter was particularly bad as far as snow goes and I noticed that there were little tiny specks of rust appearing on the paint. I try to wash the truck as often as I can in the winter to keep salt off the paint, but its not always possible in the midwest. Anyway, first I'd like to know where this rust is coming from and second, how do i remove it? The specks are about the size of a pin ***** and are dotted all along the sides of the truck. Thanks!

 

It could be brake dust, or tiny shavings from your rotors that come off when you brake. Have you checked your brakes lately? Are the pads worn badly or are the brakes locking up?

 

I checked the brakes about a month ago and they look fine, lots of material left on the pads, rotors look great, no issues when stopping. I have heard that brake dust can do that though. What I am most concerned with is how to get rid of it.

 

I've heard that a clay bar (with lots of elbow grease) can take it off but I've never tried it myself. Just curious, what color is your truck that they are showing up?

 

It is atlantic blue. I was just on an F150 forum(I know, blasphemy) and I read a thread from a guy with the same problem. He used clay and said it worked great. I have clayed before and tried it the other day but it didn't seem to work. Maybe I just wasn't using enough elbow grease. I'll try it again next wash and let you know how it turns out.

 

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ya my truck is gettin thos rust spots too, but my front rotors are warped a little bit, the dealer told me that breaks are still good so idn what to do about that, but im takin it in for a oil change this week so ill ask them about that paint too

 

O.K., I posted about the little rust spots last year. I noticed them every time I washed the truck, and they seemed to multiply each time. Heard everything form "rust from the box car they train the trucks in on, yeah yours must have been the first one on, they get the most being on the ends" to the brake dust theory. Also heard everything from a new paint job to the clay bar. I kept passing on the clay bar solution, just didn't sound like a great deal of fun. Well what ever it is/was, this year's first really good hand wash was the end of the line. I had more spots than a Dalmatian breeder! I did notice that the spots seemed to be more on the sides/flat horizontal surfaces more than the roof/hood?! Took a ride to TARGET one day, grabbed a bottle of Turtle Wax liquid claybar ICE. figured it was liquid, it'd go on like wax... rub it on, rub it off. NOPE, you've got to really run that crap onto the spots to get it to work, however the results are definitely worth the effort!! I went over the entire truck, not just the spots, it's been well over 2 months and I haven't seen them re-appear. Maybe there is something in the claybar ICE that prevents them from coming back or maybe something in the paint that a good coat of this stuff kills?! Anyway, take a weekend, good hand wash and then try the claybar ICE. And keep us posted, curious as to how everyone else deals with this.[/align]

 

I don't think its rust. Its just some kind of discoloration.

You'll need to either clay it or compound it.

Clay is safer and much faster.

You can clay your truck faster then you can wax it.

I wash the truck

I have a squirt bottle set on mist filled with water and a couple of drops of dish detergent. Shake well, LOL!
I cut a clay bar in half and use one half at a time until it gets too dirty. Make sure you keep kneeding the clay as you go.

Squirt the area that you are going to do, and do like a body panel at a time and keep it wet with the solution while working it.

Once you finish a body panel, just use another squirt bottle of plain water. Squirt the whole panel lightly and remove the water/residue off with a clean soft bath towel. I have some white towels I use just for the vehicles.

Do all the body panels, then wax as usual.

Done.

 

Trust me on this one, use a clay bar. The same thing happened to my 99' ram (except mine is white...which makes it ten times worse) when I left it at my mechanics garage for a week while on vacation. He gave me a zebra clar bar along with some spray and it took it off like it was never on the truck. My entire hood, roof and parts of the door + bed were covered in it. It'll take you a little while to get it all off but it does come off. Make sure you wax your truck after doing this too.