Motoring Discussion > Fallout from bonfire Miscellaneous
Thread Author: Rudedog Replies: 6

 Fallout from bonfire - Rudedog
Went out this morning to find all of the cars in the street covered in specks of white ash, seems on the of the larger houses in the area had a big fireworks display last night and I guess a bonfire to go with it.

I couldn't believe how much ash has drifted over such a wide area, I removed as much as I could from our three cars but I suspect many households won't have ventured out on a cold Sunday so tomorrow morning will be the first they see of the mess.

My question is does ash damage paintwork? Just my luck and for once there isn't any rain forecast tonight to wash it away.

 Fallout from bonfire - Manatee
Cold ash is probably OK. Not so sure if it's firework residue. The colours in fireworks come from powdered metals and salts. Most of them probably would mark paint but if there was enough exposure to iron particles you might find spots of rust appearing in the paint in due course.

My dad worked near a foundry and parked his car nearby, he had this problem from constant exposure. He used oxalic acid to remove it.
 Fallout from bonfire - Bromptonaut
>> My dad worked near a foundry and parked his car nearby, he had this problem
>> from constant exposure. He used oxalic acid to remove it.

IIRC cars parked near railways where trains used old fashioned steel/steel rim brakes had similar issues.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Sun 17 Nov 19 at 20:18
 Fallout from bonfire - Zero
New cars being carried on open wagons more so, the iron filings were HOT
 Fallout from bonfire - Lygonos
Thioglycolic/mercaptoacetic acid is used to remove metal/rust from the paint.

Can be found in a number of proprietary car cleaning products - has the fun effect of making the paint 'bleed' purple wherever a speck of rust/metal is on it.

I use Korrosol from Bilt Hamber.

Here's a video of it doing its thing on some manky Alfa wheels.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M9tC00EIqU



 Fallout from bonfire - smokie
Blimey that stuff looks impressive. I'd try it except my wheels don't get dirty like that.

Does the purple stain the ground where it#'s washed off or is the trick to make sure you use plenty of water so it doesn't?
 Fallout from bonfire - Lygonos
The purple is soluble so aye just flush with lots of water.

Only downside is it has a bit of a farty smell due to the mercaptan component, but again this disappears on washing off.

Biodegradable too if that sort of thing floats your boat.
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