Small rust spots

[Kertallica]

Has anyone had any problems with rust in the paint work with the 500 Abarths?

They are only about 1mm diameter at the moment, but they are appearing mainly on the boot lid. I went to the dealership on Saturday and they said the guy that needs to see it wasn't in 'til today, however I don't know if I'll be able to travel back up there this month :(

[wreckmaster]

Has anyone had any problems with rust in the paint work with the 500 Abarths?

They are only about 1mm diameter at the moment, but they are appearing mainly on the boot lid. I went to the dealership on Saturday and they said the guy that needs to see it wasn't in 'til today, however I don't know if I'll be able to travel back up there this month :(

If your abarth is white it is probably road dust that gets stuck in your paint( looks like rust). You will probably be able to remove it with a good degreaser. You can try the Autoglym tar remover or something else that is made to remove asphalt and tar spots. The 500 always gets VERY dirty on the rear end(aerodynamics). When it is removed give it a good polish and waxing, then it wont get stuck so easy in the future:icon_thumleft:

[.Lefteris.]

If your abarth is white it is probably road dust that gets stuck in your paint( looks like rust). You will probably be able to remove it with a good degreaser. You can try the Autoglym tar remover or something else that is made to remove asphalt and tar spots. The 500 always gets VERY dirty on the rear end(aerodynamics). When it is removed give it a good polish and waxing, then it wont get stuck so easy in the future:icon_thumleft:
X2! :icon_thumright:

[VilleV]

This problem has been mentioned many times on fiatforum and apparently they usually appear on white cars. Cant remember what was the cause, but the spots can be polished out as Wrecks said.

[Kertallica]

Thank you for the advise guys! I will get onto that this week and, fingers crossed, it will come off with ease :icon_thumleft:

[wreckmaster]

Thank you for the advise guys! I will get onto that this week and, fingers crossed, it will come off with ease :icon_thumleft:

Be sure to use a good tar remover / degreaser to loosen it up so you wont drag the particles around on the paint when polishing it. Swirls comes easy:(

[Cyberdog]

Be sure to use a good tar remover / degreaser to loosen it up so you wont drag the particles around on the paint when polishing it. Swirls comes easy:(

I've seen on the UK forum that they say it is small metal particles from shoddy dealers drilling new holes in the bootlid to fit the licence plates. Worth a look on those forums as there are dozens of threads on the subject. Seems to be mainly UK dealers that do this for some reason..

C

[Cadbury]

Mine is stuck on... can't see why they need to drill holes.

[Animo]

I've seen on the UK forum that they say it is small metal particles from shoddy dealers drilling new holes in the bootlid to fit the licence plates. Worth a look on those forums as there are dozens of threads on the subject. Seems to be mainly UK dealers that do this for some reason..

C

Yep, the dealership I got mine from did that, rust spots all over the back because they left swarf behind the number plate. I called Fiat direct and made them log it for any future problems.

I also find that flies leave spots on her when parked up.

[Cadbury]

Oh the joys of having a white car lol

[minime911]

Hi all,

Small rust spots can appear if someone has used an angle grinder in the area where the car was parked in order to cut metal and there might even be rust spots burned into the glass of the windows.
In this case there might be some small metal chips that are burned into the paint and that start rusting once wet.
This can happen at any place where someone is milling without taking care what is parked around and it’s the reason why someone should wear safety glasses.

There is also another phenomenon causing these problems.
Have you ever asked yourself why some of the new cars have a white plastic sticker that covers the hood as well as the roof before delivery?

These are transportation protection stickers for cars that get usually transported via rail.
As during winter time there is ice on the electrical lines this ice creates some sparks when the electrical pick up from the locomotive passes under it.
These sparks have the nasty behavior to burn into the paint (in this case the plastic cover) of the cars that are standing on the upper wagons right behind the loco.

Greetings:

minime911

[Kertallica]

I've seen on the UK forum that they say it is small metal particles from shoddy dealers drilling new holes in the bootlid to fit the licence plates. Worth a look on those forums as there are dozens of threads on the subject. Seems to be mainly UK dealers that do this for some reason..

C

The spots now make sense! (hopefully)

When I picked the car up and drove all the way back to Brighton, I noticed that my number plate didn't match my documents :eek: So I got another dealer to replace them with the correct ones, and they charged the Kent dealer for the work.

Still annoying though :icon_rolleyes:

And thank you minime911, I now feel a little more enlightened :p

[Cadbury]

We certainly do learn something new every day !:good_post:

[.Lefteris.]

Hi all,

Small rust spots can appear if someone has used an angle grinder in the area where the car was parked in order to cut metal and there might even be rust spots burned into the glass of the windows.
In this case there might be some small metal chips that are burned into the paint and that start rusting once wet.
This can happen at any place where someone is milling without taking care what is parked around and it’s the reason why someone should wear safety glasses.

There is also another phenomenon causing these problems.
Have you ever asked yourself why some of the new cars have a white plastic sticker that covers the hood as well as the roof before delivery?

These are transportation protection stickers for cars that get usually transported via rail.
As during winter time there is ice on the electrical lines this ice creates some sparks when the electrical pick up from the locomotive passes under it.
These sparks have the nasty behavior to burn into the paint (in this case the plastic cover) of the cars that are standing on the upper wagons right behind the loco.

Greetings:

minime911
:good_post: :thanks2:

[Kertallica]

Right, little update on the situation. I have now tried using a tar remover and polishing the boot and back bumper area, yet none of it has come off... And the worst thing is, it looks like it's spreading :eek::confused:

[wreckmaster]

Try to use some clay and quick detailer on it also:( If this dosent work, you have to go to the dealer and have them to check it out. Keep us up to date on what it is:eek:

[Kertallica]

I have found out what the marks are from!

As minime911 said, it is small shards of metal getting onto my paintwork. However it's not from a grinder or anything similar, it's coming from the train station that's across the road from my work.

I found this out as there is a VW dealer down the road, and they have to wash their cars every day to combat it. In my case though they said it looks like it won't come off easily, so they suggested me having acid abrasion used on my car. They gave me a number for someone near here, and he quotes around £100 for it to be done; this price including compound buffering (I believe that is what he said) if needed. Is this good value for money?

Also there are no known ways of stopping it from happening, unless buying a car cover (which I will be looking into). Or I don't drive to work anymore, which really isn't an option. However someone did mention something about a clingfilm cover which may stop it from happening :confused: