Iron fallout removal with Fallout 7: when, where and how

Run your fingertips over a freshly washed bonnet or the face of an alloy wheel. If it feels gritty rather than glassy, that is bonded contamination, and most of it is iron. Brake dust and industrial fallout land as hot metal particles, embed in the clear coat and start to oxidise. A wash does not shift them. An iron remover does.

How Fallout 7 works

Nerta Fallout 7 is a pH-neutral, acid-free iron remover. Its active ingredient reacts with iron oxide and dissolves it into a water-soluble compound, which is the purple run-off you see in the photos. Because it is neutral it is safe on paint, glass, plastics and lacquered wheels, which is not something you can say about the acidic wheel cleaners that were standard a decade ago.

When to use it

• Wheels: every wash on a daily driver, or at least monthly. Brake dust is iron.
• Paintwork: two to four times a year as part of a decontamination before polishing, waxing or applying a ceramic coating. Also whenever the paint feels rough after washing.
• Before protection: always. Wax or coating applied over iron particles is wax or coating applied over a problem that will keep oxidising underneath.

How to use it

1. Wash and rinse first. Fallout 7 is for what is bonded to the surface, not loose dirt on top of it.
2. Work on a cool surface in the shade. Heat shortens the working time and risks drying.
3. Spray evenly, panel by panel or wheel by wheel. You do not need to soak it; a light, even coverage is enough.
4. Wait 2–5 minutes. The colour change starts within a minute. On heavily contaminated wheels you will see it bleeding purple almost immediately.
5. Agitate stubborn areas with a soft wheel brush or a microfibre mitt.
6. Rinse thoroughly with a pressure washer. Do not let it dry on the surface.

For a full decontamination, follow with Tar Remover for tar spots, then a clay bar or clay mitt, then your protection of choice such as Hydro Ceramic Wax.

Using less of it

Iron remover is one of the more expensive products per litre, so dosing matters.

• Use a good trigger sprayer that gives a fine, even mist rather than a jet.
• Do wheels first, then paint, so the sprayer is already primed.
• Do not spray a panel twice. If it did not react, there was nothing to react with.
• Buy the 5 L and decant into 1 L sprayers; it works out considerably cheaper than buying 1 L bottles repeatedly.

What it will not do

Fallout 7 removes iron. It does not remove tar, tree sap, cement or water spots, and it does not polish out scratches. If a wheel is still dull after an iron remover, the problem is usually oxidised lacquer or pitting, which is a refinishing job rather than a cleaning one.

The smell

Yes, it has one. That is the active ingredient doing its job. Work outside or in a ventilated bay, and it dissipates quickly once rinsed.

Questions about decontamination on a specific vehicle or coating? Send Mati a photo on WhatsApp.