Road Spray? Help

[Ramboy13]

Just got my 2025 Tungsten at the end of January. Finally warm enough to clean and ceramic coat it. I’m prepping now and found a white residue on the leading edge of the rear fender flares. Both sides.
It is white - I’ll try to attach pics but they aren’t helping convey how it looks. I’ve tried washing. Clay bar. And even a very light scratch polish. Nothing seems to touch this.
Need ideas…. I was planning to do ceramic tomorrow.
Thanks!

Edit: it’s not road paint. It’s middle of winter here in upstate NY so no painting going on.
There’s plenty of salt, but this doesn’t come off like salt everywhere else.

 

[Dr. Jim]

I have seen this, over the years, on some of my vehicles. The paint has been chipped off like it has been "sandblasted" from road debris.

 

[Ramboy13]

I have seen this, over the years, on some of my vehicles. The paint has been chipped off like it has been "sandblasted" from road debris.

Thanks. Scary thought that this happens in only five weeks since I got the truck. There has been salt and salt in the roads, but I’ve tried to avoid as much as possible.
It doesn’t feel terribly rough, but if what you said is true…. There’s nothing I can do.
That’s very disappointing.

 

[Biga]

Yes looks like it got sand blasted from the crap they put down on the roads. One downside to retractable running boards is that they don't stick out to block crap from hitting the rear fenders like the fixed running boards do. Ram should be installing PPF from the factory in this area.

 

[Rock Crawler]

I’d take it to a professional paint shop and get their opinion/suggestions. Many years ago my Dad got something on his car that almost looked like a concrete mist. We could not get it to come off at all. We took it to a paint shop and they had a power washer that had high water pressure, not just a lot of air like the ones we use at home. It took that stuff off in just a few minutes without damaging the paint.

 

[Montana_]

Get gud mud flaps lol

Even with the gatorbacks it's still a thing. These trucks spray. Touchless washes only do so much and I've noticed there is a lot of debris inside the factory flares too. Just poor adhesive is what I suspect.

 

[n8zcc]

Get gud mud flaps lol

Even with the gatorbacks it's still a thing. These trucks spray. Touchless washes only do so much and I've noticed there is a lot of debris inside the factory flares too. Just poor adhesive is what I suspect.

Mud flaps won't stop the "sandblasting" effect. What stops it is fixed-in-place running boards. These powered deployable running boards tuck in and don't redirect the wind away from the flares. I have the same problem on my 2022 as the OP, albeit not as pronounced.

 

[Ramboy13]

Yep, I have mud flaps. Put on the Mopar versions first day.
I agree the lack of running boards isn’t helping, so I’m debating running with them deployed when the roads are real bad. Haven’t thought through pros and cons of that yet.
I ended up getting 90% of it off with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. I almost hesitate to admit that. I’ve used on other things that just would not come clean with normal cleaning, like pool liner or steps. It’s much better now and I said screw it and did the ceramic coat over it. Hoping that will help some. I know it’s not bullet proof.

The shape of the truck hasn’t changed much in years. And not everyone has running boards. So you’d think this is a very common issue and maybe they could’ve designed this better. Even if adding better protection on the flares.

 

[Scram1500]

Just got my 2025 Tungsten at the end of January. Finally warm enough to clean and ceramic coat it. I’m prepping now and found a white residue on the leading edge of the rear fender flares. Both sides.
It is white - I’ll try to attach pics but they aren’t helping convey how it looks. I’ve tried washing. Clay bar. And even a very light scratch polish. Nothing seems to touch this.
Need ideas…. I was planning to do ceramic tomorrow.
Thanks!

Edit: it’s not road paint. It’s middle of winter here in upstate NY so no painting going on.
There’s plenty of salt, but this doesn’t come off like salt everywhere else.
View attachment 197745View attachment 197746

Looks like concrete mist, it's also on the plastic trim. Try some vinegar

 

[Joyride]

Might also try some brake cleaner.....

 

[Ramboy13]

Resurrecting this thread. it’s been over a year, and it’s even worse this year.
I’m at the point where I’d like to put on some PPF, but I don’t know the first thing about it. I spent a little time looking it up, and honestly it’s a bit overwhelming. I do most of my own maintenance, and I’m fairly handy. But I’ve never really cared enough to worry about something like PPF for a vehicle. The price tag on this truck means I care…. I know I could hunting on line and hope to get lucky, but this community has helped me many times. So hoping someone can point me in the right direction to learn where I can buy something, and some good tips/tricks for install.
I’m taking truck in soon for brake controller recall, and I plan to ask their body shop. FWIW….

 

[mplaramie]

Resurrecting this thread. it’s been over a year, and it’s even worse this year.
I’m at the point where I’d like to put on some PPF, but I don’t know the first thing about it. I spent a little time looking it up, and honestly it’s a bit overwhelming. I do most of my own maintenance, and I’m fairly handy. But I’ve never really cared enough to worry about something like PPF for a vehicle. The price tag on this truck means I care…. I know I could hunting on line and hope to get lucky, but this community has helped me many times. So hoping someone can point me in the right direction to learn where I can buy something, and some good tips/tricks for install.
I’m taking truck in soon for brake controller recall, and I plan to ask their body shop. FWIW….

Look for a high end detail shop in your area. They typically will do PPF. I'm sure you can install yourself but I wouldn't suggest it.

I live in Western NY so PPF for me was a must. Had a local Zeibart do mine. Not because its the best but they stand behind the product application and warranty.

Hope it helps.

 

[Ramboy13]

Look for a high end detail shop in your area. They typically will do PPF. I'm sure you can install yourself but I wouldn't suggest it.

I live in Western NY so PPF for me was a must. Had a local Zeibart do mine. Not because its the best but they stand behind the product application and warranty.

Hope it helps.

Thanks much!

 

[SW Driver]

Resurrecting this thread. it’s been over a year, and it’s even worse this year.
I’m at the point where I’d like to put on some PPF, but I don’t know the first thing about it. I spent a little time looking it up, and honestly it’s a bit overwhelming. I do most of my own maintenance, and I’m fairly handy. But I’ve never really cared enough to worry about something like PPF for a vehicle. The price tag on this truck means I care…. I know I could hunting on line and hope to get lucky, but this community has helped me many times. So hoping someone can point me in the right direction to learn where I can buy something, and some good tips/tricks for install.
I’m taking truck in soon for brake controller recall, and I plan to ask their body shop. FWIW….

PPF is not something you do it yourself if you want a quality installation with quality materials. Look around for shops that do high end cars like Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini, etc. Those people know what they’re doing. These shops also will do window tint and ceramic coating.

The shop I use in San Diego typically has $5M - $10M of car value in their shop at any given time. But they treat all their customers the same regardless of the vehicle they’re working on.

 

[CHeYeNNe71]

My 19 RAM I bought used had the same and I thought it was paint as well, it's as others mentioned. Sad they do this. Mine is to old to worry about PPF.

 

[Ramboy13]

I talked to a buddy that does car detailing on the side. He showed me a picture of his car, and said he’s dealing with same thing. In this area they started using more sand and cinders on the roads in the winter. Just a quick check of local forums shows that many people are having similar issues.
He also pointed me to a local tint company that does PPF, so I’m going to check with them.
thanks all!

 

[Ramboy13]

So I stopped at a local tint/detailing shop and had a good chat with them. They said they can do PPF on the lower part of my rear quarterpanel, in front of the wheels. Quick verbal estimate was $150-$175 for both sides. But they said I should absolutely check with dealer for paint warranty, since this shouldn’t be happening on such a new truck. The pictures I posted originally at the begging of this thread were when the truck was a little over a month old. It’s much worse now, and honestly, quite upsetting.

The shop didn’t think they could do much to repair the damage already done. They aren’t a body shop, and polishing isn’t going to fix this. It likely needs new plastic flares on both sides.
I’m going to contact RamCares here, and also put this on the list of things to ask dealer whenever I get in for the recalls.

 

[Biga]

It's the design on the truck, the rear fenders flare out before the rear tires and the flares stick out even more so they catch all the crap kicked up by the front tires. That and the fact the state is allowed to put that crap down on the roads that destroys vehicles. Even the unpainted plastic trim piece on the bottom looks sand blasted. I have fixed running boards so they block all that crap before it hits the rear fenders/flares.

 

[Quint]

Yeah - I would have taken it to the dealer immediately.

As you stated, there is no way that is road salt. It could be road paint but it certainly is something that splashed up onto the truck. I've lived in salt states my entire life and have never had a situation where it doesn't wash right off. It's something else.

My 2015 RAM had "rail dust" on it. I bought some purple gunk online that smelled horrible. I washed it onto my white truck, when the purple gunk contacted the rail dust spots, it turned another color (or maybe that's when it turned purple), and it all went away. I never had to deal with the rail dust again.

 

[Ramboy13]

Yeah - I would have taken it to the dealer immediately.

As you stated, there is no way that is road salt. It could be road paint but it certainly is something that splashed up onto the truck. I've lived in salt states my entire life and have never had a situation where it doesn't wash right off. It's something else.

My 2015 RAM had "rail dust" on it. I bought some purple gunk online that smelled horrible. I washed it onto my white truck, when the purple gunk contacted the rail dust spots, it turned another color (or maybe that's when it turned purple), and it all went away. I never had to deal with the rail dust again.

It’s not road paint, not in January/February in upstate NY. It’s not just surface contaminates…. it’s actually eating into the plastic and pitting it.
Was the purple gunk you used Purple Power? They make different degreasers and cleaners. Curious what you used.