At its core, car cleaning is all about chemical reactions, some are just more obvious than others. Take iron fallout removers, these gel-based sprays work to rid your car of jagged metal (often iron) particles that not only look unsightly but can end up damaging your paintwork and alloys if left untreated.
When sprayed onto a surface rich with iron particles, fallout remover lifts them and lets you know it's reacted with the purple or red colour change. They absolutely stink to use (like sulphur), but there's nothing on sale that can shift baked-on brake dust quite so effectively. Even the best wheel cleaners can't hold a candle to them.
If you're after the best fallout removers or want to know all about them, we have the perfect guide right here. So grab your best wheel brushes and hold your nose, it's time to give your car a deep clean.
The best fallout removers
The best Fallout Remover
An excellent spray bottle of iron fallout remover, Autobrite Direct's Purple Rain is a top performer and is now in its third iteration. With a pH of 6-7, this gel-based option is gentle while still dissolving iron fallout. It also includes a selection of cleaners and degreasers to do a little bit of cleaning, enough to make a filthy wheel look more acceptable.
It's designed to cling to vertical surfaces which means it can spend longer reacting and lifting away brake dust. It's suitable for wheels, paintwork and even glass which makes it a versatile choice, and while it may smell like sulphur, it's not the most offensive-smelling iron fallout remover on the market.
Pros
- Effective cleaner
- Good value for money
Cons
- Poor trigger design
Editor's choice
A brilliantly effective fallout remover from 26JPN, Fallout impressed us with its cleaning power and it remains one of our top picks for shifting fallout. We like the fact it's biodegradable without compromised cleaning power and that the pH is balanced in the bottle. It's supposedly non-toxic too, which is good news for us, as we inhaled a lungful when the wind shifted.
It also features a gel-like consistency for better coverage and is stated as safe for bodywork and all-wheel finishes. It even tries to mask the horrible eggy smell with a sickly-sweet cherry scent, which is nice for the nasally sensitive.
Pros
- Excellent cleaning qualities
- Cherry-scented
Cons
- Some users reported that the trigger spray isn't the best design for the consistency of the product
The best fallout remover and wheel cleaner
It's important to note that most fallout removers aren't wheel cleaners, and while they'll shift all of that nasty brake dust, they won't clean the wheels. You'll need to apply a dedicated wheel cleaner to properly make your wheels shine. This option from Zirconite combines the two, making wheel cleaning a much easier task.
Like the 26JPN option above, this fallout remover is more of a gel that coats the alloys easier and is designed to be used on bodywork as well as all alloy wheel types. It's great for saving time and is well worth considering.
Pros
- Covers all bases well
- Safety lock on the trigger
Cons
- Reasonably expensive
The best fallout remover for adding protection
A clever option from Gtechniq, this fallout remover is packed with a rust inhibitor and additives to prevent acid rain from causing alloy damage. So not only will it shift the dust from brakes and industrial fallout with ease, but it'll also add a small layer of protection. It's also safe on existing coatings and sealants and will cling to the wheel face thanks to a gel-based consistency.
Pros
- Excellent for fallout removal
- Adds a layer of protection
Cons
- Expensive
The best fallout remover on a budget
This huge bottle of fallout remover represents great value for money while remaining a very competent option for cleaning your car of iron fallout. Billed as pH neutral, it's a safe option for use on all types of painted and bare-metal surfaces where it'll turn the contamination into something that can be easily rinsed away.
Like other fallout removers here, it's made to sting to vertical surfaces to increase dwell time and it'll absolutely stink when used. The only issue with this purchase is that you'll need a spray bottle to decant this into in order to use it properly.
Pros
- pH neutral for safe cleaning
- Good value for money
Cons
- You'll need to have your own spray bottle to apply it
What is fallout and why is it so hard to remove from a car?
Fallout is the name given to tiny metal particles (often iron), that get embedded in a car’s paintwork and wheels. These particles come from several places, but all will manage to embed themselves in a car’s exterior. So, whether it’s from brake discs (brake dust), train lines or industrial areas (industrial fallout), the fallout will find a way of embedding itself in your car. The reason it’s so hard to shift is that these particles are very small but very jagged and can quickly cut through paintwork and plastics and become jammed in place.
How does a fallout remover work?
Owing to the particularly jagged nature of fallout, using a wash mitt and simple shampoo will either not dislodge the particles or drag them across your paintwork causing small scratches. A fallout remover helps dislodge the fallout by chemically reacting with the iron particles to oxidise them, which in turn helps loosen them from the surface they’re embedded in. This reaction is slightly exothermic and is also why the fallout remover changes colour as it comes into contact with the fallout.
Fallout removers will often be slightly acidic when applied to the paintwork and will make use of thioglycolic acid (dust off the GCSE chemistry book for this) to react with the iron particles. Don't worry though, the acid is very localised and won't damage your car. In the bottle, however, most will be pH neutral (or balanced as many bottles claim) thanks to the inclusion of alkalines.
Can it be used for other contaminants?
No, fallout removers won't do anything to help shift tree sap, dead insects or any stubborn contaminant that isn't metallic. Removing these contaminants can be done with some other specialised cleaner, or a clay bar if you're planning to polish your paintwork afterwards.
Please note that bird plop shouldn't be clay barred or tackled with anything that's not a bird poo remover, not only will it ruin the clay bar, but bird poo is particularly nasty to deal with without a specialist cleaner.