Car wash
Environmental protection laws prohibit car washing in non-designated locations.
If the car is often washed in automatic car washes, the rotating brushes of the sink leave marks on the varnish. This can be avoided by washing the car by hand at an appropriate car wash.
Bird droppings, dead insects, tree resin, traces of tar, salt and other aggressive deposits must be washed off immediately, as they contain substances that corrode the varnish coating.
Follow the instructions regarding the use of the washing unit, the pressure at which water is supplied to the vehicle, and the distance from which water must be supplied to the vehicle when washing.
Use plenty of water for washing. Avoid hitting the car with a strong jet of water at a sharp angle. This will damage the lacquer.
Wash the car with a soft sponge or glove, starting from the roof and moving from top to bottom, applying light pressure. Squeeze out the sponge frequently.
Use detergents only to remove hardened dirt. After that, rinse off the remaining detergent with plenty of clean water. Regular use of detergent requires more frequent maintenance. You can add a preservative to your car wash water.
Flush the ventilation openings with a gentle stream of water only.
Do not direct the high pressure water jet directly at the cooling radiator or at areas with damaged paintwork.
Use a suede cloth to wipe dry. Use different types of suede to wipe lacquer and glass, because preservative residues on the glass lead to a deterioration in its transparency.
Traces of salt used on roads in winter are especially dangerous for all folds and folds, flanges and joints of doors and hoods.
Therefore, such places must be thoroughly cleaned with a sponge at each car wash, including even after an automatic car wash, and then rinsed with water and wiped dry with a dry chamois cloth.
Never wash or dry your vehicle in the sun. In this case, water spots are inevitably formed.
Attention! After washing the vehicle, dry the brake discs by light braking while driving.
Lacquer care
Conservation
Cleanly washed and wiped dry lacquer should be coated with a preservative at such intervals and as often as to ensure that the surface is protected from the weather by a water-repellent and pore-closing wax composition.
Any fuel, oil, grease or brake fluid that has come into contact with the paint must be removed immediately, otherwise the paint will discolour.
When, when washing the car, it is clearly visible that water does not flow from the varnish coating in the form of droplets, then a preservative should be applied immediately. Otherwise, the varnish will dry out.
Another possibility to preserve the lacquer coating is the use of wax compositions used in car washing.
However, they only provide good protection when used at every car wash, and then only if the period between two washes does not exceed 2-3 weeks.
Use lacquer preservatives containing natural or synthetic wax.
Polishing
Polishing is only necessary when the lacquer coating has lost its original appearance due to insufficient care or exposure to dust, industrial emissions, sun and rain and no longer becomes shiny even with the use of preservatives.
Do not use polishing agents with high abrasiveness or polishing agents with increased chemical aggressiveness for this, even if the first attempt at such polishing was successful.
Before each polishing, the vehicle must be washed clean and thoroughly dried. In the future, you must follow the manufacturer's instructions for using the polishing agent.
Do not treat a large area at once to avoid premature drying of the polish.
Most polishes require the application of a preservative after use.
Do not polish in direct sunlight!
Plastic and matt lacquered parts must not be treated with polishes and preservatives, as this usually leads to staining.
Removal of tar/tar stains
Fresh stains can be removed with a soft cloth soaked in washing gasoline. If necessary, petrol, kerosene or turpentine oil can also be used.
A lacquer preservative also works very well against such stains. When using it, you can refuse the subsequent washing.
Insect removal
Insects contain aggressive substances that damage the lacquer coating. Therefore, the affected areas must be washed immediately with warm soapy water or a detergent solution. There are also special means for removing insects.
Outdoor lighting diffusers
Lens headlights and lanterns are made of plastic. They should be cleaned with a soft sponge or soft cloth moistened with water*. Do not wipe the lenses with a dry sponge or cloth, do not use scrapers to remove snow and ice, abrasive cleaners and solvents.
Care of plastic parts
Clean plastic parts, leatherette seats, headlining, black matt parts only with water and shampoo. Do not soak the upholstery of the ceiling through. Plastic parts can be cleaned with a suitable plastic cleaner.
Glass cleaning
Remove snow and ice from windows and mirrors with a plastic scraper. To avoid scratches from trapped dirt, the scraper should only be moved in one direction. Wipe the glass outside and inside with a clean soft cloth.
In case of severe pollution, alcohol or ammonia and warm water or a special glass cleaner will help.
Tilt the wiper arms forward when cleaning the windshield.
When cleaning the windshield, also clean the wiper blades.
Attention! When using products containing silicone, brushes, sponges, rags and towels used to clean the lacquer coating should not be used to clean glass. When spraying paints containing silicone, the windows must be covered with thick paper or other material.
Caring for rubber seals
Dust sealing and sliding surfaces of rubber gaskets with talcum powder or spray with a silicone compound. Thus, it will be possible to avoid creaking when closing the doors. Rubbing said surfaces with liquid soap also reduces noise.
Tire cleaning
Do not wash tires with a water jet from a steam jet. If the washer nozzle is brought too close to the surface of the tire, its inner rubber layer is irreversibly destroyed within a few seconds, even when cold water is used. For safety reasons, tires washed in this way should be replaced.
Light alloy rims should be brushed and treated with a suitable product, especially in winter, but do not use aggressive, acidic, highly alkaline, abrasive cleaners or a washing machine with a water temperature above +60°C.
Clean seat belts only with a mild soapy solution after removing them. Do not use chemical cleaners as they will destroy the fabric. Wind up the automatic seat belt only after it is completely dry.
Underbody protection and cavity preservation
The bottom of the car, including the wheel arches, are covered with a protective layer. Areas in the wheel space that are particularly susceptible to impacts from stones, etc., are protected by a plastic cover.
Before the onset of the cold season and after each washing of the bottom, check the condition of the protective layer of the bottom and, if necessary, eliminate its defects.
Dust, clay and sand can accumulate in some areas of the bottom. Remove accumulated dirt, which in winter may also contain salt.
Washing and preservation of the engine
Before and after the end of the winter period, when the roads are sprinkled with salt, it is necessary to clean and preserve the engine compartment.
Wash the engine only with the ignition off. Before washing the engine, which can be carried out, for example, with a cold cleaner or with a pressurized water jet from a washing machine, cover the alternator, fuse box and brake fluid reservoir with plastic wrap.
1.0. Paint number plate
2 - door opening stop
To reduce the risk of corrosion of the under-engine part of the car (for example, sidewalls, spars) and drive units, parts of the brake system, suspension and steering located in the engine compartment, as well as body parts and cavities adjacent to the engine compartment, should be treated with high-quality preservative wax after each engine wash. At the same time, cover the rivulet belt of the auxiliary drive from getting wax on it.
Seat upholstery care and cleaning
Fabric cases
Clean the covers with a vacuum cleaner and a brush. Ordinary stains can be removed with liquid soap, 25% ammonia, or spirit vinegar.
Grease and oil stains can be removed with washing gasoline or stain remover. At the same time, do not directly moisten the place of contamination with the stain remover, because in this case stains will necessarily appear on the fabric around the place that was wetted with the stain remover. Treat the stain in a circle, moving from outside to inside. Other contaminants are usually removed with warm soapy water.
Leather cases
When exposed to strong sunlight and for long periods of parking, remove the covers so that they do not fade.
Use a lightly dampened knit or woolen cloth to clean the leather surfaces without soaking the leather or seams through.
Finally, wipe damp skin with a dry, clean cloth.
Heavily soiled leather surfaces can be treated with mild detergent solutions without bleach (2 tablespoons per 1 liter of water). Carefully remove grease and oil stains with washing gasoline without wiping them.
Treat lacquered leather seats with a commercially available leather cleaner after cleaning. Such funds can be purchased at a specialized store or at an auto shop.
Shake well before use and apply a thin layer with a soft cloth. After drying, wipe the surface with a clean soft cloth.
Perform such treatment once every 6 months, if the external influence is normal.
Elimination of damage from stone impacts
Work on editing the body and restoring the paintwork of a car requires great skills and knowledge both about the materials themselves, with which they will need to be worked or processed, and about their application.
These skills are usually developed over many years. For this reason, this manual only deals with repairing minor damage to the paintwork.
When painting, use paint that is completely identical to that applied to the car body. Even the slightest deviations in color are striking. The corresponding paint color is contained in paint number 1 and is shown on plate A.
The plate is located on the driver's door pillar. Additional plate B is located on the passenger door pillar under the lock bracket (see illustration 1.0).
If, after painting the damaged areas, the original paintwork differs from the paint used during the restoration work, then the cause should be sought in the change in the shade of the original coating under the influence of time, solar ultraviolet radiation, sudden temperature changes and extreme weather conditions, as well as the influence of chemical emissions e.g. in industrial areas.
In addition, surface damage, discoloration and fading of the paint result from the use of paint care products that do not meet the requirements of the vehicle manufacturer.
The paintwork of the body is two-layer. The first layer is applied with the main paint, the second - with a colorless varnish.
When varnishing, a transparent varnish is sprayed onto the base paint that has not yet dried. When carrying out subsequent varnishing work, there is a high risk that the newly painted areas will still be visible, because even the different viscosity of the repair and original varnish leads to a change in color.
To prevent rust, it is recommended to regularly repair minor damage to the paintwork.
If small scratches do not reach «pure» metal, it is enough to cover them with varnish of the appropriate shade. For these needs, specialized stores offer small tubes of varnish along with a brush.
Deeper scratches from stones, where rust has already appeared, should be treated especially carefully. Use a knife or small screwdriver to remove the rust until «pure» metal.
For these purposes, there are so-called «erasers» rust remover, which is a small metal brush.
Treated scratches should be wiped dry and degreased. To do this, the scratch itself, as well as the adjacent surface, must be cleaned with a silicone remover.
Prime the scratch with a thin brush. Given that the primer is usually sold in aerosol cans, then apply it to the lid of the can and dip the brush.
After the primer has dried, apply a layer of varnish with a brush. Let the paint dry well. Repeat these steps until the scratch is completely aligned with the surface of the body.