[comet30]

I am loving my Eos but the Silver Essence seems to have got dirty very quickly! I am now pondering on how is best to clean it.

I have a very busy lifestyle so generally don't have time to park it up at home and clean it myself. My old car I would take to homebase and have it cleaned there but I am worried now about the pressure washer they use.

Has anyone here taken their Eos to Homebase or similar and had it cleaned by them and if so, any problems?

 

[EOSmage]

The manual, at least in Canada, states clearly not to use high-pressure water on the car. I have to assume that it is due to possible damage to the seals. That said, I tested the seals on my Eos to find out what level of pressure they would accept using a pressure washer.

Being careful, i found that the seals worked great when using water aimed front to rear (as in you stand at the front of the car and aim the water spray towards the back of the car). They stood up to serious pressure that way, the same can not be said for water directed at the car from the rear side.

I've never taken my car through a car wash of any kind because I'm just to concerned about the damage that they do to the car's paint. The harsh chemicals they use to "melt off" the dirt is nasty stuff. More importantly, the material they use to "scrub" the car is usually covered in grime and dirt that turns them into large sandpaper-type scouring pads.

With the lighter color car, you may not notice it, however, the automatic car wash places leave massive swirling and scratches in the painted surface that require time and effort to remove with fancy machine polishers. Just look at any black car that was recently washed for what looks like spiderweb-like scratches around any reflection of the sun or strong lights.

The touchless washes that are popping up now are just as bad because they use stronger chemicals that are supposed to release the dirt. Sometimes the attendants "scrub" the car before it gets into the automated wash-- using dirty brushes on sticks-- and washing rags that haven't been cleaned in ages. Next time you go through a car wash, listen for the "bangs" as they use those brushes and remember that each bang is the wood smacking against your car's paint.

I really recommend that you take the time to hand wash the car, and in the absence of time to do that, that you find a quality detailer in your area that will hand wash with the proper procedure in order to minimize paint damage.

The car's paint will last a long time and look beautiful as long as we help it a little. Those scratches will eventually lead to issues that are hard to deal with, and might even end up in repaints.

If you don't plan on keeping the car for long, this is even more important because good looking paint will increase resale value.

Oh well, I've preached enough for one post.

I'd be happy to point you towards car washing how-to forums if you are interested.

--Jon

 

[SoCalMan]

EOSmage is so correct. AFAIK, VW is importing only about 12,000 Eos'
into the U.S. To me, that makes the car somewhat of a limited production and that justifies treating my Eos special.
As such, I also would never run my Eos through a car wash...plus my car is black.
From my experience, no matter how careful you are, your car will get some fine scratches even from hand washing. But nowhere near what will happen at a commercial car wash...guaranteed, and swirls and spider webbing are hard to correct once it happens.
It's your car and I understand also that time is precious. Having said that, I will always find the time to hand wash my Eos. I want to keep those stares and comments coming.
Just my 2 cents.

 

[schoolhousefred]

I'm Lazy!

I guess I'm lazier than most of you guys, and also live in the country where I really don't have enough water to do my washes at home. As a matter of fact, I posted what I do on another thread earlier today .............

"Actually I take mine through a commercial hand-held pressure wash at least once a week. I'm just very careful to keep the spray head well away from the car, unless it is the front nose section, where bugs get splattered, or in the wheel wells. After almost one year, I have never had any water in the car or any leaks. I think the important thing is to be careful and keep it at a good distance, and not to use the very high pressure home systems which are used to clean sundecks and remove paint or varnish.

I know this isn't the perfect approach, but it keeps it clean and no damage or scratching or swirling marks!

Cheers!

 

[Gavster]

Hi Guys,

I washed and polished mine at the weekend. Was easy and looked stunning afterwards. See the photos in my posting here

 

[der32]

I have the silver essence with red nappa seats, they compliment each other perfectly. Anyway washing i the my car I wash with agood quality wax soap and rinse well down, then use a silicone blade wipe which gets rid of about 70% of the water and then finish her off with a Stihl petrol blower which is brilliant at getting all that water out of nooks and crannies especially that boot release handle and when shes done there are no streaks as you pull away ! By the way all you bikers out there to the petrol blower is ace at drying down after a wash and not a drop of water left on your bike anywhere ! just remember to run your car and bike after a wash to dry the discs off and not get surface rusting !

 

[EOSmage]

. . .then use a silicone blade wipe which gets rid of about 70% of the water and then finish her off with a Stihl petrol blower which is brilliant at getting all that water out of nooks and crannies especially that boot release handle and when shes done there are no streaks as you pull away ! By the way all you bikers out there to the petrol blower is ace at drying down after a wash and not a drop of water left on your bike anywhere ! just remember to run your car and bike after a wash to dry the discs off and not get surface rusting !

Have to be really careful of those silicone blades too... They work really well at getting the water off the car, but all it takes is one little bit of dirt to get onto it, and then you end up scratching the car with each swipe.

Personally, I find that a couple of microfiber cloths work wonders. One to get the main water off, and the other to gently dry. When the first gets really wet, a good wringing out lets it keep going. Doesn't take much longer this way than with the silicone blade, but less chance of scratches to the paint.

I know that I sound nuts, but scratches on cars drive me bonkers, and with my black paint... they stand out and go "BOO".

I've started to "professionally" detail my cars fairly regularly, and have purchased all the equipment to keep them looking sharp. I'll go find the post and copy it into here so you can see what I'm talking about.

--Jon

 

[EOSmage]

So, as promised, here is a good example of what I did to improve a car's appearance. This is not one of my cars, instead, it belongs to a family friend. The paint wasn't in terrible shape-- even though some spots had some signs of rust bubbles-- but it had swirls, a few scratches, and, even though it shined after the initial wash, it still had a dull look.

This dullness is seen in the "before" pictures because the clouds are barely visiable in the reflections. Check the "after" pictures for what they should look like. The difference is mainly due to removal of the fine swirl scratches and conditioning of the paint.

If the weather holds up, I hope to do a full detail on the black Eos, and I'll be sure to take lots of before, during, and after shots and post it up here... If you are all interested. NOTE: the forum limit me to 4 pictures, so you won't get the detail shots... sorry.

Products used:
Meguiar's: Car Wash, Claybar and lube, Fine Cut, leather conditioner.
Mothers: Carnuba Paste Wax, Back to Black
Costco: Yellow microfiber cloths (I went through a LOT of these)
Others: Woolite, Foaming glass cleaner (can't remember which one)

Basically, the exterior process was:
- 2 bucket wash with 2 MF mits (one for upper, and one for lower)
- Claybar
- 2 bucket wash with MF towel
- Polish with Rotary and meg's polish (panels that had more scratches)
- Polish with 7424 and meg's polish (panels that were just swirled)
- Carnuba applied by hand and removed by hand
- back to black for all rubber trim areas
- Wadded Metal polish (can't remember brand right now)

The interior process was fairly straight forward:
- vacuum
- woolite "magic" water mixture for cleaning everything (at one point I grabbed the spray bottle backwards and cleaned my face too)
- Leather conditioner for the leather (it is amazing where they put leather in this car)
- 303 for the non-leather (i'm still in a testing phase between 303 and armor all, so will use the expensive stuff until the results are in)

I didn't manage to get any interior shots, mainly because I was eager to get going on the work. At the end, I was running out of time and was also too thrilled with the results to remember the camera.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

 

[SoCalMan]

So, as promised, here is a good example of what I did to improve a car's appearance........

Very nice tutorial, EOSmage. It takes time to keep a car looking sharp.

 

[IanJ]

I have seen reports that pressure washers are harmfull to paintwork and that it is not advisable to use them.

I cleaned the exterior of ours at the weekend - wash down with hose mounted brush (top down). Dried with synthetic chamois (I use a silicon blade on my company car but not on the EOS - perfection rather than speed). Autoglym super resin polish, glass cleaned, Autoglm extra gloss protection, did not get as long to cure as I wanted but the seals got a Krytox treatment while it did.

Wheels got two layers of polish about three months ago so they clean very easily, next time they might get another coat (time permitting) and the interior will get some attention.

To see a real detailing job look at http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=11754 just incredible.

 

[EOSmage]

I have seen reports that pressure washers are harmfull to paintwork and that it is not advisable to use them.

. . .

To see a real detailing job look at http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=11754 just incredible.

Yes, that's why I don't use one for the car. I did test the seals with one, but only once. The rest is done with careful washing and a "lower pressure" fireman's nozzle just because it is easier to adjust and use.

As for the detailing job, wow! I'm not a professional and would probably have run away from that car screaming (well, at least running). They did an awesome job. But, for the majority of us, it is easy to keep our own cars looking good, because the paint and newer materials are easier to maintain that pure metal.

While I would never try and work on a car like that, I'm still happy with what I can do with my own and some of my friends. Spending 2 or 3 days on a single vehicle is more than I'm willing to do (and I'm crazy about keeping my cars looking good). But, then again, my car isn't an 80 year old Rolls-- yet.



cheers!

--Jon

 

[SoCalMan]

Yes, it takes some elbow grease to keep 'em looking sweet.

The sky was very blue...the car is always black.

 

[jamcar]

Hi socalman
Omg that is an absolutely amazing finish you have on your car, that beats hands down any other finish I have seen. obviously a real labour of love.
all power to you and your elbow lol

 

[SoCalMan]

Hi socalman
Omg that is an absolutely amazing finish you have on your car, that beats hands down any other finish I have seen. obviously a real labour of love.
all power to you and your elbow lol

Thanks jamcar.

 

[comet30]

What did you use to get that shine?

I have bitten the bullet and bought an Autoglym valet pack, should hopefully do the trick!

Did you know you can get one from VW for £299.00. I haven't bought this one but has anyone?

 

[IanJ]

We got one with the last Audi - there are items in it which I still have not used. Unless you want the fancy bag it is probably better to buy separate bottles as you need them.

 

[SoCalMan]

What did you use to get that shine?

I have bitten the bullet and bought an Autoglym valet pack, should hopefully do the trick!

I have heard good things about Autoglym products but I don't know much about them personally. They should work fine for you.
I used various combinations of Duragloss and Zaino, finishing up with Zaino Clear Seal.