UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

Hi guys,

I’ve officially joined the club! I picked up my new GTI+ yesterday (currently up late in excitement) .

In all seriousness, I absolutely adore the car. I cannot express how pictures don’t really do the car justice enough. I always found myself looking at pictures of the car whilst waiting for it to be delivered and I can honestly say that in person, it’s more than what I expected.

Long story short, I’ve purchased a tonne of car cleaning stuff to look after her and I really want to have her cleaned completely and then applied with ceramic coating. I was going to do it first thing in the morning and spend the entire day making sure I applied a full days worth of cleaning.

HOWEVER

The salesman (finance person as well) stated that because I had the protection package, the dealership had already applied a pollen application of protection (not sure why or what it does) and shouldn’t be washed for 2 weeks.

But I just don’t think they understand the extreme depths I’m going to; to make this car super protected and cleaned. I reckon they think I’m using 1 bucket and an old beaten up cloth.


Do I stick to my original plan of cleaning it or leave it like they said to?

MrTomOates wrote: Sat Sep 05, 2020 2:02 am Hi guys,

I’ve officially joined the club! I picked up my new GTI+ yesterday (currently up late in excitement) .

In all seriousness, I absolutely adore the car. I cannot express how pictures don’t really do the car justice enough. I always found myself looking at pictures of the car whilst waiting for it to be delivered and I can honestly say that in person, it’s more than what I expected.

Long story short, I’ve purchased a tonne of car cleaning stuff to look after her and I really want to have her cleaned completely and then applied with ceramic coating. I was going to do it first thing in the morning and spend the entire day making sure I applied a full days worth of cleaning.

HOWEVER

The salesman (finance person as well) stated that because I had the protection package, the dealership had already applied a pollen application of protection (not sure why or what it does) and shouldn’t be washed for 2 weeks.

But I just don’t think they understand the extreme depths I’m going to; to make this car super protected and cleaned. I reckon they think I’m using 1 bucket and an old beaten up cloth.


Do I stick to my original plan of cleaning it or leave it like they said to?

I can guarantee if they’ve applied any protection package it won’t have been done right. I’ve got a bag of the gard x stuff my dealer says they use (They didn’t put it on my car or charge me for it ironically) and it takes hours to do it correctly. Quick way to check would be to ask the dealer how long it took them to put the protection on.

Also, ceramic costings only take 24 hours to dry and 99% of them say don’t wash, polish or allow the car to get wet for between 2-24 hours. No way it takes two weeks as the weather would interfere. I say this as someone that runs the lab for a car care company. We don’t make ceramic products but I’ve tested enough of them to know they don’t take two weeks to cure before you can wash them.

I guarantee that the dealer applied protection package is a polymer resin based sealant, and something you can wash over, remove etc instantly

If would wash your car as normal and then make sure you cleanse the paint with an abrasive product (paint cleanser, finishing polish, etc). This will remove all traces of the dealer stuff and prep the paint nicely for whatever you are planning to lay down.

Is it your first time using a ceramic coating? If so do you mind me asking which one you have? Some aren't the easiest to apply and some require specific climactic conditions in order to cure correctly.

@TomOates; that wait for the car will soon be a distant memory now that you’ve actually got it, although until you put some pictures of it up on the forum, it’s not official! .

@lancslad1985; 100% agree. Time is money for a car dealership and they won’t allocate the time needed to correctly prep the car and then apply whatever product(s) (Lifeshine?) they’ve used. They’ll probably spend couple of hours at most, and in all likelihood they’ll apply the products to a ‘dirty’ car (dirty = they won’t decontaminate the paintwork first), which will compromise the ability of the product to bond to the paintwork and provide maximum durability. They’re also unlikely to have anyone with the skills to do the job properly either.

A professional detailer would want a brand new car for around two days to pre-wash, wash, decontaminate, do a single stage machine polish, wipe down, apply protection product and leave to cure, buff off the protection product, wheels off, decontaminate and protect, dress tyres and trims and clean windows. When I give my car ‘the works’, it takes me between 2-3 days, which would include a decontamination and machine polish.

@PhilArnold - agree re. the ceramic coating; I’ve never used one as I’ve been aware some aren’t easy to apply. I’d also have to apply it outside in the open air, which isn’t an ideal environment to apply it. I use a wax or sealant with good durability and I find a couple of layers twice a year gives good protection.

MrTomOates wrote: Sat Sep 05, 2020 2:02 am Hi guys,

I’ve officially joined the club! I picked up my new GTI+ yesterday (currently up late in excitement) .

In all seriousness, I absolutely adore the car. I cannot express how pictures don’t really do the car justice enough. I always found myself looking at pictures of the car whilst waiting for it to be delivered and I can honestly say that in person, it’s more than what I expected.

Long story short, I’ve purchased a tonne of car cleaning stuff to look after her and I really want to have her cleaned completely and then applied with ceramic coating. I was going to do it first thing in the morning and spend the entire day making sure I applied a full days worth of cleaning.

HOWEVER

The salesman (finance person as well) stated that because I had the protection package, the dealership had already applied a pollen application of protection (not sure why or what it does) and shouldn’t be washed for 2 weeks.

But I just don’t think they understand the extreme depths I’m going to; to make this car super protected and cleaned. I reckon they think I’m using 1 bucket and an old beaten up cloth.


Do I stick to my original plan of cleaning it or leave it like they said to?

So you went with the protection package? Hope it didn't cost you much because we advised against it, and considering how keen you are to protect your car yourself, it seems to have been a complete waste of whatever money it cost you.

Anyway, ceramic coatings can be very tricky to apply and a PITA to remove with a machine polisher and start again if you cock it up by leaving the applied coating on too long before buffing the excess off. You have to be diligent and disciplined in your timings as well as your technique.

To be honest, to get 98% of the way there, it's much easier to apply a quality sealant every 6 months yourself than put a ceramic coat on (or have it put on at great expense by someone else) once every 2 or 3 years.

I use G-Techniq C2V3. It goes on everywhere, won't whiten rubbers or black unpainted trim and lasts well to 6 months and then deteriorates over the next few months.

That dealership applied Autoglym or similar will have almost certainly been done without an Iron-X style decontaminant, trapping any iron filings in the bodywork. As these rust, you get tiny orange flecks in the paintwork (really noticeable on white cars).

For anyone else even contemplating these (usually) £400 packages, do yourself a favour and buy 2 cans of Scotchgard - 1 for the seats and one for the carpets/mats, buy an easy to apply sealant like C2V3 and a bottle of an iron decontaminant. Wash the car when you get it (2 bucket method and microfibre cloths, or go the snowfoam route if you're obsessive and don't mind using a pressure washer on your car - I personally don't) and then wipe it over with meths on a microfibre cloth to remove any wax teh dealership applied, apply the iron decontaminant,rinse it off and wash the car again. Dry the car off and apply a coat of your sealant to the car, side and rear windows and wheels. This will take you 4 - 6 hours to do properly, taht dealership will have allocated 90-120 mins to do your autoglymmed car, so you know their job will be a crap one.

A week later, wash the car again, give everything a second coat of sealant and you're good for 6 months. A decent sealant will feel like you've given the car a coat of teflon and crap should come off easily when you wash it.

I'd just go ahead and clean it. I've personally never heard of having to wait 2 weeks.

A few cars ago I had a red 595 Abarth Comp. Cracking motor. But the dealer put the ceramic coating on, for free (result!) and for the most part it was amazing but they didn't remove some of it properly as it had gotten onto part of the window. It took months to get off and that was with me cleaning it most weekends. So yeah all been there I guess. But I'd personally just say go ahead and clean the car. Surely most coatings etc are "set" within 24 hours?

I've just washed mine today and gave it 2 coats of Finish Kare Paste Wax... then it rained. Lol. Beading looks good though.