Engine Bay; Waxing And Polishing; Touching Up Paintwork - Cadillac BLS Owner's Manual

460_OM_MY09.book Page 230 Wednesday, April 2, 2008 10:32 AM
230 Car care

Engine bay

The engine bay should be cleaned with an
engine degreasant and rinsed with hot
water. The headlights must be covered
over. Do not use a pressure washer. Avoid
spraying electrical components and con-
nectors.
Do not use petrol as a cleaning agent or sol-
vent when carrying out repairs or mainte-
nance. we recommend the use of environ-
mentally-friendly degreasants.

Waxing and polishing

Do not wax a new car during the first
3-4 months. In fact, there is no need to
polish the car before the paintwork has
started to go dull through oxidation. Other
than in exceptional cases, do not use abra-
sive polishes containing a cutting agent on
a new car. Always wash the car thoroughly
before waxing or polishing.

Touching up paintwork

Damaged paintwork should be treated as
soon as it is discovered: the longer it is left,
the greater the risk of corrosion. The anti-
corrosion warranty does not cover corrosion
resulting from untreated defects.
Paintwork damage sustained in a collision is
usually extensive and can only be properly
restored by professionals.
However, you can repair small scratches
and stone chip damage yourself. The nec-
essary tools and materials, such as primer,
touch-up paint and brushes, are available
for purchase. We recommend that you con-
tact an authorised Cadillac workshop.
In the case of minor flaws in the paintwork,
where the metal has not been exposed and
an undamaged layer of paint remains,
touch-up paint can usually be applied
directly, after any dirt has been scraped
away using a pointed knife.
If corrosion has already set in, such as the
result of stone-chip damage, use a pointed
knife to scrape off all surface rust. If pos-
sible, the damaged area should be taken
back to the bare metal. The metal should
then be primed with two thin coats of primer
applied by brush.
After the primer has dried, apply several thin
layers of topcoat until the surface of the
repaired area is flush with the surrounding
paintwork.
Stir both primer and touch-up paint
thoroughly before use and allow each
coat to dry before applying the next.
Two-coat enamel
As the name implies, two-coat enamel is
applied in two operations. The first coat, the
base colour, contains pigment, metal flakes
and binder. The second coat consists of a
clear enamel, which give the paintwork its
final gloss and protects the base from mois-
ture and environmental contaminants.
Touch up stone chip damage as follows:
Thoroughly clean the damaged area, and
then apply the primer, base colour and
finally, the clear enamel. To achieve the
best finish, apply two or three coats of
primer.