Preserving And Polishing The Vehicle Paintwork; Maintaining And Cleaning Gloss Parts; Cleaning The Rims - Skoda Rapid Owner's Manual

NOTICE
● To avoid damage to the bonnet and the wiper arms, fold the wiper arms
forward only in the service position.
● Fold the wiper arms back to windscreen before you start to drive.

Preserving and polishing the vehicle paintwork

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First read and observe the introductory information and safety warn-
ings on page 148.
Preserving the vehicle paintwork
A good preservative protects the vehicle paintwork. At the latest when water on
the clean paintwork no longer pearls off, you should protect your vehicle again
with a good hard wax preservative.
Even though an automatic car wash plant may regularly use a wax preservative,
Škoda recommends protecting the vehicle paintwork at least twice a year with
hard wax.
Polishing
Polishing is only necessary if the paintwork of your vehicle has become unattrac-
tive and if it is no longer possible to achieve a gloss with wax preservatives.
If the polish does not contain any preserving elements, the paint must be treated
with a preservative afterwards.
NOTICE
● To prevent damage, matt-painted parts, plastic parts, headlight lenses and
rear lights must not be treated with polish or hard wax.
● Do not polish the vehicle's paintwork in sandy or dusty environments or if
the paint is dirty.

Maintaining and cleaning gloss parts

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First read and observe the introductory information and safety warn-
ings on page 148.
Vehicle overview Before driving
● Clean the surfaces with a clean, lint-free cloth dampened with water.
● For heavy dirt, use a special solvent-free cleaning product.
● Then polish gloss parts with a soft, dry cloth.
NOTICE
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To avoid damages to gloss parts:
● Do not clean nor polish gloss parts in the blazing sun.
● Do not clean or polish gloss parts in sandy or dusty environments.
● Do not use cleaning products with intense grinding action (e.g., scouring
cream).
● Do not use any insect sponges, rough kitchen sponges or similar products.
● Do not polish dirty surfaces.
● Do not use any solvent-based cleaning agents.
● Do not use hard wax.

Cleaning the rims

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First read and observe the introductory information and safety warn-
ings on page 148.
Cleaning steel rims
Adhering brake dust can be removed with an industrial cleaner. Therefore, clean
steel rims regularly with a separate sponge.
Remove damages to the paint of steel rims before rust can form.
Maintaining and cleaning light alloy wheels
Wash off road salt and brake dust approximately every two weeks from the light
alloy wheels. Then treat the wheels with an acid-free cleaning agent. Škoda rec-
ommends thoroughly rubbing the wheels approximately every three months with
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hard wax.
The light metal will suffer if the road salt and brake dust are not be washed off
regularly.
Use an acid-free cleaning agent for the light alloy wheels. Do not use paint polish
or other abrasive agents to maintain the wheels.
If the protective coating layer is damaged, e.g. chip damage, the damage must be
eliminated immediately.
When driving Maintenance, cleaning, servic-
ing
Care and maintenance of the vehicle
Do-it-yourself
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