MOTORS & MOTORING

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3011, 23 February 1917, Page 9

MOTORS & MOTORING

IBi GtUTCH.I Renovating Upholstery. Some hints on renovating upholstery. The cushions should be taken out and all corners and round the buttons thoroughly dusted' out with a soft brush. Thoro will bo many little corners and crevices that never cot cleaned out in the ordinary way. It will bo noticed, too, that the cushion has chafed the sides and back where it touches them. Ihe next process is dressing all the leather with sweet oil. A little should bo taken on a soft pad of cotton wool or ol d_r«S> and well rubbed into every part of the leather. No attempt should Iμ made to shine tho upholstery at this stage: the object is to get a small quantity of sweet oil ovenly distributed over the leather. At tho chafed parts it will dry in quicklv, and a second dressing may be applied there. The colour of the leather will come up better, due partly to the oil reviving the surface, and partly to tho slight film of dirt that the cleaning pad has removed. Tho sweet oil should bo left to dry into tho leather all night, or two nights if possible, and then tho whole of it may bo rubbed lightly with a perfectly clean soft rag to remove any oil that has been left on the surface. After, this, a very little furniture cream, or one of the leather polishes sold for the purpose, should be gently applied and tho shino brought up with, quick, light rubbing. By this treatment good upholstery may bo kept in condition indefinitely. Paintwork, Tho paintwork of a car is exposed to all sorts of weather: water, dust, sun and' Wind-all of them detrimental to tlie varnish or enamel w.itlv which its surface is coated. Under tho action of such external influences varnishes and enamels must dry and crack. It is their nature to do so, but the drying an(l crocking may bo delayed by feeding them irom timo to time with linseed oil. As with tho upholstery, all dirt and dust must first bo removed, for a particle of grit on the rubber will make scratches. Also, it is desirable when the paintwork is in bad order, to clean it down with, parattm applied with a soft Tag. Very littleparaffin should bo -used, the rag should be frequently changed, and tho paTafnn must not be allowed to dry on. Its purpose is to. clean the surface, and each panel should be cleaned and dried off before tho .next is begun. The linseed oil should he applied a- little more liberally than was the case of the sweet oil on tho ifpholstery, a very thin film being j left rather than a heavy smear, and the i surplus mnat bo polished off the next i day as lightly' as possible. If desired, ! a final gloss may be put on with, furni- ! ture cream or a special polish, but this must be looked upon merely as a polish, whereas tho linked oi! actually fed the varnish and tVat oily body winch was beins gradually- dried out by the sun I and wind.

increase of ,£251,062, and roach the big total of .£578,031, shows the flourishing state of tho motor trade. That business is still brisk with tho motor traders of Sydney is evident from tho fact that for tho four weeks ending Fobruary 3, thoro wero 426 cars registered in Now South "Wales. Aβ many as 125 cars wero registered in ono week. Well over 50 per cent, of tho cars, it is estimated, would bo purchased for business purposes. Here and There. On a bright summer's day, the direct rays of the sun, reflected from tho polished metal parts of tho car, often resultin a dazzling glitter which is distracting and annoying, but it is not generally serious. At night timo, however, on account of the greater contrast, it is advisable to tono down any bright epote or light produced by the sido lamps shining on bright objects such as a tilub badge or a mascot on the radiator cap. A cure can often bo obtained by-giving a slight twist to tho lamp bracket so tßnt tho beam is thrown outwards and not concentrated too much' on the front. A better plan, in tho case of a club badge, is to paint tho back of 'it with "lack paint, while metal mascots are best if finished with a frosted effect, or at any rate too much caro need not bo expended in maintaining a high degree of polish on that portion facinjr rearwards. Tar splashes on bodywork should be removed as soon as possible or they will permanently injuro tho delicate varnish, and leave unsightly spots. The beat medium for their removal is butter,.as this softens tho tar and allows it to be -wiped off with a soft cloth. Petrol or paraffin should not be used, as they are liable to injure tho varnish. After removing the stains the coaehwork should bo well washed and polished, mid some of the special preparations sold for treating coachvjork can bo recommended, as they act as food for tho vnrnish, and aTe actually assimilated by it. Tho ono hour professional motor-cycle championship of America was recently decided, and resulted in a win for E. Crevison, who covered 773 milos, and incidentally established a new competition hour's record. Lu?hting-up time: To-day, 6.ii p.m. Next Friday, <5M p.m.