REMOVING MUD

Hawera Star, Volume LI, 13 September 1930, Page 13

REMOVING MUD

COMMONSENSE WASHING

SOME USEFUL ADVICI

The car owner of to-day has the. assistance in his campaign of cleanliness of a host of special chemical cleaning compounds. Most of these preparations are excellent in their way, and many of them will be found to be of great assistance for some particular purpose. Nevertheless, writes a contributor to an English motoring journal, the fact remains that whether your coachwork be fabric, cellulose, or paint and varnish finished, a good washing down with copious supplies of clean cold water is the best treatment for a really muddy car.

THE. WATER WAY

The time-honoured method of hosing down first and finishing witli a sponge and leather has much to recommend it. It must be obvious to the veriest tyro that quite apart from the claims made for modern coach im is lies in respect to their ability to withstand rough or unsympathetic handling, there is no known method of removing foreign matter from a highly polished surface so innocuous or so sure as a jet of water under pressure. The same applies to a fabric-surfaced body, and, furthermore, if this latter is treated with soft, soap and water it will be found that strains and discolouration will disappear entirely. Too often, it is to he feared, fabric is regarded as a material primarily intended to obviate cleaning, whereas in reality it is a medium which well repays a little care. ?

SOFTENING TFIE MUD

Let ns assume, first of all, .that your washing equipment includes a hose and that your main delivers reasonably high pressure, the initial stage in washing down your car is to direct the water spray all over the bonnet and side panels sufficiently to soften any mud splashes or brush away loose dust. While the water is doing its work here wo may proceed to more serious business.

The axles, wheels, and undersides of the wings may now be given treatment with the hose at 'high pressure. If you have no fitting which enables you to vary the pressure of. the jet, you will find that compressing the hose-end between the finger and thumb provides a workable, but tiring, substitute.

It may happen that your water pressure is unequal to the task of loosening all the accumulations of mud, in which case the hose jet treatment must be followed up with a suitable brush

previously immersed in clean water. It is essential to have frequent changes of water when using a crush; otherwise- mud is merely moved to and fro. The spare wheel should be taken from its carrier before any attempt is made to wash it, and if they have been neglected each running wheel should be removed in turn, washed and dried off. and the brake drum and operating mechanism cleaned before it is replaced. This latter procedure is, of course, carried out after the wing undersides have been passed as finished.

A well-designed spoke brush of really good quality is desirable for the cleanliness of running gear. Where wire wheels are to be dealt with, the type of brush is all-important if one is to avoid the oft-recurring unpleasantness of crazed knuckles. Such a brush should preferably have its bristles plentifully set in a firm wire frame, and the latter should be cranked to afford easy access to the hub shell and back spokes. It is important, too, that the bristles be of good quality and close-set, so that the brush may hold water while the, bristles themselves remain resilient.

FINISHING OFF

We now come to finishing off the body. Incidentally, it .should be unnecessary to remark that all windows should have been closed at the outset, and if the car is a saloon with a rooflight, it is important that the latter should be shut.

The initial sprinkling with the hose having now had time to do its work, we can resume our offensive on the side panels, door and roof with the sponge and yet more clean water. It is worth while using as .good a sponge as can be procured, to preclude any possibility of scratches, and the actual process of sponging should bo done in long parallel strokes, commencing at. the" top, and on no account with a circular motion. USE OF THE LEATHER.

When the body has been completely sponged down it must lie dried off with a leather. Here again care must be taken to use only parallel strokes, at the same time maintaining an even pressure. The same remarks regarding quality apply as well to the leather as the sponge, and your good soft chamois skin should be damp but not heavy with water when beginning tinprocess known as I ’leathering-off. The function oi’ the leather is to absorb the globules of water remaining on Hie car’s surface, while at the same time imparting a -gloss. If your car has a paint and varnish finish about half a teacupful of paraffin in a large bucket of clean water will expedite the work

and effect, an additional brilliancy in the result. Finally, a few words in regard to proprietary cleaning compounds, polishes and' the like. Many tried and proved preparations arc available, some of which are. .specifically sailed to individual forms of body finishes, and others for which universal use is claimed. Having thoroughly dried off the car after washing, a lasting finish may be obtained by the careful use of any one of the better-known cleaners or polishes. The golden rule is to use the stuff in moderation and he guided by the makers’ instructions. In no case more than in car valeting is the old adage anent “if a thing is worth doing” more apt, and it will be iound that the results obtained if the foregoing hints are followed will well repay time and trouble. Do not overlook the number-plates while using the hose and sponge. These too frequently come in for a cursory drv-elean, but they, too, will pay for careful treatment. Discoloured plates can mar the whole appearance ot an otherwise well-kept ear.