El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-09-07
CARS CLEANED
IN HURTFUL
MANNER
Many People Abuse Their
Cars in Trying to Get the
Body Clean.
AVOID ALL ALKALI-
BEARING CLEANSERS

/ bodies is a very important work and
| one which has been almost entirely
] overlooked in many sections OF the
! country so far as giving Instructions
| to chauffeurs as to how this work
/ should be done. OFTEN If the issuing
! of instructions were left to the car
! owner it would be out OF the Ques-
ton as he is not sufficiently familiar
/ with the best methods to issue IN
! structions. 1t is safe to say that the
! operation of washing a car is least
/ understood of all work in car main
! tenance. The proper performance
/ least appreciated of any work IN car
maintenance. yet it is, so far as main
| tanning a good appearance OF the car
| is concerned the most important work
on the car.
The use of soap in washing an auto
mobile is unnecessary and i'll ADVISED
where the washer thoroughly under
stands his business. As II is common
practice to use soap in washing au-
tomobiles and as 1t is not the lnteh-
ton of this article to advocate WASH
ing automobiles without soap, the ar
ticle will discuss washing with soap
The Easiest Method
It is common practice to adopt the
| easiest method of removing dirt Inc
strong soap. This, with the use OF
water at times almost hot, removes
the dirt in the easiest manner. 1t mas
the draw back, however, OF removing
n.
character will not remove the varnlsh,
but a dozen washings Will dull 1t ana
a few months Will remove 1t, so lar
as the luster is, concerned. A con-
tinuance of this practice VIII actually
remove the body of the varniSh IN a
few months more and in extreme cases
of use and abuse following this prac-
tice it has been known to remove the
paint itself, and some OF the lngreol-
ents acids and alkali, in the strong
SOAP are employed in various mix
lures, used for removing paint for the
purpose of refinishing a car
The use of the best imported CASTLE
is recommended. Laundry and toilet
soaps are to be avoided Automobile
soaps, some good, some bad, are made
expressly for washing cars. They are
made in both the soft and the hard
sOap variety. The proper soap, prlncl-
pal ingredients of which are pure pot
ash and oil, will properly clean car,
and will have no bad effect on the lus-
ter of the car. Soap that contains
alkali should not be used. Any Of the
alkalis, either of the sodium or potaS-
stun hydrate or sodium carbonate or
potassium carbonate, are naturally bad
for varnish. Many owners have &C
cess to the services of chemist, IN
which case it is very little trouble
to anaIyze the soap. Those who do not
have access had best stick to the i'm
ported CASTLE that a high grade deal
er sells for a soap free of Objectionable
ingredients
Temperature Important.
The temperature of the water used
is most important. Hot or even warm
water should not be used; neither
should extremely cold water be used
Proper temperature is from so to 40
degrees Fair. Where a hose is used,
care should be taken that the force OF
of the water is only sufficient to carry
the stream six or eight inches beyond
the end of the hose The use OF a
fast running stream drives the grit
dust and dirt into the Yarn1sh. The
use of the sponge and chamois follow
ing picks up the grit and scratches
result. In selecting sponges be care
full to select the best and only those
guaranteed free from grit, sand and
particles of shell.
Having determined the proper soap
to use, temperature of water and Selec-
ton of sponge, the operation of wash
ing should have careful consideration,
as even with good soap, correct tenn
perature and sponge the car may be
damaged by improper washing.
Properly to wash car with soap,
first dissolve in pail of water suffi-
cient soap to make a good suds- Then
in the washing operation use the suds,
sopping it on from the sponge instead
of rubbing the soap on wet sponge,
or, what is worse, rubbing IT on the
surface of the car. Before applying
the suds the car should be rinsed thor
oughly with water, using a gentle
stream. This is important as all par
ticles Of grit and dirt must be removed
from the surface before applying the
sponge. Apply the suds literally
where the parts are dirty; then rinse
off with a clear water and a fresh
sponge, flowing the water below the
sponge to insure that any grit and dirt
that may be left on the surface is
washed away before the sponge has
a chance to pick up and scratch the
surface. After the final sponging the
surface should be dried with clean,
wet chamois.
Frequent Washing Necessary.
In washing the chassis, the same
method is in order, except that it may
be necessary to use stronger suds.
Where cars. are in use over oily or
muddy roads frequent washing is
necessary, and this washing should be
done as soon as possible after the
car leaves the road as when this oil
or mud dries on the car it is very
difficult to remove and will damage
the varnish, it being impossible under
certain oil and mud conditions to re-
move all the stains. In this connection
it is important that neither the bon
net nor radiator is washed while 1t is
hot, as to do so will dull the luster,
running it in a very short time.
Another point which should get at
tention is that the same sponge should
not be used for washing both the
body and the chassis. Both sponges
should be Of the same quality, care
being taken at all times to keep them
clean and in proper condition. Owners
who keep their cars in public garages
viii have difficulty in having their
cars washed before the mud has had
a chance to dry, as in most garages the
washing is left until night and then
put through with a large number Of