The Washington times., 1930-08-13
CAR
NEEDS POLISH
FREQUENTLY


an automobile gets sunburned2
A sunburned automobile sounds
ridiculous, yet it is true that the
sun does alter the appearance
of the finish of a motor car.
Everyone knows that an auto
mobile finish gradually loses its
luster and beauty if it is not pol
ished at regular intervals. Two
things take place. First, a thin
film Of dirt accumulates on the
finish and becomes baked there
by the sun and engine heat.
Second, the finish itself becomes
weathered through frequent ex-
posure to the sun, rain, heat and
cold.
Violet Ray Deadly
The element most destructive
to automobile finishes is the
ultraviolet ray of the sun. This
is the ray which is chiefly re-
sponSible for burning or tanning
the skin of human being.
Duco and lacquer are much
more durable than the old paint
and varnish finishes used on
automobiles. Duco and lacquer,
however, don't last forever. They
slowly wear out through a micro
scopic erosion of the surface, re
leasing tiny pigment particles
which we're originally put into
the finish to color it. The ultra
violet rays of the sun cause this
slow disintegration.
When polish is rubbed on a
car finish and the cloth becomes
stained with the color of the car,
there are simply transferred to
the cloth small particles of
chalked pigment which are no
longer a part of the finish and
which should be removed anyway.
AS long as these particles and
the hardened dirt film cover the
finish, there will be no luSter.
When, however, the traffic film"
and chalked pigment are re.
moved, the original color and
luster of the finish is restored
and it is just as BRIGHT and
shiny as when the car was new.
Should Be Refinished
If the finish is very. old, or has
been very thin at the start, it
may have athered right
through to the under coat.
Should this happen, it will be ap.
parent when the car is polished,
because the under-coat Is usually
of different and darker color.
In this case the car should be re-
finished, at least at the spots
where the under-coat is showing.
There are two ways Of prolong-
ing the life Of the finish. First,
by protecting it from the sun as
much as rossible. Second, by
having it waXed.
Ordinary window glass excludes
the ultraviolet rays of the sun.
One can sit behind closed win
dow all day long and not get sun
burned, even though the sun is
shining directly on the person.
Polishing wax, like window glass.
excludes the ultraviolet rays of
the sun. If, therefore. there is ap-
piled a thin coating. of wax over
the finish, it will filter out the
ultraviolet rays and retard wealth
ering until the wax wears off.
Use Wax at Once
It is best to apply polishing
wax to a car as soon as it is pur-
chased. If, however, this is neg
lected, polishing wax can always
be applied as long as there is a
finish on the car. But the finish
must be thoroughly cleaned before
wax can be applied satisfac-
torily. It is not enough to have
the car washed. It must be pol
ished, also, to remove chalked pig
ment and traffic film. If the car
has not been polished for some
time, it is best to make two or
three applications of the polish
before using the wax, making sure
to remove every bit of chalked
pigment and dirt film.
Then apply the polishing wax,
using it Sparingly and rubbing it
vigorously to develop good
shine. 1t will probably not pro-
duce any higher luster than was
developed with the polish, but it
will give a luster which will last
for months-and it will protect
the finish as well.
More in Summer
In the summer time, there Is a
great deal more ultraviolet in the
sunlight than in the winter time,
so it is especially important to
have the car polished and waxed
regularly in summer. Waxing is
important also in the Southern
States, where there is a lot of
sunshine throughout the year and
where finishes become Weathered
a great deal more rapidly than
they do in the north.
Water absorption is also in
furious to automotiVe finishes and
can be prevented by waxing the
car. Water flows out in a sheet
on a weathered finish, indicating
moisture absorption, but it forms
in droplets on a waxed surface,
showing that the wax prevents
the water penetTatinr into tho