Lens Cleaning.—To clean the light lens follow the instructions given above for cleaning windshields.
Cover the car at night to prevent garage dust from settling into the pores of the paint. This type of dust causes the varnish to check and take on a dull dirty appearance, and is very hard to remove without the use of soap. Use a neutral soap and rinse thoroughly with clear cold water.
A good serviceable throw-cover can be made from any kind of cheap light goods, or by sewing several old sheets together.
Caution.—Do not dust the car immediately after driving it in the sun and never use a feather duster as this only pads the dust into the varnish, and scratches it.
A good dusting cloth is made by dampening a soft cloth with an oil polish. The cloth should be left to dry in the sun for several hours after being dampened with oil.
Rinsing the body off with clear cold water and drying it with a chamois skin is always preferable as it produces a clean appearance and freshens the paint.
CHAPTER XLII
TIRES, BUILD, QUALITY, AND CARE
Building a tire is like building a house or laying a cement sidewalk; the foundation must be right or the job will not stand up.
The foundation of a tire as every motorist knows consists of alternative layers of rubber, fabric, or cord, covered with a tread and breaker strip of rubber. The tread and breaker strip, however, are not worth the space they occupy if they are placed over a poorly constructed foundation of cheaply made fabric. Therefore, great care should be exercised in choosing a tire of standard make which has been tested, inspected, and guaranteed to be in perfect condition, and gives a mileage guarantee.
The cheaper grades of tires may be very deceiving in looks, but the point remains, that beneath the tread and breaker strip there must be something that is cheaper in quality than the material used in building a standard tire or it could not be sold for less, as tire building material sells at a market price obtainable to all; and the standard tire is usually produced in large quantities at a small profit, which may be seen by comparing the production records and the dividends paid on capitalization.