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The Citizen, 1991-04-24, Page 15THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 1991. PAGE 15. Wrong wax can dull car's finish AUTOMOTIVE SERVICE SPECIALS Many commonly-used wax pro­ ducts can actually dull your new car’s reflective finish. They use a combination of wax or silicone and a harsh abrasive polish to remove oxidized paint. These abrasives can roughen the surface with thou­ sands of tiny fine scratches. The scratched paint can’t reflect light as well as smooth paint. This results in an overall reduction in shine. These days, people are waxing more often to protect their cars from the almost-impossible-to-re- move, water spotting effects of acid rain. Frequent waxing with polish­ es containing abrasives causes unnecessary removal and deterior­ ation of paint. Your new car should not be exposed to these strong paint-re­ moving abrasives. It just needs washing and a follow-up with a good abrasive-free wax. Older cars with paint already dulled will need a very mild polishing cleaner to restore the high gloss. Then apply a non-abrasive wax. Many popular waxes that are supposedly non-abrasive in fact contain abrasives. If a manufactur­ er’s wax promises to remove dirt, oxidized paint or small scratches, you can be sure it contains more than just wax. Early car wax products were abrasive-free. If an abrasive polish was needed, it was sold separately and by the coarseness of the abrasive used, from strong rubbing compounds to extremely mild polishes. The best waxes were made with imported Carnauba wax. Growing on a select group of palm trees in Brazil, the natural wax protects the tender leaves from the harsh sun and long rainy periods common in the rain forests. As the costs of gathering and importing this wax skyrocketed, chemists created cheaper ‘wax­ less’ substitutes. Abrasives were mixed into their new formulations to aid in removing ‘dead’ paint. They were billed as the lazy man’s one-step car polish. Unfortu­ nately, they’ve never been able to equal the extreme high gloss and no-scratch properties of pure Car­ nauba wax. And when used often, the abrasives unnecessarily remove good paint and clear coat finishes. Since the change from pure Carnauba to man-made synthetics progressed over many years, only the astute consumer realized he was getting less shine for his money. Only a side-by-side com­ parison of waxes will truly show what is best for your car. Today it is indeed difficult to find an abrasive-free car wax containing the best grades of Carnauba. Most store-bought waxes will cover two or three cars. A half pint of the concentrated liquid Carnauba will cover at least eight mid-size cars. Clean system aids performance A variety of fuel additives avail­ able on the market today can be used to safely clean deposits from such components of your car’s fuel system as fuel injectors, carbure­ tors and intake valves. A growing number of cars on the road today have fuel injection systems. Since a typical fuel injec­ tor nozzle opening is only about the diameter of a human hair, it takes just a small amount of varnish buildup to clog it and restrict gas flow. To help clean your fuel injection system of deposits, add a fuel additive, like fuel injector cleaner. If added to a full tank of gas every 1,500 miles, it will help you maintain a clean fuel injection system and fight deposits. If your car has a carburetor and is difficult to start or suffers from poor performance, the carburetor may have developed deposits. By using a multi-purpose fuel addi­ tive, you can help rid the carbure­ tor of deposits and keep it clean all year long. This multi-functional additive can even help remove water from the fuel delivery system and reduce the possibility of gas line freeze during frigid months. In addition, several of the newer, high performance engines being produced today are extremely sen­ sitive to deposits forming on intake valves. Once formed, these depo­ sits are thought to act like a sponge and soak up small amounts of fuel, causing the fuel mixture to “lean- out” in these precision engines. The result can be rough idling, hesitation, stalling or loss of per­ formance during initial start-up and cold temperature operation. There are additives available that can be used to help keep intake valves clean too. When used regu­ larly, these products can help clean dirty intake valves and fight the formation of deposits. It is safe to use in cars with catalytic converters and won’t harm oxygen sensors. Another concern when it comes to fuel systems, and one which doesn’t involve the formation of deposits, is the disappearance of leaded gasoline. Without leaded gasoline, the exhaust valve seats of vehicles designed to run on leaded gas could experience excessive wear, which eventually results in lost engine performance. But, by using a lead substitute, you can coat your engine’s valve seats and protect them from exces­ sive wear the way that leaded gasoline would. In fact, tests show that in engines designed for leaded gas, lead substitute can provide exhaust valve seat protection that is equal to that provided by the lead contained in previously available regular leaded gasolines. Fuel additives can provide your fuel delivery system and engine with many benefits. If you use the right additive for your particular system or performance problem, you can keep your car running smoothly and efficiently through­ out the year. WHEEL BALANCE includes tire rotation $5.95 each 1OU“ $22.95' FILTER includes 4 litres of oil, new filter, lube all fittings and check all fluid levels. *For Passenger Cars & Light Duty Trucks WE USE AC - DELCO - G M PARTS AT r Chevrolet j J.L. McCutcheon Motors Ltd. “Your Friendly Chev-Olds Dealer in Brussels” CALL 887-6856 Brake Service Front End Alignment Suspension Exhaust Tune Ups Your complete car care centre and yes...we do tires!! MEULENSTEEN TIRE & AUTO SERVICE LTD. 220 MITCHELL ROAD S., LISTOWEL, ONTARIO. CALL 291-1841 GENERAL T1