Category Archives: Equipment

DIY Dent Repair? Hmm….

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Some of you have been asking about this thing called “mobile dent repair,” and if it’s something we should be doing to our cars and bikes on our own…well, here’s a DIY article about it, but I honestly don’t recommend it…

Paintless dent repair is commonly used to avoid more time consuming and expensive repairing methods. When you get a small ding in your car try repairing it yourself rather than hiring a professional auto repairer. Here are a few basic steps to follow.

Step 1: Examine the dent

First of all, inspect the dent. Some dents may be fixed easily while others may require more extensive repairing. If the dent is caused due to hailstorms or other natural calamities, you might want to consider consulting a hail repair specialist. Once you find some potential options, you should ensure that they possess all the necessary credentials to provide accurate and reliable services. else, if it’s a dent that you can fix with your tools, you might want to go ahead with the next step.

Step 2: Acquire the Necessary Tools

Next, acquire the tools you will be needing to carry out the repair. Most of the tools can be found in any home toolkit. If not, you could purchase it from somewhere similar to a Home Depot. Sites like Raise may have coupon codes that could be used to buy these at a lower price. The methods are simple ways which have however been deemed successful in cases of small dents.

Step 3: Use Aluminum Foil, a Lighter and Canned Air

A basic method which could work is to place a piece of aluminum foil over the dent. Then, switch on a lighter and hold the flame right over the foil for half a minute or so. Then spray with some canned air for a few seconds. The sudden change from a high to a low temperature could help the metal change its form and the dent might be removed as a consequence. Wipe with a soft cloth to remove any traces.

Step 4: Use a Hair Dryer and an Air Duster

A similar method to apply a change in the metal’s temperature is to heat up the area where there is the dent with a hair dryer. Then, after about a minute spray the heated patch with an air duster. A layer of ice will form over the dent. When the ice begins to melt the dent should pop back and be fixed. Once the ice has melted up wipe completely dry with a soft cloth.

Step 5: Apply Suctioning

Purchase a dent removal kit from an auto trader. Place the suctioning tool found in the kit over the dent you wish to repair. This is often in the shape of a cup, with a string at the other end. Basically you have to pull the string in order to apply the pressure in the space encompassed between the cup’s interior and the vehicle’s metal. Alternatively, if you do not wish to buy such a kit you can always use a plunger which is a common tool found in every home. If the dent is not complicated this will lead to the metal to pop back in place linearly. You may try to repeat more than once so as to try and achieve a bigger suctioning. If not successful, you can proceed to more extensive DIY paintless dent repair methods.

Step 6: Using Other Tools from the Dent Repair Kit

Apart from the suctioning cup a dent repair kit will also contain a dent pulling tool. Place this over the dent. Then, pull hard so as to make the dent pop out. When this is achieved you may use a small hammer to push it back more linearly with the rest of the body as it may protrude a bit outwards at first. It is best to fix a board or a block of wood at the back of the metal while doing this.

http://www.doityourself.com/stry/diy-paintless-dent-repair

A post for real men

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I’m going to be doing a kitchen remodel here at my place, and was needing some inspiration…so here’s a great article I found from TrendHunter. You can see all the ideas with pictures here: http://www.trendhunter.com/slideshow/diy-activities-for-men. Hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

While arts and crafts are often considered a very female-centric activity, these DIY activities for men are showcasing that there are a wide variety of projects available that the male demographic will surely find appealing and worthwhile.

While there are certainly a plethora of DIY activities that allow individuals to create their own customized apparel pieces or home furnishings, these DIY activities for men feature much more rugged and manly projects that will surely attract any auto enthusiast or gaming fanatic. A great way to encourage men to become more handy and creative around the house, these DIY activities will certainly have men feeling like they can accomplish anything they set their minds to.

From upcycled hammer hooks to recycled beer bottle couches, these DIY activities are offering some rugged and rustic activities that men will surely appreciate.

The ‘walk around’ check: basic preventive maintenance

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Most car owners and drivers sail through the back door with a piece of toast in their mouth, a mug of coffee, the newspaper and a briefcase. They go directly behind the wheel, start their car and back out the driveway. This amount of stress and tension really is not very good for your own health or for your car’s.

If you keep pets around your house, you know better than just start the ignition and get out the driveway in the morning. You know you have to check out your tires to see if the cat has sharpened its claws on it and has caused tears on it, or the dog has chewed down that nozzle that sticks out of the tire where the tire is inflated. These simple irritations might just cause your car to break down while on the road, or worse, it might lead to an accident.

If you suddenly find yourself with a flat tire in the middle of traffic, you would have to push your car to the side and you can be sure that you will get a ticket for obstruction and get towed for it. If the tire blows out while you are on the interstate doing 50mph, it’s not only unpleasant, it’s downright scary! You will struggle to keep your car from weaving. You will have to apply the brake gently, move your car slowly to the side and avoid colliding with another vehicle on the interstate at all costs. Not a very pleasant scenario, is it?

To prevent little irritations such as these from becoming life-threatening accidents, you must make it a habit to do a simple “walk around” check before you start your car in the morning. Beginning at the front of the car: check the lights, the tires, the wheel fixings (the nuts and bolts and the rim of the tires) as well as the body.

Make sure that the lights are all intact (no broken lights). Look and see if the tires are standing and not flat. Check to see that the nuts and bolts that keep the tire attached to the car are tight. Look to see that the rim of the tire is round and not dented in some parts. If you see stains on the rim of the tire, it could just be mud, it could be your dog’s pee, or it could be brake fluid leaking. Check behind the rim of the tire if there is any moisture there. Look at the doors and see that they close and open well.

If you have time, pop the hood and check the dipstick and the level of the motor oil. Check that there’s water in the radiator. Check the level of brake fluid in the reservoir. If you still have time, start the car with the hood popped open; and listen for any unusual sounds: check for loud grinding and squeaky noises. A grinding noise might mean there’s something loose somewhere which is causing the engine to vibrate too much. A squeaky noise might mean there’s something wrong with the fan belt that drives the alternator or the air conditioning or the car’s cooling system.

Turn the headlights on and off to see that they are working fine. Turn on the signal lights to see if they are working. If on the dashboard there are flashing lights, it might mean that your gasoline tank is nearly empty, it might mean that your car is overheating – flashing lights on the dashboard are not a good sign. If on the dashboard, the signal lights are blinking faster than usual, check to see that outside, the signal lights are blinking as well. It might mean that something is off in the electrical wiring. Faulty electrical wiring might lead to a fire in the engine or inside the car.

If your car does not pass the “walk around” test, you might have to call a mechanic and borrow your wife’s or husband’s car for the day. It will be inconvenient, for sure, but at least, you won’t find yourself miserable in the middle of lonely stretch of road without any cell phone signal and without any way to call on a mechanic. Or worse, find yourself in the middle of a road wreck.

Preventive Car Maintenance: Keeping your car roadworthy

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Roadworthiness is a driver’s basic obligation

If you’ve had a decent driver’s education, you would know that it is the car owner’s responsibility to maintain the roadworthiness of the car he drives. Driving a car is not a right, it is a privilege. Only persons who can fulfil the obligations required by law for operating a vehicle are given a license to drive. Keeping a car roadworthy is one such obligation of car ownership and car operation. A person cannot just keep driving his car until it falls apart in the middle of the road. A car’s registration is periodically renewed as this is the opportunity for government agencies such as the Department of Motor Vehicles to determine a car’s roadworthiness.

Maintaining roadworthiness benefits the driver

Maintaining your car is beneficial for you. A car which is well-maintained will seldom get into accidents caused by equipment malfunction (faulty brakes, brakes that do not deploy, etc.). There is also less risk for a car to be pulled over because a police officer happens to see wires sticking out from under the lid of the trunk, or under the trunk. There will be no traffic citation or traffic ticket for a busted tail light or a signal light that isn’t working.

Keeping a car well-maintained also means that if you are suddenly in need of money and find yourself having to sell your car, you can get a good deal because your car’s resale value is not lowered by obvious signs of wear and tear – or signs of neglect.

What is roadworthiness?

When a car is roadworthy, it is suitable and safe for use on public roads. A car is suitable for use on public roads when its condition meets the requirements for being used on public roads – it runs smoothly without endangering the lives and wellbeing of its driver or passengers. This also means that a car is safe to ride in and it does not put other motorists or pedestrians at risk of injury. In some states, before a car is allowed to be registered or before it is allowed to renew its registration, a car owner must submit his car for roadworthiness inspection and the car must obtain a certificate of roadworthiness.

The Link between Motorcycles and Erectile Dysfunction

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Take heed, men who have the passion of riding on two wheels. There might be a possibility that motorcycle riding can lead to erectile dysfunction which may require treatment with meds like Levitra or the other erectile dysfunction drugs soon.

The International Journal of Impotence Research has published a study that highlights the link between the increasing rate of erectile dysfunction and motorbike riding men. Research shows that penis nerves are in danger of being damaged by the vibrations produced by motorcycle engines (mostly coming from under the seat). Uncomfortable motorcycle seats can also restrict the flow of blood through the arteries of the penis which discourages erection.

Motorcycle riding does not only threaten penile erection but also the health of the male prostate and bladder. The same research also found out that men who operate forklift trucks and other heavy machinery (which noticeably have strong engine vibrations) are also susceptible to erectile dysfunction.

Doctors mostly prescribe erectile dysfunction drugs like Viagra, Levitra, and Cialis. Riders tend to buy these medications from their local drugstore or from websites like menschem.co.uk. Erectile dysfunction is no longer considered a frustrating condition as it once was. What these medications do is help men suffering from erectile dysfunction by increasing the flow of blood to his penis thus encouraging an erection that can last up to the completion of the sexual act.

Erectile dysfunction drugs are however not magic pills because you still need to be sexually aroused before you can experience an erection. The same erection is also expected to go away after the completion of the sexual act. If not then that would be another problem.

But why wait for erectile dysfunction to strike you when you can prevent it by installing comfortable seats on your motorcycles? If riding motorbikes is your pleasure you can at least limit the damage that the engine vibrations can cause by making sure you have comfortable seats which puts pressure not on your perineum area but on your buttocks. A simple cushion such as an airhawk can help as well.

Quality motorcycle seats can be an additional expense, but compare this to the possibility of developing erectile dysfunction and you would agree that this is the most cost effective way of managing your health and your sexual life.