How to properly wash your car exterior for finish and protection

 Wash your car exterior like a pro!

 Find the right location:

• Avoid washing the car over dirt
• Concrete or equivalent flooring is best
• Heavily shaded area, without leaves or birds is best
• Access to a water hose

Get the right supplies: 

 

 

You can use the supplies you like best, but here is what I use and get good results with.

1. Wash bucket (or two, for two bucket method)
2. Multiple microfiber towels
3. A microfiber sponge (or equivalent non scratching sponge)
4. Latex gloves (or equivalent)
5. Meguiar's Gold Class Car Wash Shampoo & Conditioner
6. Meguiar's Ultimate Wash and Wax (if needed)
7. Meguiar's Smooth Surface™ Clay Kit
8. Meguiar's Wheel and Tire Cleaner
9. Meguiar's Scratch-X
10. Meguiar's Ultimate Polish (if needed)
11. Meguiar's Ultimate Compound (if needed)
12. Meguiar's Ultimate Liquid Wax (or paste)
13. Meguiar's Black or White Wax (if needed)
14. Meguiar's PlastiX
15. Mother's Chrome Polish
16. Armor all outlast trim restorer
17. Armor all outlast tire glaze
18. Rain-X

Directions: 

1. Fill wash bucket with water and proper mix of car shampoo
2. Spray the car down with hose water (do not try to remove anything that is stuck on to avoid scratching, just rinse the car with water)
3. Use a clean microfiber towel or two and absorb the water/shampoo mix
4. Gently scrub the car with the soaked towel until the finish is clear and free from contaminants or stuck on particles
5. (if you are using the two bucket method, have the second bucket filled only with water)
6. Re-soak towel as needed(for two bucket method rinse towel off in water bucket before re-soaking in shampoo)
7. Once the car has been fully cleaned with the shampoo spray the wheels and tires with Meguiar's wheel and tire cleaner
8. Put on some latex (or equivalent gloves)
9. Use the microfiber sponge to scrub the wheels and tires
10. Remove gloves
11. Again rinse off the car with hose water
12. Dry the car off with clean microfiber towels
13. Open the clay kit
14. With the included quick detail solution, spray the car and use the clay as stated in the instructions to create a smooth slippery surface.
15. Now that the paint is clean and contaminant free, it can be restored
16. Using Meguiar's Scratch X 2.0 and a clean micro fiber towel, buff out any evident scratches or swirl marks that are seen
17. If there are many scratches and swirl marks all over the car skip step 16. and use Meguiar's Ultimate Compound and buff the whole car
18. Now the paint should be completely clean and free from damage
19. If you have a dark colored to black car use Meguiar's ultimate polish to polish your car to a super shining reflective surface
20. Otherwise it is time to wax the car
21. Open the ultimate liquid wax (if you have a black car use black wax, if you have a white car use white wax, or ultimate wax will work on all colors)
22. Follow the directions and completely wax the car
23. The cars paint is now complete and protected
24. If the windows are very dirty, clay can also be used on the windows to make a containment free surface
25. Use a new microfiber towel and the bottle of Rain-x and coat the windows following the instructions
26. If you have chrome use mothers chrome polish and follow the instructions
27. If you have faded black plastic exterior parts use Armor all outlast trim restorer and follow the instructions
28. Coat the tires with armor all outlast tire glaze and follow the instructions (be sure to get the whole tire and move the car to get the area that was on the ground)
29. Lastly use Meguiar's PlastiX to buff plastic light housings to bring out clarity and shine follow the instructions

Maintenance: 

With your car completely washed to a perfect finish and protected by wax, all you have to do is keep it maintained, all these steps are only required once every season of the year.
But, using Meguiar's car wash, or even better, wash and wax, you can keep your car looking perfect in-between deep cleans. Some people wash there car once a week other more, BUT NEVER TAKE YOUR CAR TO A CAR WASH!
A car wash will use the wrong soap and remove all your hard work, also car washes with brushes just end up scratching your paint or cause swirl marks. Car washes really don't actually clean the contaminants from your car, your still left with a dirty car in the end.

Preventative modifications: 

Mud flaps are a great add-on that can help keep road debris, mud, and rocks from scratching your car.
Car Bra can protect the front of your vehicle from rock damage.
There is also clear plastic coatings that can be applied to rock prone areas.





This advise is only to be used as informational, I am not responsible for your car!

DIY PID Controller for BBQ Smoker

 A good BBQ smoker requires the ability to maintain a constant temperature almost like an oven. Some of the best smokers are insulated and able to be set at a specific temperature. My smoker is a gas smoker that is not insulated, so it loses temperature and the temperature is very uneven. I plan on building my own smoker in the future, but for now I made a temperature controlled electric heating element that works almost like and oven.

I built this device using a PID controller that I bought online. Since I am using this outside, I had to make it weather proof. The device is fully sealed and safe from rain water damage.

The way it works is by setting a temperature on the device. If the device senses that the temperature probe is below the desired temperature it triggers a relay to power a 110V outlet. I use a electric heating element that I plug into the 110V outlet. The outlet is triggered on and off until the desired temperature can be kept constant. I also installed an audio alarm that sounds when the temperature gets higher than my desired temperature.

Here you can see all of the electronics and required wiring that went into the construction.

DIY Knife Sharpener

After sharpening my knives with low quality sharpeners and having them be somewhat sharp but not sharp enough, I looked to a professional. A professional usually has a polishing wheel or some other type of device that is used to sharpen knives. These devices work extremely well but each time you need your knives sharpened they must be brought to the shop. I wanted to be able to sharpen my own knives, so I looked to the internet and found that there are multiple websites devoted to knife making and knife sharpening. After researching different types of sharpeners that can be bought and different levels of sharpness that can be achieved, I decided to build my own knife sharpener.

I decided to build this sharpener instead of buying one to get the level of sharpness that I wanted to achieve. It can achieve a high level of sharpness with a small amount of skill needed, unlike a wheel which requires skill and practice before proper results can be achieved.

 

The construction required a lot of metal working, wood working, grinding, drilling, threading, and creative design, but turned out to be a great knife sharpener.

The finished assembly

Upgrading Chevy HHR Lower Control Arms

Chevy HHR 2LT 2.4L A/T FE3 Suspension

The lower control arms on Chevy HHR's can have some problems.
Mainly they are to do with the rear bushing or ball joint.(other cars have this same problem, check to see if yours is listed on this sheet)

Luckily MOOG makes a problem solver line of products that takes care of poor designs on car suspension. MOOG makes a special replacement bushing that will last and perform 10 times better.

It's called the problem solver vertical control arm bushing k200792.
Check out this cool video explaining it, or read on.

Because the standard bushing that comes from the dealer is made of rubber with spaces between it, it flexes constantly and the rubber will separate itself causing knocking or other driving problems. This new bushing is almost like a ball bearing making it able to have free motion.

passenger side stock control arm

In the video you can see that the arm has three pivot points. The front bushing witch has an easy job of moving up and down, the rear bushing which has to flex and is the problem bushing, and the ball joints.

Because I am using the existing control arm, the bushing will need to be pressed out and the ball joint rivets will need to be removed.

After that is done you can press in the new bushing, and bolt on the new ball joint.




The ball joint will be the MOOG K80567 replacement with bolts for easy replacement in the future and it is grease-able. You must be able to remove the rivets that hold the old ball joint in order to add the bolts for the new ball joint.

The front bushing rarely has to be changed, but you can if it is needed, remember that one has the easy job of moving up and down.

----------------------------Removal process below!----------------------------

Tools needed:

• sockets: 15 mm, 16 mm, & 13/16"
• 15 mm box wrench
• socket extensions
• rubber mallet
• 2x floor jack and blocks

Removal Steps:

1. Loosen the wheel lugs and jack up the side of the vehicle you will be doing first.
2. Support it securely with blocks under the frame and remove the wheel
3. Position a second jack under the knuckle to keep the suspension up.
4. With a 15 mm socket and long extension loosen, but do not remove the two front frame bolts
5. With a 13/16" socket loosen, but do not remove the rear vertical bushing frame mounting bolt 
6. With a 16 mm socket and 15 mm wrench, completely remove the nut and bolt that holds the lower ball joint, make sure to tap out or cleanly remove the bolt don't unscrew if its stuck! (you will ruin the threads and get the ball joint pin stuck)
7. With the ball joint bolt removed, lightly tap the lower control arm with the rubber mallet until the ball joint falls out of the suspension knuckle. (try moving the supporting jack up and down to ease the ball joint out)
8. Now that the ball joint is removed, remove the previously loosened frame and vertical bushing bolts on the rest of the lower control arm.
9. With every thing free you can now remove the lower control arm from the vehicle.

--------------------------Upgrade process below!--------------------------

Tools needed:

• Electric Grinder (if possible)
• Drill Press (if possible)
• Hydrolic Press with 2 1/4" OD pipe (if possible)
• If not...
• Electric drill
• Bushing press kit

Upgrading Bushing Steps: 

1. Place the control arm in the hydrolic press and use the 2 1/4" pipe to press out the old bushing by the aluminum ring. (make sure everything is level and pressing out evenly)
2. With the old bushing removed, use the same pipe to press in the new upgraded bushing.
3. If using the bushing kit follow the instructions in the kit.

 
Upgrading Ball Joint Steps:

1. With a grinder remove the rivets holding on the old ball joint. (grind the side with the ball joint to not ruin the aluminum control arm)
2. With the rivets removed place the lower control arm in a drill press and drill out the remaining portion of the rivet, or try pressing them out. (you can use a regular drill, but have to be perfect to not drill into the aluminum control arm)
3. With the ball joint removed you can install the new ball joint with the included bolts. (Torque to 50 ft/lbs)

----------------------------Installation process below!----------------------------

Tools needed:

• sockets: 15 mm, 16 mm, & 13/16"
• 15 mm box wrench
• socket extensions
• torque wrench
• rubber mallet
• 2x floor jack and blocks

Installation steps:

1. Reverse the removal process
2. Once the ball joint is in place, put in the ball joint bolt and nut and tighten to 37 ft/lb, then loosen it 3/4 of a turn and re-tighten to 37 ft/lb and an additional 30 deg.
3. Tighten the two 15 mm forward frame mounting bolts to 41 ft/lb
4. Tighten the vertical bushing bolt to 74 ft/lb and an additional 180 deg.
   

----------------------- Here are the old cracked and separating bushings. -----------------------

-----------------------The new Problem Solver Parts-----------------------

 

This information is provided to be informative and I do not take any responsibility for anything that you do to your own car.

Homemade Vietnamese "Bun"

After visiting many Vietnamese restaurants I have found a great dish known as "bun". It is like a salad with noodles and meat. I liked it so much I tried making it for myself.

Restaurant

Ingredients:
1 package of rice vermicelli noodles
1 cucumber
1 carrot
Handful of crushed peanuts
Lettuce
Hoisin sauce
Fish sauce
Some sort of meat

Steps:
1. Boil a pot of water to cook the noodles, and follow the directions on the bag.
2. Cut up the lettuce to make a salad and place in a serving bowl with the finished noodles.
3. Add on julienned carrot and cucumber with the peanuts.
4. Place your choice of cooked meat on top and serve with a side of fish sauce and hoison.

My Version

Buying A Flashlight

If your looking to buy a new flash light, whether it is for hunting, fishing, emergency use, or just to use around the house then you should check out these suggestions.

L.E.D.
I personally like L.E.D. lights. They can be extremely bright, last a lifetime, and they do not brake when dropped like a glass bulb. As a matter of fact I am going to suggest L.E.D. is the only kind of flashlight you should buy.

Lumen
I have purchased all kinds of different flashlights and there can be some very dim L.E.D. flashlights that last a long time, but they are very hard to use for long distance sight. So make sure you get one with a high lumen rating. 100 lumen is bright enough to use around the house and as a emergency light, its bright enough to get the job done. 200 lumen is bright enough to use as a hunting light or even a front bicycle light. The higher the lumen rating the brighter the light output.

Features
Some flashlights have different features such as strobe for signaling an SOS, a low and high mode to save battery life when you do not need it to be the brightest, focus capabilities to narrow or widen the beam, and color change for hunting, less eye strain, and to find blood.

Paracord Projects

Interested in survival shows, or do you go camping or hunting a lot? Then look into para-cord. It is an excellent tool in survival. I use 550 para-cord to make my projects. 550 para-cord means that it can hold 550 lbs., the casing holds 200 lbs and each inner strand holds 50 lbs. There are 7 inner strands. The inner strands can also be used as fishing line in a survival situation.

Survival uses:
1.) Use as fishing line or fishing net - The inner strands can be taken out and used as 50lb test fishing line. You can also construct a fishing net using the right tying techniques.
2.) Create a shelter - By tying branches or other material together you can create a makeshift shelter. You can also stay off the ground by constructing a hammock.
3.) Create traps or trip wires - Using the inner strands of the paracord you can create a snare trap for small animals or a trip wire to act as a security warning for predators or attackers. There are many different types of animal traps you can make.
4.) Fire starter - By using your paracord to make a bow drill (like seen on many survivor shows) you can create a fire much faster than any other method using only wood.
5.) Medical uses - You can make a tourniquet to stop a wound from bleeding, or create a sling to secure a broken arm. You can even use the inner strands as dental floss.
6.) Obstacles - You can use paracord to repel down a cliff, or climb up a tree.
7.) Bear bag - By hanging your food in a tall tree, you can keep the bears or other ground animals from stealing your food.
8.) YOU NAME IT - Paracord is useful for so many things, the military uses it, i have even heard of someone being able to tow a car out of a ditch by braiding the paracord enough times to get thousands of pounds of strength to do so.

Fishing Results

Fishing season is here!

Whether your fly fishing, fishing off of a boat, or fishing right on the shore or a pier; the fish are out there for you to catch. So get out there and catch some fish. Send a picture to me here at giooutdoors@yahoo.com with the title FISHING and I'll put it up on this post!!! :)

------------Your Submitted Photos Below -----------------

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Note: I am not responsible for any photos you submit, I will go through them first to make sure they are appropriate for this site.

Upgrading a Tippmann 98 Custom paintball gun

What it looked like Stock

 Upgrading a Tippmann 98 Custom

 People upgrade paintball guns in all types of ways and styles.

 For my Tippmann, I focused on performance. Everything on my marker increases performance in some way.





Hopper
Paintball guns can shoot very fast, but the hopper that holds the paintballs may not feed quick enough. Since they are not feeding fast enough you will end up firing blanks a couple times, or chop a ball and cause paint to explode in your marker, witch makes every other paint ball after that break. To fix this problem, purchase a cyclone feed hopper. Here is a quote from Tippmann's website, "The Cyclone Feed System links the feeder sprocket to the air system for synchronized ball feed for reduced breakage and jamming. It feeds up to 15 balls per second and includes a wide mouth 200 Round Hopper that attaches via quick release elbow." This means that it uses the excess co2 gas that you waist every time you pull the trigger to power the hopper, there is no need for batteries.
Hopper continued...
Now that you have upgraded to the cyclone feed hopper, you now can upgrade it so it can shoot more than 15 balls a second. This is especially good when using a response or electronic trigger. The best site to get parts for this is Techtpaintball.

Barrel
This particular barrel that i chose is called a flatline platinum series barrel. Here is another quote from Tippmann, "The New Flatline® Platinum Series Barrel features quick thread design that easily attaches like any other barrel. Designed for range and accuracy, and eliminating the need to arch your shot, the Tippmann® Flatline Barrel System uses patented technology to create backspin for a level and precise shot. Increases range by 100 ft" Not only can you shoot farther and more accurate with this barrel, but it also comes with a picatinny rail kit.

Expansion Chamber front grip
Adding an expansion chamber allows the liquid co2 in your tank to expand into a gas before it is used in your gun. Not only does this improve efficiency, but it also keeps the gas at a constant velocity for each shot. Now your gun with never freeze up, even if you play in the cold rain.

Double Trigger
Since I started playing paintball with a spyder brand paintball gun, i was used to having a double trigger. For me I feel i can shoot the gun faster with a double trigger.

Stock
Adding a stock to a paintball gun allows you to place it against your shoulder like a real gun. It also helps with stability and accuracy. I chose a folding and collapsible stock for my gun, so it would work well in tight quarters and when sniping.

Sights
I have added a red/green dot site to my marker. Paintball guns are not the most accurate shooting guns, but they can shoot fairly consistent. A sight allows me to not have to guess where the first shot is going to be. Without a sight you are most likely to miss your first shot and scare your opponent into hiding, when you could have had a direct hit in the first place with a sight.

Mods
Lastly i have disassembled the entire marker to polish the internals. There are many videos out there with steps on how to do this to your marker. Once your marker is in two halves, use painters steel wool to polish the bolt and trigger area so they run smooth and fast. This can increase your rate of fire if done correctly.

There are many ways to customize your Tippmann marker, how you do it is up to you.

Need help cleaning and maintaining your paintball gun click here.

DIY - Restoring Headlights

A lot of cars have headlights with sun damage, you all know what they look like. They are an ugly shade of yellow and don't produce much light output.

So here is how we fix them...
For headlights that are not very damaged, follow STAGE 1
For headlights with apparent mild damage, follow STAGE 2
For headlights with major damage, follow STAGE 3

STAGE 1

Wash your clear lenses. 
Completely dry with towel.

Polish them by hand using a microfiber towel and Meguiar's Plastx.
To keep from future yellowing, apply a wax or a headlight protectant wax. 

STAGE 2

Completely wash your yellowing lenses. 
Completely dry with towel.

Tape off the paint around the headlight so you don't damage it. Opening the hood will make it easier.

Once the paint has been taped off you will now need to wet sand the lenses. To wet sand, make sure you use 2000 grit sand paper. (you can also start with 1000 grit sand paper and then 2000 grit to remove slight damage quicker)
Wet sand means sanding with the sand paper that is wet at all times.

After the lenses have been sanded you must polish them to perfect clarity. To do this, we will need a drill, Mother's power ball, and Meguiar's PlastX.

Attach the power ball to the drill and apply PlastX to the lens, polish until the lens is completely clear. When finished the lenses will look brand new and allow the light to completely shine through.

To keep from future yellowing, apply a wax or headlight protectant wax.

 STAGE 3

Completely wash your severely damaged lenses
Completely dry with towel.

Tape off the paint around the headlight so you don't damage it. Opening the hood will make it easier.

Wet sand the lenses.
Depending on how damaged they are you may need to start with a grit as low as 500 and work your way up, but where you start is up to you and depends on damage.

Available sandpaper grits:
500
600
800
1000
1200
1500
2000
2500
3000
Wetsand in only one direction for every grit.
For example, 500 grit left to right, 600 grit up and down, 800 grit left to right, and continue alternating until you are done.
You are finished with a grit level when the scratches are all going in one direction.

Because you have had to remove a bit of material to fix your damaged lights, we will not be polishing them, but instead degreasing and applying a coat of UV protectant clear coat paint.
Duplicolor Headlight Restoration Kit HLR100 :

This kit contains both the degreaser polish and UV protectant paint.
The reason we don't need to polish is because we are using paint and the paint will fill the fine scratched left behind and also provide something for the paint to attach to.
The end result will be completely clear and brand new looking.

Follow the directions in the kit.
All information is advise and I am not responsible for what you do on your own.