How to paint your Car

Not many people are aware of how to paint your car yourself and do a good job so im going to walk you through how to paint your car.

Remove the previous paint and primer

You will need to sand down all the pain on your car until you reach bare metal for the best results. If you are not able at least sand down enough for the new paint to catch.

Prime the surface

Use a corrosive resistant, self etching primer if you have removed all the paint down to bare metal. Prime any surface you used body filter on or removed rust from.

Allow the primer to cure

Check the information on your primer. It should say how long it will take or if the finish paint needs to be applied within a certain time after application.

Sand all primed surfaces smooth

Use a 600 grit wet/dry paper to smooth paint runs or drips smooth to the surface.

Clean

Clean the surface now to remove any bits of dust or oil accumulated during priming.

Spray the finish paint

Prepare the paint for spraying using the instructions provided for your equipment but avoid over priming which can ruin the gloss effect and lead to runs.

Let it cure

The paint should be left to cure for the time specified on the paint.

Child Safety in Cars

We talk a lot about exhausts, engines, car makes, car sizes etc. but we rarely talk about safety within our cars. Now whilst some of these tips may seem very obvious I think it's best to take no risks and take you through every single bit of child safety in cars.
 

Seat belts

Knowing how to put a seat belt properly onto a booster seat is very important part of child safety in cars. God forbid you have to slam on your brakes for whatever reason you do not want your baby flying off the seat or the seat flying off the chair. Here is a diagram showing how to place your seat belt.
   

   

Child Locks

     
Keeping a child out of reach of the dorr handle is an excellent alternative for cars without child locks however you cannot foresee every situation and in the interest of the best possible safety child locks should be installed on the car. To many times I have seen a child playing with the handle and I am super glad of my child locks.
 

Minimising Distractions

 
When you have multiple children in a car arguments can break out and no matter your commitment to the road you will almost certainly be distracted. Even a child on their own can spontaneously cry or pull on your hair etc. The best prevention for this is having a favourite toy or bottle to distract them from distracting you or for older children drilling them with the importance of child safety.

How to keep your car running smooth

Lots of people don't know how to maintain their car to keep it running smooth so this is a good couple of tips to help out.

The Engine
 

Oil is very important to your engine and should be changed every 30,000 miles or 3 months to keep your car in good shape. if you drive in stop and go traffic or in dusty areas you may need to change your oil more than that or the oil filter or fuel filter may need changing. You should also check the spark plug and spark plug wires to make sure the are fine to.

The Transmission

The transmission helps your car shift power to the wheels and regularly checking up on your transmission fluid will keep the car running smoothly.

The Battery

Batteries are needed to start the cars engine. To maintain the battery make sure it is clean and secured including its connections and checking the water level if necessary.

The Emission

The emission system runs all the way down the car and is responsible for removing gases from the engine. To keep your car running smooth it should be checked up on once a year.

The brake system

the brakes are responsible for slowing your car down and frequent issues with it are normally found by the brakes making irregular noises and a low pedal could indicate air in the hydraulic system.

Basic Info: Car Engines

How do Car Engines Work?

Here I am going to cover the basic ways an engine works including engine cooling, air intake and start up systems for people curious and interested in cars.

The cooling system in most cars consists of the water pump and radiator. Water circulates through passages around the cylinders and then through the radiator to cool it off. In a few cars, motorcycles and lawnmowers the engine will be air cooled instead . Air cooling makes the engine lighter but hotter and generally decreases engine life. This is why the engine stays cool but there are other reasons air circulation is so important. Most cars are normally aspirated which means the air flows through a air filter and into the cylinders. High-performance cars are either turbocharged or supercharged so the air coming into the engine is first pressurised. The amount of pressurization is called boost. Now I'm going to cover what happens when you turn the key to start your car. The starting system consists of a starter solenoid and an electric starter motor. When you turn the ignition key the starter motor spins the engine a few revolutions so the combustion process can start. It takes a very strong engine to turn a cold motor and it must overcome all of the internal friction from the piston rings and and the compression of any cylinder in the compression stroke, the energy needed to open and close valves with the camshaft and all of the other things connected to the engine. because so much energy is needed because a car uses a 12-volt electrical systems, hundreds of amps of electricity must flow into the starter motor. The starter solenoid is the big electric switch that can handle that much current and it is activated when you turn the ignition key.
 
To keep your car engine running make sure your MOT is up to date!

What can go wrong with Car Engines

Lots of people experience this car trouble but not many know how to fix the engine themselves so I'm going to tell you about the three main issues that can cause your engine to not start. These are a bad fuel mix, Lack of compression and lack of spark.

Bad fuel mix

There a few reasons this can occur such as being out of gas so the engine gets air and no fuel. The air intake is clogged so there is fuel and not enough air. The fuel system may be giving too much or too little fuel so combustion does not occur properly or they may be impurities in the fuel like water that stops it burning.

Lack of Compression

If the charge of air and fuel cannot be compressed properly so combustion doesn't work like it should te combustion process may not work properly . It can occur because the piston rings are worn allowing air/fuel to leak past the piston during compression. The intake or exhaust Valves could not be sealed properly which would allow a leak during compression.

Lack of Spark

The spark may be weak or not there at all for a few reasons. If the spark plug is worn or the wire leading to it is worn the spark may be weak. If the wire is cut or missing or the system that sends the spark is not working properly there wont be a spark. If the spark happens to early or late then the fuel wont ignite at the right time and can cause problems.

Other possible reasons

If the battery is dead you cannot turn over the engine to start it. If the bearings that allows the crankshaft is turned the crankshaft cannot turn so the engine won't run. If the valves don't work or if their timings are off air may not be able to get in and exhaust can't get out so the engine won't run. If your tailpipe is covered then exhaust cannot get out so the engine won't run. If you run out of oil, the pistons wont move up or down and the engine will seize.

As you can see engines have a lot of problems that can occur and prevent it from starting .

Tips for welding safety

Lots of people have accidents involving welders so I am going to show you a few tips to stay safe when using them to avoid any accidents you may have had.

Read the Manual

The operating manual will cover any particular risks your welder has that need taking care off. it well also show you how to maximise the machines potential ad you should make sure no one operates the machine without having read the manual. Nothing should be a substitute for this manual, not this article or any other.

Cover Exposed Skin

Any exposed skin is left to the painful and damaging rays and any untucked clothes you're wearing will smoulder.

Safety Gear

Wear only flame resistant garments when welding and don't make excuses. Its dangerous to not. Also use pliers to lift things if they are just welded as gloves will not cut it.

Oxygen hood

There are possible gaseous hazards released such as toxic fumes accumulating, or shielding gasses may replace breathable air. This is all dealt with by wearing an exhaust hood. Additionally some materials require a respirator to be worn before welding..

Don't look into the Light

it only takes moments for an arc light to be in an unprotected eye for you to experience arc flash. A painful condition that will not show up for hours afterwards. Welding helmets should have an appropriate filter shade to protect from this.

Avoid repetitive stress injuries

Use an auto darkening helmet to avoid having to turn your head to hard or too much which wil help protect your neck from strain. These split helmets cost 50-50 with the operator and the operator owns them after 3 years