Nice Paint Job! Quick Tips to Preserving Your Car’s Shine

“Cleanliness is next to godliness.”  The age-old quote does have some clout in the modern day world we live in.  A clean paintjob can make your car shine and reflect (pun intended) your character.  Wax, basically used on wood to create a water resistant barrier, and polish, used on modern vehicle paint, can make your car dull.  It creates a cover over your paint job that makes it age faster.  The main cog in keeping your paint job new is to avoid friction, meaning abrasive polish, waxing or buffering.  Below is a quick step process for keeping that shine.

1.    Pure liquid and non-abrasive application will preserve your paint, so choose a product that does not include wax, abrasives or polish.

2.    Make sure it is a spray or mist.

3.    Wash your car with clear water and grease cutting liquid soap.

4.    Starting at the top, hose the car down, then grab a bucket of soapy water and a soft brush and do the same. 

5.    Hose the car while you scrub with the brush.

6.    Take a soft towel and dry the vehicle without letting the soap dry. 

7.    Starting with a clean dry towel on clean dry paint, apply the spray conditioner sparingly to the top of the vehicle and spread it out.

8.    Acrylic conditioners are absorbed into the paint and have a application spread rate of 10 to 1 in area sprayed to area covered.

9.    Do not over saturate your paint.

10. After completing the top follow the same conditioning pattern as when washing, finishing at the bottom.

11. The total application time for a spray mist conditioner is under 10 minutes per vehicle.

12. Conditioners do not harden and will continue to add conditioning strength to the paint days after the application.

13. The effects will last for months, vehicle easily clean up with just water. No soap is needed when using a true acrylic paint conditioner.

14. The Shine will lasts for months, no wax is needed.

15. Reapply once a month and your factory shine will last longer than with any wax or polish being sold today.

(Courtesy of wikiHow)

Some Great Apps to Use for Your Car

When you’re driving, all of your attention should be focused on the open road. The emergence of smartphones has changed a lot regarding car safety.  Picking up the phone and taking a quick second call?  Not a good idea, but tolerable if short lived.  Seeing a person update their Facebook status on a smartphone in the middle of traffic?  That’s insanity!  Our smartphones have become an extension of us; here are some great iPhone apps that can keep you driving safely, while making your life easier in the process. 

Car Finder Plus is an app that records your position when you leave your car, tracking your location in the process.  The GPS stores this location and when you’re looking for your vehicle after running your errands, it provides a display of where to locate your car.   

Another great (free) app is Trapster.  Trapster allows drivers to scan the area for known speed traps, police hangouts, speed cameras or even stop-light cameras.  Using the GPS capabilities in your smart phone it uses reported speed traps in Trapster’s network database to give voice alerts of approaching traps.  This technology is due to a network of over 5 million Trapster users that constantly contribute trap locations.    

There are countless smartphone applications available for your phone that helps make life a tad easier.  Check out your smartphone application store for details and continue to drive safely!

Feel free to add your favorite app here:

Some of the Most Famous Cars in Modern Film & TV

We’ve all experienced the magic. The popcorn is buttered to perfection and the lights are dimly lit.  The slow stir of anxiousness floods your body.  Watching a movie for the first time is an experience in itself.  The character interaction with trying situations creates a bond between you and the protagonist, but it doesn’t end there.  Movies have created certain characters that, even after the film is over, you still have a connection or admiration for.  In some cases, a protagonist’s car can be given this title.  A vehicle used by main characters in the plot have a mind and personality of their own, or are reflective of their character, creating a cool ensemble of on screen characters to watch.  Here’s a look at some famous cars in cinema:

Ford 1967 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500.

This car, American muscle defined, starred in the film Gone in 60 seconds with Nicholas Cage in 2000.  The Mustang named ‘Eleanor’ in the film had 360-hp and in one scene launches 30 feet in the air over 15 feet of cars to land intact on the other side.  WOW

1981 DeLorean DMC12

Maybe one of the most classic movie cars of all time, the DeLorean starred in Back To The Future with Michael J. Fox.  It was able to break the law of quantum physics with a modified flux capacitor to travel through time at 88 mph.  The ill-fated Irish sports car had a good run.

1963 Volkswagen Beetle 

The distinguishable red and blue racing stripe, the number 53 on it’s hood and the human-like emotions of a Classic Volkswagen, all incorporated Herbie’s demeanor. The car star of several films of the same name, it was even able to drive himself from time to time!

1969 Dodge Charger

The General Lee was an icon.  The Dukes of Hazard car had a confederate flag painted on its roof, doors that were welded shut, and a trunk full of sandbags and concrete to let it fly over those hills.  The Duke boys had it good…

1982 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am

This car was a super smart, crime-fighting machine built to protect its driver, (a young David Hasseloff) in the TV series Knight Rider.  The car, known as ‘KITT’ was backed by an ‘Alpha Circuit’, which only the producers of the show know where it came from or how it made KITT speak.

1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor Ambulance

Who you gonna call?  The Ghostbusters was a national hit when it was released in 1984 and with the “Ecto-1”, a white end loading ambulance corroded with dust and ghost catching technology, the Ghostbusters were able to speed through New York to solve problems with the macabre. 

There are countless movies with unforgettable cars.  What are some of your favorites? 

Avoiding Traffic Frustration

You’ve been there.  The morning looks promising.  You’ve managed to wake up early enough to drop the kids off at school, eat breakfast and create a fifteen-minute window of driving time to account for traffic. However, traffic still looms over your day like a delayed coffee break.  Why? Because as you drive onto the entry ramp the congestion on the highway that exits close to your job is jam-packed.   You release a sigh, not one of relief, but of remorse as your legs tense up and the radio plays commercials.  Great…Traffic… 

The average commuter lost 34 hours or a full workweek because of traffic in 2009, according to the latest Urban Mobility Report.  In larger cities, traffic increases from office parks being built on rural land and the lag of mass transit continues to add fuel to the fire.  Many individuals can make it to work in a relatively good time when traffic is smooth, but when congestion occurs, it can double or even triple a commute.  This creates a dead stop between you and your destination.  There are some solutions to ease traffic at the federal, state, and local levels:

Toll Roads- fast lanes operated by a private company within the existing freeway system.  This would allow for fluctuating, reasonable rates according to time of day and a speedy driving alternative.

GPS traffic management integration- companies that harvest traffic data to create a network that feeds to smartphones or in-dash GPS systems.  This would give individuals heads up traffic updates quickly.

Simple tweaks- Hiring more tow trucks to cruise major highway routes, which allows for faster cleared wrecks is a great way to save time.  This is already done in Houston and only adds 5 million a year for 100 tow trucks.  This tow truck army saves $25 million to $30 in congestion costs and about $30 million that could result in chain-reaction pileups, according to The Texas Transportation Institute. 

Flexible work schedules- Working from home, which can be difficult in some cases when employees are needed at the office.  Coming in early or late to avoid traffic.

Traffic is a hassle.  It takes away from productivity, family time, and just plain enjoyment.  Some tweaks to the system could provide a great alternative form American commuters.