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All work and no play will make Jack a dull boy indeed. Children love to have fun every now and then. During holidays it is a good idea that you should plan give your children the chance to really enjoy themselves. Holidays present the perfect chance that parents have of spoiling their children and having creative fun at the same time. There are a few ideas for holiday activities that can provide happiness to a child.

A cheap holiday idea for your kid is visiting different places near your home. You do not have to plan for expensive trips far away from your home for your kid to enjoy his or her holiday. Visit a museum near you, or better yet a park or a zoo. Children find this kind of outings quite fascinating. Local holiday outings should include a picnic. The child will be happy and contented if the whole family shares this time with him or her.

The beach or a local swimming pool is another ideal holiday excursion for a child. You can also plan to ride around the neighborhood together as you catch up on your child’s development. Some children love to get involved in work around the house. You can plan to do some gardening work together. You can also play a board game together. There are numerous board games for children that are available.

Encourage your child to engage in fun filled activities such as games. As you plan for your child’s holiday activities, make sure that it is what he or she wants. A child will enjoy doing something that he likes. It helps to keep them out of trouble.

While planning for your kid’s holiday activities, always consider your budget. If you have a tight budget, you can arrange for holiday travels and other activities while schools are in session. Holiday activities that occur during the middle of the week are much cheaper than those that occur during the weekends. If you are planning to take your kid to a place far from home, make sure that you lodge in a comfortable but affordable establishment.

Holidays are meant to be joyful occasions full of fun. Your kid does not have to stay at home all the time with his PlayStation or glued to the TV. Treat your children to the best holiday activities this season. Remember to make sure that you choose the safest holiday option for your child.

Tags: Arts & Entertainment by Anika Woods
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Torque spec comes into play after a fastener has been chosen. Bolt torquing is very important. When you thread and tighten a bolt the melt stretches a little, but the metal doesn?t want to be stretched so it resists the stretches and this is where you get the holding power from. This is why when you over tighten it can?t hold the load because it can?t return to its normal shape. Further to this in time the bolt continues to stretch and will end up snapping.

Torque-to-Yield Bolts

A torque to yield fastener is a one-time use that is based on this torque principal we just talked about. The torque spec usually have a 25% safety feature giving you a 25 per cent over tightening leniency. The torque to yield bolts don?t have this safety buffer. They are not meant to stretch the metal. This may sound like a disadvantage but it?s not really. They are extremely strong as they afford the whole 100% of their strength whereas the basic bolt only gives you about 75%.The one disadvantage they do have though is they can only be used once. So if you remove them you have to replace them with a TTY (torque to yield) bold. You are going to end up with 25% less strength with the basic fastener.

The TTY are used in many cases so it?s important for the technician to be aware of this during the estimation process of the procedure.

Tightening Sequence A tightening sequence can also be specified in conjunction with torque specs. A crises cross pattern is use to install wheels and now some installation patterns are being suggested for body panel fasteners. There is a certain amount of expanding and contracting during temperature fluctuations with composite panels. This means the fasteners have to adjust to these changes and must be designed to allow for this.

Shop Tips Whenever possible replace the fastener with the same type as the one your remove. Check the manual however to ensure it is the correct part and you are doing the proper procedure. Every part is specific because there is a reason for it.

Keeping track of what you are removing is important and time saving so tossing them in a pile is not the answer. Just use some small plastic bags, put them in and then mark what they are on the outside of the bag.

If you do not have a manual, you can ask a dealership to show you their service manual.

Use all the parts that come with your replacement parts.

If you are not sure about the label, compare height, thread pitch and diameter to the new piece and this will help you choose the right replacement fastener.

Make sure to use coated materials to prevent corrosion. A classic example of making this mistake is using a non-coated steel boat with an aluminum panel. If the coated items you require are not available then use a plastic or fiber gasket, a washer or even a layer of paint to produce a barrier between the materials.

Tags: Arts & Entertainment by Mario Goldstein
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In this short space, it is impossible to go into detail at any length, so the following is a brief guideline to ensure quality workmanship and minimal negative comebacks. Of course, guidelines must be established, but they also must be strictly followed.

Setting the Guidelines and Expectations Good training is reflected in quality work, as bad training is reflected in bad work, and prohibitive costs result due to comebacks. It is important to make sure that the training is top notch.

Many paint manufacturers have excellent training standards and it is a good policy to follow and enforce those standards. The following is a good example of good prep guidelines as given by a good paint company.

Contaminates that float around can ruin a paint job, and that applies to the surface, and the shop as well. To do this make sure, there is adequate filtration, and that it is frequently cleaned to the point of being almost sterile. Minute dust particles and hair are the worst offenders, making technicians walking dust magnets if the filtration system is inadequate.

Every day, and before each job, the shop must be thoroughly cleaned, top to bottom, as much as possible. Keep the spray booth clean always, and thoroughly wash it weekly. Check filter regularly and replace when necessary, as it affects health.

Before starting a job, make sure there is nothing like lamps mirrors, etc. around because they can cause cracking in the topcoat and the clear coat.

Before doing any surface prep, thoroughly wash the surface, all you need is plain old soap and water, because it removes all water- soluble material that can cause damage later. The vehicle must be scuffed with detergent and hot water to remove wax and sealants.

Prepping the Paint Surface You might want to try some fine waterproof sandpaper to scrub the surface. Some people like to use the scuff pads, those gray nylon types. Removing the painted area that has become damaged requires some grinding. Ideally, you will need sandpaper that is 80 grit and an orbital sander.

You will need to concentrate your grinding along the paint area that is damaged. In order to be successful you will have to see at least a quarter of an inch of color coat as well as clear coat and of course the undercoat as well. So the next step will be to featheredge the etching filler. This can be done right over the body filler or even on the bare metal. The purpose here is to provide protection both in adhesion and corrosion.

Once you have reached this stage then the next will be for the surface primer. It?s easy to see though that by setting and following guidelines and expectations that everyone knows what their job is and what they are responsible for. If there is a problem and a repair comeback shows up it becomes easier to determine where the breakdown occurred. This way you can go back to the drawing board so to speak and correct the problems where they are happening.

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Tags: Arts & Entertainment by Mario Goldstein
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For most car owners, the thought of restoring a car after a collison is daunting. It can be very pricey if the car has been severely damaged. However, these can be easily fixed without the expensive paint jobs and bodywork repair involved

Most minor bodywork issues can be repaired in a matter of minutes, when done by a well-trained, skilled professional. Understanding the process will help you to know what to look for in these unfortunate circumstances.

Usually, collision shops don’t do these smaller repairs themselves they outsource them to a smaller mobile service or they will offer paintless dent removal as an additional service. Dents from the size of a dime to 2 to 3 inches in diameter and larger can be handled by a qualified professional in anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes.

In many cases the dent is so completely gone it will look like nothing was ever there, and in some other instances, all you would see to know that work had been done is a small black plug in the door end. Paintless dent removal is often the best way to retain the integrity of a custom paint job. In the hands of a qualified professional, 10 to 15 vehicles a day can be done with amazing results.

Not Always the Answer The main concern in paintless dent removal is how much the metal was stressed (stretched) by the accident. The reason for this concern is that if the metal is stretched too much, then pushing it as it?s done in paintless dent removal can distort the metal and ruin the paint. The other consideration in paintless dent removal is the nature of the coating. Its age can make the coating brittle, or simply its condition as it left the factory. The reason that this is a concern for paintless dent removal is that a heat gun needs to be applied, and the above conditions can be very susceptible to heat ruining the coating.

Light is also used to determine all of the intricacies of the dented surface, so that there are no flaws showing when the job is complete.

Training, Techniques, and Tools It takes more time than you might think to train as a paintless dent removal technician, it takes about 12 months to train to be a good one, and that?s because you need to know all about access to the dent. Paintless dent removal technicians need to spend around $3,000 on tools because specialized tools are needed to access difficult areas in different makes and models.

So the next time you have a dent, ding, or crease, think about the paintless dent removal system, and ask if it can be done, if it can your pocketbook will thank you.

Tags: Arts & Entertainment by Mario Goldstein
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There are new ideas and research being done within the realm of fasteners when it comes to repairs.

One welcome change that has been observed is in the bumper mounting area now coated fasteners are being used. This means an added replacement expense during repairs but it also means less corroded bolds.

A new trend is headed toward fascia plastic fasteners being used. They are perfect because they are corrosion free and will release then they are suppose to. Continued research and changes like this are going to create a need for new types of fasteners. A good example of this is aluminum panels demanding aluminum fasteners. Again another significant way of reducing corrosion meaning a cost reduction because assembly times are faster.

Routine Uses for Fastener Applications. -any of the sheet metal parts such as body panels, trunk, lid and hood. Usually attached with a Grade 2 screw or rivet. Screws may all look the same but there can be differences in and long and strong, they are as well as the pitch.

-treaded fasteners are most common for assembling bumpers. They have to be high strength as the bumper provides safety to the occupants of the vehicle.

- Steel, plastic threads or plastic clips can be used for the headlight, grille and fascia.

-For interiors fasteners or screws that are threaded are used for the dash board, while the pads may be plastic fasteners of varying types. Door trim panels are normally clips but some are bolts. Be very careful with the plastic clips as many are designed for one time use.

- Steel bolts and screws are for the fiberglass items as well as plastic lips.

-Steering and suspension are crucial to safety therefore demand high strength bolts.

Proper Fastener Management Means Less Profit Loss

You can actually stop your losses and increase your profit by about $50 on every repair done if you itemize the supplemental materials needed in your repairs. Items such as your chemicals, fasteners and even masking tape. That may seem like gouging the customer but actually these costs can mount up to thousands of dollars per year because they are not factored in when doing the estimates. If your shop does about 200 car repairs, a month then you are going to exceed $100,000 in revenue alone just in this one small change. You can actually create a snowball affect just by implementing a small change like this. You can re invest that extra money into other cost saving equipment, which allows you to increase the workload yet cut down the labor expense. The same goes for being astute at keeping control of inventory. You can dramatically cut down on your losses.

Once you have cut these costs down then naturally, your profit level rises. It?s the little things that can really make a big difference in the profit margin in this particular industry. The same with not wasting product is another issue to keep track off. By the same token, though don?t start cutting corners to save money. In the end, it could end up costing you more by having customers returning for repairs and this is damaging to your businesses reputation.

Tags: Arts & Entertainment by Mario Goldstein
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Novices that’re entering into painting a car for the first time, don’t realize that there are several primers and paint systems available. There are choices that’ve to be make as to which ones to go with. It must also be realized that a few of these systems can be chemically volatile, and must be utilized with extraordinary caution. That doesnt mean you should be dubious about using them, it means that you must know what you are doing and apply the right precautions.

There are the air-dry kind of cellulose systems for repair, and then there’re two pack products. These are much more durable and professional but are the ones that demand caution.

For the primers theres the etching primer. This’s a primer base to which a form of acid is added. You could buy several one step primers that also come in aerosol form but they dont do quite the similar high quality job that the commercial acid based ones do. Be certain to follow the instructions exactly as the product says.

Other type of primer you may hear about or even need is the wash primers. These dont have whatsoever fillers and are applied in one wet coat over any of the areas displaying the bare metal. The etch primer fillers are a bit different because they have numerous basic filling qualities. These are applied in 2-3 wet coats, allowing 10-20 mins between every application.

A heavier kind of primer fillers or surfacers are available that contain filling products. Nearly all of the sprayable products are designed for filling small surfaces and scratches not dents, holes our deep scratches.

Air dry is mostly your primary cellulose kind products. They dry fast but they don’t have the same ability to fill the area. You can also run the risk of it shrinking once it dries out.

You would require to determine if youre satisfied working with the light aerosol fillers or if you want to go with the more extreme two pack primer fillers. Remember these have to be blended exactly according to directions, and utilized as instructed. There are health risks that you must safe guard against as well. In the long run they do give a much superior finish, but you have to decide does the job you’re doing need this. If not then stay with the aerosol products. Then again, if you are not familiar at all with primers, then maybe you can get some expert help or advise on the matter.

Be it which type you decide to go with , they all have the number of applications that will be needed. Then they would instruct you on what your future steps are after drying for instance how many coats are needed and how much sanding is required.

There’re new products coming out on the market constantly. It’s always a great idea to check with your supplier as to what they recommend. They’re normally well-versed in the products they carry and can give you some really good advice.

Tags: Arts & Entertainment by Will Yonder
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If you are performing, auto body finishing your work area has to be almost sterile unless of course you enjoy having to strip, sand, repaint and buff repeatedly on the same car because something got into the paint or finish or you left some residue and went onto the next step. If there is anything present that could ruin your finishing work then it probably will.

One of the most valuable assets you can have is a quality wax and grease remover. Most often the to the job at home guy ends up with an inferior finish if all due to not removing the residue of anything from the car like old wax and dirt build up or airborne debris.

There are solvents that can be used but you are taking a chance when you use these. Many novice auto body finishers are devastated when the mistakes made before the primer application start to appear. The key to being successful is to know the right materials for the job. Then it?s knowing how to use them. Finally when and where should they used.

What You will Need -There are lots of products that will remove grease and wax but you need to remove silicone. -You will need about 3 gallons – Solvent and lint free rags actually cheesecloth or tough quality paper towels are the best -detail scrubbing brush to get at hard to get spots where there may be silicone

Do Not Use -regular lacquer thinner (can create havoc with paint systems) -enamel reduced (same reason) -cheap rags (Note: if you really have to use lacquer thinner work quick and don?t let it soak into the prime coat too much or too long)

Degreasing Times: It certainly is not a one-time operation. At least not when you consider that if you were to even leave one print smudge on the car it will likely show up as discoloration in the finish. It is imperative that you remove any and all of grease, wax and silicone? -prior to touchups -prior to the bare metal conversion coating -prior to filling and glazing -prior to primers -prior to basecoat -prior to finishing coats

The Right Spots to Degrease: The areas that you are going to be working on such as the body and panel.

Do not miss around all these areas? Trim, weather stripping, cowel louver, panel joints and air intakes Inside the head and taillight apertures, only necessary if you have removed the trim or bezels. Also around the door areas, inside of hood and the lid of the trunk and the wheels

Be absolutely sure that you remove all the cleaner and then wipe with a clean rag. If in doubt do it again.

Reasons for Degreasing -To know you are going to get the best results – its yours and the business reputation at stake -the cost of the materials such as primer surfacer, primer, metallic, clear coats -labor of yours and what you pay in wages

Tags: Arts & Entertainment by Mario Goldstein
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In the fine art of paintless dent removal, there is more of a fine art involved than you might think. Not only does it require good training skills, it also requires the touch.

The tools used for this procedure are long and delicate, to allow access to difficult to reach places. One wrong move can cause a wrinkle in the surface, making a highpoint that is visible when looking at the smoothness of the surface.

Wrinkled metal is one of the most difficult, if not, almost impossible repairs to do, it all depends on the force of the slip.Most often you get one chance only in paintless dent removal, it is a finesse job that requires great skill, combined with a lot of knowledge and a gentle touch.

Gaining Access When doing paintless dent removal, the first thing that has to be done is to gain access, whether it is the hood, roof, door, trunk, or quarter panel. Once access is gained, you have to select the right tool, not forgetting the length, tip size and diameter when you are selecting that tool.

Starting the Repair Once you have started the repair, delicate, and precise movements are required, many times over, it?s the repetition that works the area. The metal can?t be pushed, it has to be “coaxed” back into its original position, and ?coaxed” is the right word being you can only remove small amounts of metal at a time. There are four major types of damage, and different ways to repair each of them. The standard dent is reversed by a massaging action at the center. For a crease, you use work from left to right, while gently applying. If you start with the smallest dent you can repair double rings can be repaired by starting.

The best way to start with is the smaller area then move to the larger one. Once you have repaired about 90 % of the damage, then you need to work on the distortion evident in the larger dent.

The trick of doing the actual repair is to get the light right on the painted side of the surface. You have already got your tool in place from the other side and now you are ready to get into the finer work.

You need to find the precision point of the tip of the tool. To do this shining the light in the same direction stand perpendicular to the crease. . Don?t work at an angle as the surface will look distortedLooking for the tool tip is like stretching a piece of foil and running your fingernail across it from the other side. When you are repairing the surface, you can see the tool tip you gently move it back and forth, much like the fingernail example. Start at the center, and apply pressure steadily, in finite strokes. The larger the dent, the less pressure you need.

Completing the job. If you did have to make a hole to gain entry, apply sealant as a paint protector and continue to mend the hole.

Tags: Arts & Entertainment by Mario Goldstein
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Say you truly think that you want to paint a car then get ready for a full task ahead of you. It doesnt mean that you can’t or should not do it, it just means make sure youre ready to see the job done from beginning to end. If you do not finish the job completely or properly then youre going to be driving some thing that may be a little embarrassing to the eye at the least.

To paint a car takes careful planning and ensuring that youve all of the supplies you require and the time to go through at least a couple of the stages.

There are things that you are going to need by way of supplies. You would need masking tape, dust mask, goggles, sand paper, wax/grease remover, primer paint, paper for covering, car wash and detergent, paint sprayer, putty with knife.

When you purchase your sand-paper be certain you purchase fine and thick grit, as you will need both textures. The amount of primer and urethane based paint you require would be dependant on the size of your vehicle. Whether or not you want to use a paint sprayer is completely up to you, if you choose not to then the regular spray paint cans will do fine. Be sure you wear appropriate clothing when you go to paint a car so your skin isn’t revealed.

Finally make sure youve the proper space to work in. You need to be able to work around your car. You most certainly need good ventilation, and you’ll need to be capable to protect it against the factors.

Firstly you must really wash your car throughly. It does not matter how clean it might look to you unless you just washed it, there would be a few debris on it that you must remove, otherwise the paint would not adhere properly. Then once you’ve it washed nice and clean youve to get all the old wax off it so thats where the wax/greaser remover comes in. It is very essential you go through these steps when you go to paint a car.

You will in all probability notice that you’ve a couple of rough spots on your latest finish. Say you go to paint a car that’s in this condition, you’ll not get good coverage with the new paint. Put little pit marks made by rocks or things like that just use a little putty to fill them in. The use the sand paper to softly smooth the rough spots and small holes. Make sure you wipe away all the debris from sanding.

In order to paint a car, you must be perfectly certain that it is dry after your washing. This will take few hours. Be sure it does not get dirty again. Next masking tape off the areas that you don’t want to get paint on.

Entirely prime the car. Then sand it lightly once more. Be sure to wipe the residue off.

Now you are ready to apply the base coat of the new color. Preferably with a spray gun. Totally spray it then let it dry for about 15 minutes. And then you can apply the second coat. Most often you can get away with two coats.

Let it dry for about one hour then you could apply the clear coat. Let dry 15 minutes then re-apply. You would in all likelihood need about three coats of the clear to get a nice finish.

Tags: Arts & Entertainment by Marlen Pole
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It gets reasonably boring when you are driving down the highway and you see all the same colors of motor vehicles. Sure theyre different makes and styles, but color wise they’re completely the same and uninteresting. Then every once in a while something very dynamic stops beside you. It’s one of those cars that has been painted with a customise design. To paint a car is one thing but to custom paint it is a whole new thing.

At the very least when you went to buy your car you had few more colour options then perhaps your grandfather did in his day and age. Today, not only do you’ve to decide on colour, youre required to decide if you want metallic, or rust free or even scratch proof finishes.

You truly got to know what you what when painting your car. It isn’t inexpensive to custom paint a car. The paints are a very high grade poly urethanes.

When it comes time and you want to paint a car and you’ve decided to have a custom-made design put on it, then you are going to have to choose which type you want. A couple of years back the burning flame was the rage. To see a black car with those flames running down the sides was the envy of every avid car lover.

The flames are still very hot but the designs are reasonably different. They cover more of an area.

Other popular design is animals such as the wild mustangs or the flying eagle. Then there’re designs that are just abstract in nature. The skulls and cross bones type art used to be more popular when it came to motorcycles, but it has sort of caught on with those car buffs that genuinely want to paint a car with the customise designs. Other peculiar observation as well is that people like to just have the art painted as a mural on their trunks for instance.

One of the newer kind designs that actually sort of fit in between the skulls and the flames is the dragons. These are becoming more and more popular, and one has to admit they indeed look somewhat astounding.

In nowadays age if youve decided to paint a car and have a customize design then you will find that an automotive logo design is suggested to you.

And then there are individuals who want to paint a car all in metallic with a variety of colours as opposed to whatsoever kind of graphic. These can be quite splendid when the colour selection goes well together and the airbrush colour application flows.

One thing to bear in mind, it you want to paint a car and customise it with a design, it is not inexpensive. It can get rather costly the more defined and elaborate you go. Unless your intention is to keep the car, it’ll be quite pricey to customise paint it..

Tags: Arts & Entertainment by Elen Hallman
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