Category: How to Guides

how to guides on how to do car related task

How to prevent rust on cars?

Posted on by Bakhtawar Nadeem

Rust can give your car a serious concern. Body panels can be ruined by the damage caused by corrosion and also weaken the reliability and rigidity of the structure of the car.

Too much moisture resulting from continued exposure to rain or snow is the most common source of rust. Owing to old age or not being covered correctly, cars can even get rusty.

Your vehicle will be exposed to multiple toxic contaminants in the air as well as bad weather conditions if you do not own a garage.

Suspension parts of cast iron and steel, fuel and brake fluid lines, exhaust systems, fuel tanks and straps may all be damaged by corrosion and can carry large maintenance bills.

Prevent these problems by taking care of the outside of your vehicle correctly and taking steps as signs of rust begin to surface. Preventing it from happening in the first place is the only way for neutralizing rust on cars.

If you’re willing to live with it, rust is easy to stop. Cars, particularly in the winter, can accumulate rust all year.

Here are a few ways you can prevent rust on cars:

•Wash your Car regularly:

This is the very first and the most important way to rust proof a car. While dirt does not cause rust directly, dirt and sand may wear through your paint over time, especially when the paint is touched by someone.

Bird droppings and oil that spills while charging the car are other factors that can decrease the safety of your vehicle against corrosion. These items fade into wax, transparent coat, and paint over time, leaving the metal vulnerable to rusting.

Too much dirt will make rust accumulate faster in your vehicle. No matter what season it is, you can wash it at least once every other week to prevent rust on car. By side, you can do this or take your vehicle to a car wash.

Clean the car every few weeks so that it is difficult to scrape sand and gravel into the paint. Gasoline and bird droppings will chew through the color. When one comes into touch with the paint, try cleaning the car.

•Park your Car carefully

Parking your car on turf, gravel, snow or badly drained surfaces is only waiting for rust in your vehicle to come and take up permanent residence. When our cars spend much of their idle time at your place of residence.

It can go a long way to hold rust at bay by tackling the home-parking front. If you think it’s too expensive to invest in a driveway enhancement, ask your usual maintenance garage for any cost figures on repairing brake rotors, exhaust systems, suspension control arms, fuel tank and the like, and you’ll find the financial rationale easily.

When your parking lane is paved, don’t rest quick. Old, broken asphalt surfaces will supply the undercarriage of your chariot with almost as much moisture as a dirt field in spring.

Even adding an asphalt sealer coating will help out. Therefore, careful parking is very important to prevent rust on cars and neutralizing the rust.

•Protect the undercarriage of your Car

This is one of the significant ways to stop rust on car undercarriage. Salt and chemical particles on the underside of your car will weaken the ability to protect against rust if you reside in an environment that snows in the winter.

Clean the underside of your car periodically to keep your vehicle from resting on these products for long periods. Many automated car washes provide cleaning of the undercarriage.

You can even jack the car up and use a hose to spray the underside to rust proof your car.

•Apply Ceramic Coating

The easiest way to prevent rust on cars is to wax your vehicle, but now most auto shops prefer ceramic coating as a more efficient, cost-effective solution.

You should add this liquid polymer to the vehicle’s paint. Ceramic coating binds to the paint which, even in extreme circumstances, will not break down.

Cars must be waxed every few months, so you won’t need to do it again for up to three years with a ceramic coating. It could last for much longer in milder climates.

•Neutralize Road Salt

Another way to stop rust on cars is to neutralize road salt as salt is one of rust’s main contributors and it should be avoided to rust proof a car. The metal in your car will corrode quicker when mixed with water.

This is why, in winter, rusting is more likely, when the roads are coated in rock salt. During the winter months, you might want to wash your car once a week. If you live close to a beach, this doesn’t mean your car is exempt from rust.

Salt will also make its way from the sand to the roads. If you have to deal with road salt sometimes, you can want to apply a small amount of baking soda to the soap and water with which you wash your vehicle’s undercarriage and wheel wells.

The acidic effect of the salt and other ice melting products used on the highways would be neutralized with a tablespoon of baking soda. In combination with car cleaner, make sure to use baking soda.

To prevent rust on cars, one tablespoon of baking soda is necessary.

•Apply Anti- Rust Spray

If you see your car attracting a little rust, the only thing to do is to treat it quickly before it spreads for neutralizing rust on cars. You would not have to drive the vehicle to the shop or fix the rusted part if caught in time.

A symptom of rust is typically any place where the paint is bubbling. Clean the area first and make it air dry. You should add anti-rust spray until the region is free of all humidity.

When you can’t afford daily waxing or ceramic painting, this is a nice option. The spray can cover your vehicle for up to one year after it is applied. At most auto parts shops, you can buy aerosol cans with rust inhibitors, or you can make the pros taking care of them for you.

Avoid having some water on brake rotors, drums, linings, or calipers if you do it yourself. Keep it away from hot surfaces, such as catalytic converters and exhaust components, and from cables and electrical wiring. This is also a significant method to prevent rust on cars.

In a Nutshell,

While cars are much better protected than before, over time, they are not totally resistant to corrosion.

Small chips on the ground from stones and debris will expose the car’s metal to rust, worse if left exposed to the elements, particularly near the beach or if you have to drive through water like stream crossings on a regular basis.

Nothing damages a beautiful auto like unsightly rust stains, but you can keep your car in pristine shape for the long run with the right rust prevention strategies.

The key to learning how to prevent rust on cars lies in your routine maintenance habits. In the first place, stopping rust from happening is much more useful than seeking to hide corroded spots.

In this article, we have mentioned various ways for neutralizing rust on cars that might be useful for all car owners and users.

What causes a catalytic converter to go bad

Posted on by Zahid Shafiullah

Knowing about What causes a catalytic converter to go bad will help you to take care of your car and will save a much bigger amount of bills that would be waiting for you if you don’t take care of your car.

The job of a catalytic converter is to reduce the toxic gases and to control emission gases, if a catalytic convertor gets bad for any reason it will for sure disturb the way your car run.

Driving with a bad catalytic converter

  • Your car will consume more fuel
  • Your car would feel heavy and underpowered
  • You could get fined for releasing an excessive amount of harmful gases
  • It would hurt the environment too
  • Rattling noises from the exhaust

Do you have a car that feels underpowered? Do you have a brand new car and want to know what causes a catalytic converter to go bad. we will be discussing the main points that causes a catalytic convertor to go bad.

what causes a catalytic converter to go bad Infographic

•Unburned Fuel

Unburned fuel can be the main reason due to which your catalytic convertor is getting damaged. when the fuel enter the engine it is meant to be burned properly if the system is pushing more than required fuel in to engine it will obviously left unburned and it will pass through the exhaust.

The exhaust system is already running real hot like it from 932–1293°F which in result burns the leftover fuel due to which it would produce more heat and eventually damage your exhaust and also can damage your catalytic converter.

As your catalytic convertor has a honeycomb structure from inside and continuous damage from excess fuel can damage your exhaust. if your car seems to be consuming more fuel than normal do get it checked.

•Oil consumption

Oil consumption of an engine can be another cause of damaging your Catalytic convertor. Most of the engine starts consuming oil when the engine has clocked many more miles but sometimes other issues with engines such overheating and many other reasons can cause the engine to consume oil.

Oil was never meant to be burnt in engine and when it burn it starts to form carbon deposits in engine and with your car having a catalytic convertor will lead this carbon to block the honey comb structure of the catalytic convertor.

If your catalytic convertor gets blocked with carbon your car would feel underpowered when you drive, it would be disturbing the flow of exhaust gases which can cause overheating of the engine.

Another major thing would be that your car would start releasing unwanted gases that would harm the environment. You will also fail the emission test if you would keep on running the engine which is consuming oil.

So driving with a bad catalytic convertor does not seems to be a good idea.

•Coolant leaks

Coolant leaks can be another reason for a bad catalytic convertor. As the coolant entering an engine cause other problem such as blocking air passage, forming carbon in air passage can also cause overheating problems.

If the coolant ends up burning from your engine it can reduce the performance of engine also can clog your catalytic convertor.

You should inspect your engine after 2 or 3 weeks all the fluids are in their recommended place and if coolant is less then do check your radiator are their deposits of engine oil in it.

These small checks would eventually enhance the life of your engine.

•Ignoring Check Engine Light

When ever there is a check engine light do get it checked ASAP leaving these warning unchecked can cause engine problems and most of the engine problems will either lead your car to behave differently and will lead your catalytic converter going bad.

Even if a check engine light is not directly related to a catalytic convertor. if the issues are of spark plugs or any sensor it would eventually lead to damaging your catalytic convertor.

•Neglecting Engine Tune-Ups

Neglecting your engine tune-ups can also damage your car catalytic convertor as well as other components too. If you are ignoring your car maintenance recommended by your car manufacturer then it would eventually start damaging your car.

Suppose if the spark plugs are miss firing it would eventually disturb the fuel ratio it would start damaging your catalytic converter.

•Damaged Road

If you live in an area where the roads are not in good condition, chances are that you will have to face catalytic convertor damage as if it is hollow inside when some rock or other hard thing hits it you will eventually damage the catalytic convertor.

A catalytic convertor from inside has a ceramic honeycomb structure it is tuff but not to an extent that it will bear a hard hit from the road.

Even if it doesn’t hit the Catalytic convertor, if it hits your exhaust pipe it can cause overheating your engine and will in result damage your catalytic convertor.

If you are lucky enough that your car hits from below on a damaged road and still doesn’t damage your exhaust. There are hangers below your car which hold your exhaust mostly with rubber.

If a car get a hit from below it can also damage your hanger and will lower your exhaust from one side.

Another thing which I would not recommend is lowering your car , a lowered car will increase the chances of getting a hit from below.

•Extra use of Injector cleaner

So if you see your manufacturer user manual you will often see that car companies don’t recommend the use of injector cleaner. If we see from the consumer perspective we have seen some good results for if they have used the injector cleaner.

If we see things from manufacturer if we use the injector cleaner on and off , it would eventually clean the injector too but when it passes through the exhaust it will remove some carbon particles from the exhaust and it would eventually somewhere in your catalytic convertor .

if you really want to get your injector cleaned either used the injector cleaner once and later when the problem occurs get it checked and get them replaced or get them cleaned from an injector cleaning machine.

If you want to buy an injector cleaner or thinking of getting one we have another post for The Best Fuel Injector Cleaner for Diesel Engines.

•Oxygen Sensor Issue

If you are thinking of how can a issue with Oxygen sensor will cause problems for your catalytic convertor, don’t worry I am here to explain.

The purpose of an oxygen sensor is to balance the ratio of oxygen and fuel and come up with the most efficient ratio of fuel to be used. If the oxygen sensor gets dirty or is a faulty one, the data it will be providing will not be accurate for the ECU or the brain of your car to decide the amount of fuel to be provided.

As result, it would cause more fuel to burn but a car cannot burn all the fuel it’s given so there is an amount of fuel left unburned which would be burning in the exhaust which would in result cause the catalytic converter to go bad.

•Short Trips

This reason will let you think about how this reason can because the catalytic converter to go bad.

If you have a car that you drive very less and with the car mostly sitting in the garage, firstly if a car drives less or only on short trips what happens is your car burns fuel and some carbon deposits do get stuck in the exhaust.

when your car drives on a long drive, your car exhaust gets hot enough that it will burn the carbon deposits and will lessen the amount of carbon.

If you are driving your car less it will eventually stick the carbon deposits more are more in the exhaust and the catalytic convertor.

How to make your car horn louder

Posted on by Khadeeja Shafi

Are you fed up with your low sound horn? Do you want to know How to make your car horn louder? Thinking about how to enhance your horn?
If used in public, a car horn can get the attention of others for some good reasons or bad. There are only two ways to communicate with other cars at the time of need. One by generating the signal, and the other one is the horn.

The car horn makes a particular sound. It is a default setup design created by the company, which varies from small cars to larger vehicles. Horns are determined by the diaphragm’s flexibility, its physical size, and the different other contributing factors.

But some cars are having a low pitch sound and could not quickly get the attention of the public at the time of need. In this article, we are going to discuss how to make your car horn louder.

So for that, there is a solution you can enhance your horn by these two steps:

By adjusting your carn horn

Replacing it with a new one

By adjusting your carn horn.


• Now the first thing you have to check if your horn doesn’t blow is to check the fuse box’s horn fuse.


• They are some tiny fuses. We can’t get it with our fingers to use a pair of pliers. If the wire is broken somewhere, we have to change it.

• So now we have to check the horn relay and change the relay. If the horn started producing louder sound, then there was a problem with the relay.


• Car horn adjustment screw is also another way to adjust car horn sound and make it louder.

Replacing it with a new one
First of all focus on the tools, you need to change your car horn is
• Horn set
• Spanner
• Screwdriver

Now the steps are as follows:

  • Locate where the horn of your car is present. In most vehicles, it’s behind the front grills.
  • Remove the grills by unscrewing them and remove the cable of the old horn.
  • Swap in the new horn
  • If your car comes with only one horn, add additional wires for the second one.
  • Install the grille and check the horn.
    And you are done.

Horns in public:

Every state or country has its own rules and regulation to utilize car horns in public. According to your state rules and regulations, your car horn should be settled. A proper horn is auditable and also doesn’t irritate other road users. They should even not exceed the specific limitation that is defined by your state. Excessive use of car horn noise can affect your hearing capability. This means that the horn you are using plays a vital role in your life also. A study revealed that a sound exceeding its limit of more than 85 decibels could cause hearing loss.
Fortunately, many brands are making car horns that can be used for replacement by us. As the number of brands increases, so there is a wide variety of car horn brands, so it’s challenging to choose between them. Following are some of the best horn sounds:

How to fix sandblaster flow problems?

Posted on by Tracy Turner

The most common problems with some of the sandblasters are that they usually have flow problems and want to know how to fix sandblaster flow problems?

Today we are going to help you out of it.

The most common type of sandblaster you usually see is Gravity / Siphon based and others are compressed air based. Now first of all we will show we will tell you what is the reason that these sandblasters have flow problems.

This image explains what are the real causes of sandblaster flow problems

1) Air Pressure Issues :

The first reason that your Sandblaster flow is not proper can be due to air pressure, you may not be getting the proper air pressure required by your sandblaster.

1st check your air pressure gauge, Read your user manual and see if you are getting the desired air pressure required by your sandblaster. If still, the sandblaster is not giving the desired pressure then check maybe your air compressor has decided not to work anymore or your sandblaster has some problems.

By the way, if you are thinking to replace your sandblaster I have Reviewed best sandblaster for cars here.

2) Air Compressor Upgradation :

If you are using an Industrial Sandblaster then you might need a large air compressor and also need to have a large Air multistage drying system.

Now if you are thinking that what is that these sandblasters use water and air mixture to make this sandblasting effective, this system sends Air, Sand & water mixture with high pressure and it removes the paint or rust easily.

Now if you don’t have these types of sandblaster then you should check your sandblasters requirement as what kind of Air Compressor it requires. you can easily find the requirement on the user manual.

If you fulfill the requirement demanded by your sandblaster then you should check the compressor as it might be having some problem with it. The last option is only to upgrade it.

3) Blasting media Clogging

Media Clogging is the most common issue that we have seen in most of the sandblasters, the clogging we see is usually due to low pressure or not the proper use of the suitable media recommended by the manufacturer.

To see what kind of blasting media is recommended by your manufacturer you should see the user manual or the product on amazon you find information there.

Another thing you should see is the grit size supported by your sandblaster, for this, you can also see the manufacturer user manual or the product on Amazon or other online stores.

Another thing is that sometimes a when a blasting media is not coming out properly try to shake your sandblaster sometime this thing also works for some sandblaster.

4)Moisture in media

Another most common problem is moisture in media, due to moisture in your sandblasting sometime the sandblaster gets clogged and it would not work efficiently.

Moisture usually due to environmental factors or can be due to other factors but you dont need to worry we are not here to identify your problems only we are here to give you the solutions too.

so if you have for some reason got moisture in your media than there are 2 options you can go for if you have an Oven you can bake your sanding media in it for some time and it would remove all the moisture from your media and you would be ready to go with your sandblaster.

Now if you don’t have an oven no need to worry if you have plenty of time you can utilize heat from sun put your blasting sand in a big bucket or if you have an open area you can use it, spread the sand and let it sit in sun for a day hope so it would do the job

5) Gravitational Issue

The most common issue with the gravity/based sandblaster is that they usually have gravity issues now by gravity issues I mean is that these sandblaster are not compressed air based so they have to be fed by gravity.

some sandblaster have seen to been needing more gravity than Other and for that you had to keep them on top of something & being on ground level was not sufficient.

what I would suggest is if you have bought a sandblaster with this kind of issue you would need a long hose and it’s not going to be easy to move around and it would be a wise decision to upgrade it.

6) Less media

Another issue is that fewer media in the sandblaster can cause flow problems in the sandblaster. Now why this can cause a problem is because if you are reusing the media it would eventually get shaped into smaller particles and then it may not be as effective as it was before and its flow will also be disturbed.

and make sure before sandblasting that you should check how much of sandblasting media do you actually have inside of it if you see that the air is properly coming out but the media is not then either you need to adjust the flow from the nozzle or you need to add more media into it.

7) Blasting Nozzle issue

Blasting nozzles are the key component of any sandblaster these nozzles wear out with the passage and of time and use. because the blasting media passes through the nozzles at high speed which in result wears out the nozzles. When the nozzles wears out than the it would push more blasting media through it and would require more air pressure so it would be better to change your blasting nozzle.

Now if you are using a good brand sandblaster they usually provide more than 1 nozzle for your sandblasting gun so you don’t have to buy every time.

Some brands do provide ceramic or other material nozzles so if you have then you don’t need to buy one and simply replace it. It will solve your nozzle issues.

8) Hose problem

Another reason why your sandblaster is having flow problems can be due to problem with your hose. If you are facing such problem

make sure that your hose does not get bend while using it as it may restrict your sandblasting media flow. The Other thing is that you should check a leak in your hose because if there is a leak then the air pressure won’t be coming out as efficient as it can.

Don’t try to tape your leak as the air pressure is a much higher volume that the tape won’t be able to hold it for a longer period, the best option you can opt for is to replace your hose.

we hope so we have addressed all the issues mentioned above, but still if there is any issue that you think we have not covered you can let us know at our contact us page.

Best way to protect car paint from sun?

Posted on by Khadeeja Shafi

When we look at a car the first thought which struck our mind is its color, isn’t it? Light comes in a spectrum of wavelengths, and how a material absorbs and reflects these wavelengths determines what color we perceive. We assume the car’s aliveness by its looks. We’ve all seen a car lose its once-vibrant color after years exposed to the sun, but why does this happen?

The answer is the UV rays. Ultraviolet rays not only affect living beings but also had a great impact on the environment. Well, nowadays with the increase in pollution caused by human beings the ozone layer is becoming thinner and due to this these powerful rays from the sun oxidize your car paint give it an old look and damage your luxurious car from inside and outside.

In this article, we will discuss the best way to protect car paint from the sun. But before this, some questions come in  our mind that:

  • What happens if we are leaving the car out in the sun?

  • How to protect car paint from sun damage?

What happens if we are leaving the car out in the sun?

Have you ever thought about why it is uncomfortable to sit in a car that is exposed to the sun all day? The level of sun exposure is not just making us uncomfortable but also had a great impact on damaging your car. Most drivers know to avoid the sun but not everyone knows why. The sun can cause extensive damage to car paint and make it look old and worn. Sun can cause damage to car paint and fade it. Your car soaks up the sun every time you go out for a ride. As a responsible car holder, you must find out the ways through which you can protect your car paint from sun harmful rays.

How to protect car paint from sun damage?

Summers are hot and hard on your car’s external surface causing the paint to fade away. So what can you do about it? following are the some proactive mentioned tips to keep your car paint save from the sun harmful UV rays following are some maintenance tips :

  • Car sunshade.

  • Wash often.

  • Hand Dry The Exterior.

  • Use a protective wax.

 

  • Car sunshade

Build a carport otherwise, sun and weather damage is inevitable no matter what you wash the car with. Some car covers scratch the paint as dust gets between the cover and paint, the wind blowing against it will be like sandpaper rubbing on the paint. A quality car cover with the plush inner lining (a fabric with a cut pile that is longer and softer than velvet) shouldn’t scratch your car so it’s better to buy that one for your car.

FACT: Remember you should never cover the car when it is wet, as it can lead up to the buildup of mold and other types of fungus and bacteria.

  • Wash often.

Washing your car is one of the best ways to protect your car paint from the sun. High temperatures can merge all of the dust onto the surface of the vehicle. Sun and heat can fade and crack the paint. Frequent washing help remove dirt and dust particles that can cause micro scratches and dull your car’s finish. When you wash your car, it reduces the oxidization and heat of the sun rays.

Things to keep in mind when you are going to wash your car :

  • you need to park the car in a shady area before the wash.
  • Make sure not to let direct sunlight interact with the car paint, especially during the wash.
  • Cleaning the car weekly reduces the impact of UV rays.
  • Hand Dry The Exterior.

If you want to keep your exterior look good drying is also a very important factor. You can hand dry the exterior after the wash using a cotton rag to wipe the wet areas.it will ensure any chemical present in the water does not combine with the UV rays to damage the paint. For example, if you just left the car for air-dry the paint is left unprotected to spot damage caused by the naturally occurring minerals in the water you used for washing.

Sometimes, there is a possibility of oversight some parts of your car could be missed we all are humans errors can occur. when you dry your car, you remove those as well by giving your car a clean and neat finish.

  • Car drying process:

To dry your car follow the steps mentioned below:

  • Step 1: Spray water with a hose at a medium pressure allow water to flow freely over the car surface so that the remaining dirt is removed.
  • Step 2: leave your car for a few minutes to dry.
  • Step 3: Remove the remaining water with the help of squeegee.use the cotton rag or a piece of cloth to wipe down the windows.
  • Step 4: Start from the top and move down and wipe the rest of your car.

 

  • Use a protective wax or sealants:

protective wax

If you really want your car paint shine, then a layer of wax is the best idea to protect UV rays. Make sure to apply wax after washing and drying your vehicle thoroughly, reapplying it from time to time to maintain the layer of protection that it offers against the damage caused by sun rays. it’s important to point out some of its shortcomings.

[i2pc pros_icon=”icon icon-thumbs-up” cons_icon=”icon icon-thumbs-down” show_title=”true” title=”Pros & Cons” show_button=”false” pros_title=”Pros” cons_title=”Cons” ][i2pros]Car wax traps dirt and dust particles to settle.
They act as a hard shell of protection.[/i2pros][i2cons]Not very good with chemicals cleaners like degreasers, bug and tar remover
other car cleaning products can be harmful to car wax.[/i2cons][/i2pc]

 

sealants

beauty is in the eye of beholder.car wax is not going to highlight paint damage as much as paint sealants, so it might look your older car look better. Sealants are a better option if you want protection and durability.

[i2pc pros_icon=”icon icon-thumbs-up” cons_icon=”icon icon-thumbs-down” show_title=”false” title=”Pros & Cons” show_button=”false” pros_title=”Pros” cons_title=”Cons” ][i2pros]It provides a deeper depth of paint.
It protects paint longer than wax.
It provides stronger protection.
Increases the vehicle’s resale value.
It makes it easier to wash and dry a vehicle.
[/i2pros][i2cons]Highlights imperfections.
Need more prep work than car wax and polish alone.
Hard to remove.
[/i2cons][/i2pc]

 

Also if you want know how to protect your car from sun & rain click here to see the article: