Handy Hints and Hacks
- Thread starter Merle
- Start date
wwkirk
Divine
pigfarmer
tall, thin, irritable
I always look for common cheap household products to use instead of buying harsh chemicals and then dumping them into my septic tank.
70% isopropyl alcohol is my go to general cleaner. its clear coat and paint safe. Takes off old glue, adhesives nicely. 90% is not paint or clear coat safe but it cleans well. Want to make the raised white letters on tires brighten right up? There you go - 90% and a rag.
Lately I've tossed some really greasy nasty old car parts - pulleys and adjusters - into a lasagna pan and gave them a good dose of Dawn dish soap then covered them in white vinegar. I have an old paintbrush that once or twice I'll swirl the stuff around and I leave the pans in my slop sink to be careful. brand new looking in one day. Its a bit stinky but cost all of $3 and I can pour it right down the drain without too much worry.
70% isopropyl alcohol is my go to general cleaner. its clear coat and paint safe. Takes off old glue, adhesives nicely. 90% is not paint or clear coat safe but it cleans well. Want to make the raised white letters on tires brighten right up? There you go - 90% and a rag.
Lately I've tossed some really greasy nasty old car parts - pulleys and adjusters - into a lasagna pan and gave them a good dose of Dawn dish soap then covered them in white vinegar. I have an old paintbrush that once or twice I'll swirl the stuff around and I leave the pans in my slop sink to be careful. brand new looking in one day. Its a bit stinky but cost all of $3 and I can pour it right down the drain without too much worry.
nivek
As Above So Below
pigfarmer
tall, thin, irritable
Hard to see in the pics because it's shiny
I bought this nifty little metal box at The ReStore for a dollar. No idea why other than it had been filled with those weird little round adhesive hole reinforcers - and then left to bake for who knows how long. Solid sticky mess just glued in there. I think I bought it because it would just be thrown out. Poor thing.
The hack is white vinegar. Had I tried to scrape that stuff out it would've made all sorts of scratches. I just threw it in a bucket of white vinegar for a couple days and the sticky stuff + all the paint just sloughed right off easily.
I'll prime and paint it, maybe stencil something like Mark IX DETONATOR on it or something ................
I bought this nifty little metal box at The ReStore for a dollar. No idea why other than it had been filled with those weird little round adhesive hole reinforcers - and then left to bake for who knows how long. Solid sticky mess just glued in there. I think I bought it because it would just be thrown out. Poor thing.
The hack is white vinegar. Had I tried to scrape that stuff out it would've made all sorts of scratches. I just threw it in a bucket of white vinegar for a couple days and the sticky stuff + all the paint just sloughed right off easily.
I'll prime and paint it, maybe stencil something like Mark IX DETONATOR on it or something ................
pigfarmer
tall, thin, irritable
Having just dealt with the old lady-constantly dead battery because the cars sits I was surprised that nobody knew this. Seemed obvious to me but here you go.
If you have a key fob and no apparent key there is one - it's inside. Look and you'll see a small release button or tab and it just pulls out so you can at least get the door open and in some cases, even start it.
I may have to contact the Vatican as I believe we witnessed a genuine Miracle. Two years ago we bought a used '21 Forester from the local Subaru dealer. Got a killer deal through no fault of theirs, we checked their inventory. They were swine of the worst sort start to finish and are now under new ownership.
We never got a spare fob for the car, only a steel emergency key. The fob isn't the same style as described above, it has a fixed key. We asked, they said they didn't have one but for only $350 they'll get one. We forgot about it.
That turned out to be utterly untrue. On Friday we got a call from the dealership's new owners - they found the fob and called my wife. We picked it up for free. Not all dealership, or employees at least, are trough feeders.
This is the same place that left about $2500 in cash and checks from customer deposits in my wife's car. She found it two weeks later and returned it. Imagine the load of steaming crap they gave any number of people who had put deposits down on that.
If you have a key fob and no apparent key there is one - it's inside. Look and you'll see a small release button or tab and it just pulls out so you can at least get the door open and in some cases, even start it.
I may have to contact the Vatican as I believe we witnessed a genuine Miracle. Two years ago we bought a used '21 Forester from the local Subaru dealer. Got a killer deal through no fault of theirs, we checked their inventory. They were swine of the worst sort start to finish and are now under new ownership.
We never got a spare fob for the car, only a steel emergency key. The fob isn't the same style as described above, it has a fixed key. We asked, they said they didn't have one but for only $350 they'll get one. We forgot about it.
That turned out to be utterly untrue. On Friday we got a call from the dealership's new owners - they found the fob and called my wife. We picked it up for free. Not all dealership, or employees at least, are trough feeders.
This is the same place that left about $2500 in cash and checks from customer deposits in my wife's car. She found it two weeks later and returned it. Imagine the load of steaming crap they gave any number of people who had put deposits down on that.
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pigfarmer
tall, thin, irritable
We recently had to replace a 32" TV and I was surprised to learn that something so common can't be easily disposed of. Literally the only local option is to pay $30 to give it to Best Buy. Of course, I'd never just break it up and shove it in the garbage ......
Yesterday my wife found a video, I don't have the link. Apparently he has a porch pirate problem. Our TV showed up in a brightly colored Vizio box and it's obvious from 100 yards away and would be a very tempting target I'd imagine.
This guy just repacked his old TV in the new box and left it on the porch. Problem solved .....................
Yesterday my wife found a video, I don't have the link. Apparently he has a porch pirate problem. Our TV showed up in a brightly colored Vizio box and it's obvious from 100 yards away and would be a very tempting target I'd imagine.
This guy just repacked his old TV in the new box and left it on the porch. Problem solved .....................
pigfarmer
tall, thin, irritable
Not exactly earth shattering but ever need to put a screw through something that's carpeted ? Maybe for a floor register or in my case, automotive.
Stick a screw in there and try to drive it in or drill a pilot hole and almost certainly it'll grab hold of a fiber or two and make a visible run.
I heat up an awl but any metal pointy thing will do. Heat it up and stick it in there first and in most cases it'll melt the hole and cauterize the edges. Perfect holes every time zero runs.
Stick a screw in there and try to drive it in or drill a pilot hole and almost certainly it'll grab hold of a fiber or two and make a visible run.
I heat up an awl but any metal pointy thing will do. Heat it up and stick it in there first and in most cases it'll melt the hole and cauterize the edges. Perfect holes every time zero runs.
pigfarmer
tall, thin, irritable
I have a paver/block sidewalk and there are things that are not even native to North America growing up through the cracks. Big Box stores sell all sorts of nasty chemicals with sprayers, pump sprayers and all that. I don't like to use them because of pets.
Lately I've been using two cheap plastic watering cans that hold about 2 gallons. Bought a 40lb bag of water softener crystals for about $8 and throw a few handfuls in each and fill them with water. I add vinegar and generic equivalent Dawn dish soap and some bleach.
I do this because I have them all sitting under my slop sink. If I had anything else that looked promising I'd use it.
How much of each ? I dunno - I usually say 'way too much' . I let it sit a couple hours for the salt to melt a bit into brine although the crystals never completely dissolve, then just water the sidewalk down with the stuff. It really, really works at a fraction of the cost of the chemicals, lasts just as long and doesn't bother my dog - I do keep her off of it a day or so. Ants don't like it either. Leaves no residue except dead weeds.
Lately I've been using two cheap plastic watering cans that hold about 2 gallons. Bought a 40lb bag of water softener crystals for about $8 and throw a few handfuls in each and fill them with water. I add vinegar and generic equivalent Dawn dish soap and some bleach.
I do this because I have them all sitting under my slop sink. If I had anything else that looked promising I'd use it.
How much of each ? I dunno - I usually say 'way too much' . I let it sit a couple hours for the salt to melt a bit into brine although the crystals never completely dissolve, then just water the sidewalk down with the stuff. It really, really works at a fraction of the cost of the chemicals, lasts just as long and doesn't bother my dog - I do keep her off of it a day or so. Ants don't like it either. Leaves no residue except dead weeds.
pigfarmer
tall, thin, irritable
I've used the small tubes of liquid epoxy but ran into a repair that needed more than that so I tried this. This is my new favorite thing.
You cut cut the little sausage to length, it's grey on the outside and black inside (looks almost edible) and you just knead it to a uniform color and stick it where you need it. It goes in like clay and gives you plenty of work time. Come back an hour later and you'll need a grinder to shape it. That's really handy. I just used to it fill in a rotted section of a radiator support.
The support is solid enough and would require major surgery to swap out. I started taking pics part way through this but you get the idea. I debrided all the loose rust and scale, slobbered copious amounts of OSPHO SURFACE PREP on everything and used 2.5 of those Steel Sticks on this thing then ground it smooth. Easy-peasy and a reasonable repair. Bear in mind I've seen spray foam and Bondo used on things like this so even though this is a bit Bubba it isn't the worst thing in the whole world.
You cut cut the little sausage to length, it's grey on the outside and black inside (looks almost edible) and you just knead it to a uniform color and stick it where you need it. It goes in like clay and gives you plenty of work time. Come back an hour later and you'll need a grinder to shape it. That's really handy. I just used to it fill in a rotted section of a radiator support.
The support is solid enough and would require major surgery to swap out. I started taking pics part way through this but you get the idea. I debrided all the loose rust and scale, slobbered copious amounts of OSPHO SURFACE PREP on everything and used 2.5 of those Steel Sticks on this thing then ground it smooth. Easy-peasy and a reasonable repair. Bear in mind I've seen spray foam and Bondo used on things like this so even though this is a bit Bubba it isn't the worst thing in the whole world.
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Dejan Corovic
As above, so bellow
pigfarmer
tall, thin, irritable
I got the idea from this (slightly annoying) video and just used it. It does work and is ridiculously easy.
I took about 6oz of warm water and added 1tsp of Palmolive Clean & Clear and 2 tsp 70% isopropyl alcohol. A glass jar with a lid is very handy, just mix it up. The trick is to use microfiber or other lint free towels. That and three small microfiber towels was all I needed.
Whoever used to own my Olds must've taken it to vacations on Tatooine because the glass was very cloudy and abraded. I used Windex & paper towel first and as usual it looked terrible with all sorts of white lint. Then I did this and the glass is now clean, clear and smooth as .... glass..... again to the touch. It takes less time than the video might make you think, it's easy and effective.
I took about 6oz of warm water and added 1tsp of Palmolive Clean & Clear and 2 tsp 70% isopropyl alcohol. A glass jar with a lid is very handy, just mix it up. The trick is to use microfiber or other lint free towels. That and three small microfiber towels was all I needed.
Whoever used to own my Olds must've taken it to vacations on Tatooine because the glass was very cloudy and abraded. I used Windex & paper towel first and as usual it looked terrible with all sorts of white lint. Then I did this and the glass is now clean, clear and smooth as .... glass..... again to the touch. It takes less time than the video might make you think, it's easy and effective.