The home improvement season is under way and do-it-yourselfers nationwide are looking for ways to make fix-ups easy and hassle free. That's why 3M SandBlaster sanding sponge created a free tips booklet, entitled Tips to Relieve Home Improvement Headaches.
Full of sanding, painting and caulking tips gathered from do-it-yourselfers across the country, this booklet gives easy-to-follow advice for overcoming common home improvement headaches. Even the most advanced do-it-yourselfer will learn a few "tricks of the trade" from Tips to Relieve Home Improvement Headaches, like how to select the right abrasive for a smooth, professional finish. SandBlaster sponge abrasive packaging is color-coded to make it easier to select the appropriate abrasive for your stage of sanding.
Last year's SandBlaster sponges "Tip-Off' contest, sponsored by 3M, netted hundreds of ideas for how to make the most troublesome home improvement tasks less of a headache. The winning tips from the contest are included in this booklet, along with a few easy, money-saving solutions from contest judge, Matt Nikitas. As a licensed contractor and author of the how-to installation series "Grand Finishes," Nikitas has completed thousands of major and minor home improvements.
"For most Americans, their home is their biggest investment," said Nikitas. "Protecting that investment means some level of do-it-yourself home improvement. The tips in this booklet are from other homeowners who have figured out how to make tricky home improvement tasks a whole lot easier."
With Tips to Relieve Home Improvement Headaches, do-it-yourselfers are encouraged to try home improvement projects that they may have previously ignored because they weren't sure how to do them. Some examples of tips offered in the booklet are:
| -- | Before starting a painting project, apply a liberal coating of hand lotion to your hands and arms, up to and including your elbows. Once the lotion dries, you can begin painting with or without gloves. Any paint that gets on your skin will wash off easily without having to use harsh cleaners or solvents. |
| -- | Shirley Rinehart, Groveport, Ohio |
| -- | To ease nails or screws into hardwood surfaces make sure you lubricate them with soap. By doing so there is less of a chance of cracking the surface or bending the nail. In the end you will save yourself time and energy. |
| -- | Lindsey Leiser, Binghamton, N.Y. |
| -- | When purchasing custom-color house paint, ask that the custom color be added to the primer. You will save on the cost of paint and save time by having to apply fewer coats. |
| -- | Carol Haufler, San Antonio, Texas |
The Tips to Relieve Home Improvement Headaches booklet is available by sending an e-mail with your name, address, city, state and zip code to SandBlasterTips@hunterpr.com or sending a postcard with your name, address, city, state and zip code to: SandBlaster Abrasives Tips Booklet, P.O. Box 3160, Grand Rapids, MN 55745-3160. Offer Expires Dec. 31, 2003 or while supplies last. Limit one book per household.
Editor's Note: To view a copy of the cover of Tips to Relieve Home Improvement Headaches booklet, log on to http://www.hunterpr.com/newsroom/photo_sb_tipsbooklet.html.
About 3M
3M is a $16 billion diversified technology company with leading positions in consumer and office; display and graphics; electronics and telecommunications; health care; industrial; safety, security and protection services; transportation and other businesses. Headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota, the company has operations in more than 60 countries and serves customers in nearly 200 countries. 3M is one of the 30 stocks that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average and also is a component of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. For more information about 3M, go to www.3M.com/profile/pressbox/index.jhtml.
3M and SandBlaster are trademarks of 3M.
Hunter Public RelationsCasey Reidy, 212-679-6600, Extension. 248creidy@hunterpr.comor3MKatherine Hagmeier, 651-575-4368klhagmeier@mrnrn.com
