You can tackle just about any small repair project around the house. Yet you’re intimidated when it comes to doing minor repairs on your vehicle. There’s no need for a skills disconnect between your front door and your driveway, according to Karl Champley of the DIY Network and HGTV.
“Your home improvement skills are a valuable asset around the house, and they can be just as valuable in your driveway,” said Champley, car enthusiast and host of HGTV “Wasted Spaces” and DIY “DIY to the Rescue”. “If you can use a drill, sand a surface, patch drywall and paint, you can make basic repairs like restoring your headlight lenses and paint, repairing scratches and dents and even doing simple tune-ups.”
Champley is teaming up with 3M Car Care for their program “Skills and Drills: Simple Car Projects You Can Do with Basic Home Improvement Skills” to teach consumers how to translate their household skills to the driveway. Here are some basic automotive repair jobs -- and the professional-grade but easy-to-use product solutions that will help the household DIYer keep his vehicle running great and looking great -- with significant money savings.
Simple Tune Up and Maintenance
If you’re a household DIYer you have a solution in a simple tune-up and maintenance program that can be done in the driveway and deliver big savings of about $800 per year in fuel costs alone, not to mention thousands of dollars in service charges.
“Just like around the house, it’s better to monitor your car and do your tune-ups and regular maintenance than have an expensive repair like a new furnace or water heater,” said Champley. “It’s not worth having to spend $2,500 to rebuild your engine or buy a new car. That approach to maintenance and prevention helps you maintain your home, and can help your car perform better and last longer.”
New easy to use tune-up kits like the Fuel System Tune-Up Kit from 3M makes it simple to perform a basic tune-up on your engine. The kit cleans fuel injectors, intake manifold, intake valves, combustion chambers and throttle plate with the same trusted 3M products used by automotive professionals. Each kit contains Complete Fuel System Cleaner, Do-It-Yourself Intake System Cleaner, Throttle Plate and Carb Cleaner, all from 3M Car Care, and an instructional DVD.
Professional Scratch Removal
“If you want to improve your car’s appearance and save money, too, repairing simple scratches yourself is now an easy project that delivers great benefits,” said Champley. “3M Car Care uses professional-grade products and processes to create a DIY kit that delivers high-quality results.”
The Scratch Removal System from 3M provides all of the products and step-by-step guidance needed to repair small scratches. It improves a vehicle’s appearance by sanding, compounding and polishing the clear coat. It is designed to remove defects to the clear coat, like fine scratches to the door handle, door panels or the trunk.
Paint Restoration
Now you can restore tired paint and repair irritating scratches without an expensive trip to the body shop. A new solution from 3M Car Care offers car owners an easy and affordable way to make those repairs – in their garage in just one afternoon with basic tools.
The Paint Restoration System from 3M contains everything needed to bring a vehicle’s paint back to “like-new” condition. Each system includes Scratch Remover Plus, Shine Restorer and Synthetic Wax Protectant, all from 3M. It also includes a patented scratch eraser pad and three levels of foam pads needed to deliver a great finish. The only tool a consumer needs for the job is a six- inch polisher, available at automotive and home improvement stores.
Headlight Restoration to Improve Visibility
Hazed or cloudy plastic headlights can reduce a vehicle’s visibility on the road, making it very difficult to see not only in spring showers but also on a clear night.
Drivers can restore plastic headlight lenses and other plastic surfaces to like-new clarity just in time for the warm weather driving season with the Headlight Lens Restoration System and Lens Renewal Kit, both from 3M and both easy to use solutions for removing the yellowing and hazing that reduces headlight performance and visibility. The kit, available for under $30, only requires a household drill and 30 minutes to complete the job.
Dents and Dings Body Repair
With very basic skills and the right products, those who can do simple household projects like patching drywall can add to the value of their vehicles by repairing dents and dings. 3M Car Care is making it easier with a new complete kit for the task, called the Bondo® Small Dent Repair Kit. It contains everything needed for repairing small dents, chips and holes, including a Bondo® Single Use 6 oz. can of filler, spreader, scooping stick and 3M sandpaper in 120, 180 and 320 grit to take the job from start to finish. The kit retails for under $20.
“Anyone who has patched drywall or fixed a dent in a piece of furniture is familiar with sanding the surface, applying the patch material, letting it dry and sanding it until it is smooth,” said Champley. “It’s the same process with fixing a dent on your car. Just follow the basic instructions on the repair kit, then paint with a touch-up paint from your local automotive retailer. You’ll be as good as new in no time.”
Home Improvement Skills = Big Savings in Vehicle Repair
Do a DIY tune-up and save $800 per year in fuel costs
Get rid of simple scratches with the Scratch Removal System to save more than $500 in body repairs
Return your paint to “like-new” condition with a polisher and the 3M Paint Restoration System to save more than $500
Use your drill and 3M Lens Renewal Kit to tackle hazed headlights, saving more than $150 to $1,000
Get rid of small dents and dings yourself with the 3M Bondo® Small Dent Repair Kit, cutting up to $250 on a body shop visit
For video of these cost-saving tips, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsVXgbqR2HE.
The 3M Car Care has a comprehensive line of 3M products for automotive maintenance. The innovative product line includes performance cleaning products, waxes, compounds, adhesives, abrasives and specialty products, previously available exclusively to the professional market. 3M serves the automobile owner and hobbyist as well as professional body shop, recreational vehicle and mechanical service markets. The 3M Car Care product line can be found at leading automotive aftermarket retailers and online at www.Shop3M.com. For more information, visit www.3M.com/CarCare.
3M and Bondo are trademarks of 3M Company.
About 3M
3M captures the spark of new ideas and transforms them into thousands of ingenious products. Our culture of creative collaboration inspires a never-ending stream of powerful technologies that make life better. 3M is the innovation company that never stops inventing. With $27 billion in sales, 3M employs about 80,000 people worldwide and has operations in more than 65 countries. For more information, visit www.3M.com or follow @3MNews on Twitter.
3M is a trademark of 3M Company.
For 3MDebby Robinson, 312-505-4336drobinson@vmg1.com
