32
votes
Accepted
How to get rid of a decal on the rear window?
The most effective thing I've found for this is heat. Warm the sticker with a hair dryer. When it gets warmed to a certain point it will easily pull away without leaving residue. One word of ...
- 23.4k
24
votes
How to get rid of a decal on the rear window?
On glass, heat would probably work well as mentioned, but I've worked at a car dealership for years, and always removed stickers and window paint with a simple straight razor blade and windex. The ...
- 341
17
votes
Accepted
Avoiding the grease, dirt and oil from getting onto the skin and under the nails?
Gloves.
Do not use latex gloves, they break easily. Use nitrile gloves instead, they are mechanically much more resistant.
Even better: Use nitrile gloves under ordinary work gloves. The ordinary ...
- 8,488
11
votes
Accepted
What clean, non-sticky lubricant can I use for door hinges?
Great question. My preference is silicone spray, as you suggested. I'm pretty sure this one is the one I usually get for this kind of job. Apparently I'm not the only person who thinks this is a ...
- 5,235
11
votes
How to get rid of a decal on the rear window?
Acetone and isopropyl rubbing alcohol (90% and higher) are very effective at dissolving glue without affecting glass. It will affect any other plastic layer on the window so you should check for any ...
- 111
9
votes
What's the easiest way to remove chewing gum from a medium-pile floor mat?
Ahh.. The Horror of chewing gum on the carpet.
The best way by far is to use ICE or any cooling substance like liquid nitrogen if you are a geek but mainly ICE.
Fill a bag with ice cubes and rub ...
- 8,946
9
votes
Accepted
Battery acid clean up
Yes, the liquid and vapors are harmful. Use plastic gloves and face-shield while handling the battery and cleanup. Open the doors and allow the car to air out a little vacate some of the fumes before ...
- 9,005
8
votes
What clean, non-sticky lubricant can I use for door hinges?
My weapon of choice for such a job is something like WD-40's White Lithium Grease:
(source: wd40specialist.com)
- 39.2k
8
votes
Accepted
What is the best DIY approach to keeping brake dust off your rims?
The easiest way I'm aware of is to change your brake material to ceramic. While there is still dust, it's about 90% less apparent than is metallic or organic friction compounds (in most cases).
As ...
- 160k
8
votes
Cigarette in the ac vent
Any damage done to the car (likely, none) will have already been done. What you will have, however, is a car that will smell like theres a cigarette in the vent when the AC or heating is on.
You'll ...
- 8,722
7
votes
How to protect floor mats?
Tailored floor mats are available for most popular cars in various materials including rubber and carper / velour style.
The beauty of these mats is that they can be removed and cleaned / washed ...
- 23.4k
7
votes
Cleaning toddler accident from car
For the cleaning, you have a few options:
carpet cleaners: there are products sold to clean carpets and upholstery. Some are liquid based, some are foam based (you spray them on), and there are even ...
- 12.2k
6
votes
How to restore and care for leather?
The post is not so much direct techniques as those will vary by type of roof and upholstery, age, and condition.
Automobile upholstery falls under two basic types that being either true leather or a ...
- 1,533
6
votes
Accepted
Washing a vehicle in the hot sun?
My understanding just based from experience is it means its easier to clean because water doesn't evaporate in 10 seconds and leave those dirty residue spots on the car.
Its easiest to wash just ...
- 1,096
6
votes
Accepted
Safely washing engine bay of Ford Focus
My view on cleaning engines is that they are probably designed to get wet. At least wet in reasonable ways – rain while the hood is open, splashes from puddles, water that makes it through the ...
- 14.5k
6
votes
Cigarette in the ac vent
You need to get it out or your car will smell like a lucky strike forever! Fortunately, it's dead easy to remove the side air vents on a fiesta, they are easily popped out using a plastic body tool. ...
- 17.2k
5
votes
Washing a vehicle in the hot sun?
The thing about washing it on a hot sunny day is the soapy water dries quickly and the soap spots can be a pain to get off, or at minimum look ugly when you're done (which often defeats the purpose of ...
- 4,890
5
votes
Avoiding the grease, dirt and oil from getting onto the skin and under the nails?
My grandad run a automotive and truck repair shop for 50years, he told me when I was a kid to use Vaseline on my hands before work starts (this was before all the modern cleaners of today).
Thin layer ...
- 1,533
5
votes
Given my bad shoulder, what can I use to clean the inside of my windshield?
With a quick stroke of the pen (keyboard) using the Google, a search for "inside windshield cleaner" came up with a number of results. It looks like a shower back scrubber with a different name, but ...
- 4,915
5
votes
Accepted
Cleaning behind the flywheel
Clean it. There's an old saying when working on engines: A clean engine is a happy engine. That goes outside as well as in. The grease and grime isn't good for the engine. By cleaning it up, it allows ...
- 160k
4
votes
Tips for an oil change at home: cleanliness and disposal?
three things:
1) replace your drain plug with a spring loaded quarter turn ball cock valve.
do an amazon search for: "Fumoto Engine Oil Drain Valve"
I got the one with a 3/8" nipple allowing me ...
- 41
4
votes
Cleaning a Car Headliner
Spot test with some oil similar to (or exactly) Turpentine. (Not the cheap Mineral Turps, the expensive tree extract... Balsam Turperntine for example). Failing turps, use Tea Tree Oil or Eucalyptus ...
- 311
4
votes
What's the easiest way to remove chewing gum from a medium-pile floor mat?
Along the lines of what @ShobinP stated, but a little different mind set, you can alternatively use compressed air to chill the gum until it's brittle. Turn the can upside down and spray the gum with ...
- 160k
4
votes
What's the easiest way to remove chewing gum from a medium-pile floor mat?
The classic method of removing chewing gum from fabric is to cover it with peanut butter. The oil in the peanut butter dissolves the gum and now you are left with the easier problem of removing the ...
- 141
4
votes
Battery acid clean up
You've spilled sulfuric acid in the back of your car. This is a very efficient oxidizer and will happily eat it's way through many things (think Alien blood from the movies). It won't eat through as ...
- 233
4
votes
How to get rid of a decal on the rear window?
Sticker remover or sticker adhesive sprays and manual scraping work a treat.
I'd use a plastic scraper or credit card to avoid damaging rear defroster lines.
- 39.2k
3
votes
Vinyl steering wheel restoration
This falls under normal wear and tear. You can install a leather cover around the rim of the wheel. A black leather cover from an auto parts store would work. A better option would be to have a cover ...
- 3,353
3
votes
How to restore and care for leather?
Determine if the "Leather" is leather or vinyl.
Then buy appropriate leather or vinyl cleaners, kits, solutions, etc.
What does the process look like for cleaning leather?
Depends on the product, but ...
3
votes
Cleaning after a mice invasion in 2001 Toyota Corolla
After restoring a good number of vintage cars as well as vintage electronic radios, cleaning the nest material is, as commented done with a good strong vacuum.
But it is the feces and urine that is ...
- 1,533
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible