David Automotive

Archive for June, 2010

Recent estimates indicate that a motorcyclist is sixteen times more likely to receive a serious injury during a crash than a car driver. Perhaps more shockingly a motorcyclist is more than twice as likely to receive a serious injury as a result of a road accident than a normal cyclist. For this reason personal protective gear is of high importance for any motorcyclist who takes his or her safety seriously.

The first and perhaps most important piece of protective equipment for a motorcyclist is the helmet. By law any rider or passenger on a motorbike within the UK must wear a helmet and so it is an essential purchase. There are many different styles of helmet generally fitting into one of five categories. There are full face helmets, off road helmets, flip up helmets, open face helmets and half helmets. Helmets are designed to protect the riders head from damage during a crash and some newer models also slightly protect the spine. A helmet is designed to break upon impact and thus expend energy which would otherwise go through the wearers head. There are several different materials which can be used when constructing a helmet but some of the more common are plastics, fibreglass, Kevlar and carbon fibre.

Exposure to the weather and elements when a motorhome is parked and not in use can really cause wear and tear on the vehicle. Before storing it away there are some ways you can avoid this.

Here are some tips for winterizing your motorhome for storage.

1. Wash and wax

There could be leftover tree sap, dust, bird poo, and just plain dust that you don’t want on there when you put it in the garage.

2. Cover

If you don’t have inside storage try and use a cover. This will protect it from the hot sun and all those elements mentioned above. Just be sure to use the right Rv cover because you don’t want moisture building up between the cover and your motorhome. A tarp may look attractive because of its cost, but think again. The moisture that can collect under these can cause mold, mildew, and even rust.

Polishing and buffing are both ways to maintain and prepare metal, or an object that is electroplated with metal. The two processes are often confused, but the main difference between the two is that polishing is done with an abrasive that is mounted on a work wheel, whereas buffing is done with a hand-held abrasive.

When a surface is “polished” to a highly reflective shine, it is usually the result of polishing, followed by buffing.

Polishing is usually done for aesthetic improvement, but it also helps prevent corrosion, remove rust, create a reflective surface, or buff out small imperfections.

Much like sanding wood, the process usually begins with a rough abrasive, and finer abrasives are used at each stage until the desired texture is achieved. The finest abrasives do leave scratches, but they are invisible to the naked eye, which results in the illusion of a smooth surface.

“Yuk!” I said when a friend showed me the engine compartment to his SUV and asked me how to clean it up. I mean it was totally torched, it looked like seriously; doogie doo! Okay so, he knew I was formerly into auto detailing and asked me what I could do to make it brand new again.

I said “nothing, I am retired, and it’s a basket case, I don’t even think I would have wanted you as a customer when I was in business, yuk!” He said, “Yah, but okay, so how do I clean it then?” And I said “buy me a Frappuccino and I’ll explain it all to you.”