I have been reading a lot of threads on my forum lately that basically start with people asking “what polish should I use?” I couldn’t help but think, how do I best avoid using a harsh car polish all together? Here you will find everything to satisfy your car cleaning needs from wheel and exterior cleaners to chamois and tyre care with our car cleaning products.

I think it’s time for a completely different discussion about car polishing. What I strive to achieve is the highest level of paint perfection without altering the structure of the vehicle’s paint. Once I get there, I want to use the proper tools and techniques to keep my paint looking perfect.

When I have a car paint problem, I want to be able to fix it without removing excessive clearcoat that I need to maintain a deep-looking finish. I’m a huge advocate of spot treatment. I rarely take an abrasive polishing compound to an entire body panel, or worse, the whole car. It simply isn’t necessary.

I have the distinct feeling from reading many forum threads that people are buying step 1-2-3 products and using all of them because that’s what they feel is necessary to achieve the best results. In no way is this use of paint polish appropriate car care.

RULE 1: Do less damage than the damage that already exists.

My experience shows me that 95% of all paint issues can be resolved with a very fine polish, the right tools and the right technique. So, why is it that so many people are willing to reach for a harsh compound as the first step… when it should be the last resort?

Very fine car polishes, often called pre-wax cleaners, can be used to maintain gloss without the scouring that thins your car’s paint. The polishing (gloss enhancing) action is a combination of chemical cleaners that remove embedded dirt and a super gentle polishes that maintains the gloss. The polishing material is about the consistency of talcum powder. My two favorite products are Klasse All-In-One and P21S Paintwork Cleansing Lotion. There are many others.

RULE 2: Don’t remove more clear topcoat than necessary… you may need it some day!

In the car detailing circles we all talk about gloss, depth and clarity, but are you stopping to think about what you might be doing to each of these final finish characteristics each time you take an abrasive polish to your paint? You might be seeing more gloss, but it’s coming at the expense of depth and maybe even paint finish clarity.

Most professional car polishes are designed to be used with a rotary buffer, by an experienced technician. When you use these polishing compounds by hand or with a dual-action car polisher, you put scratches in your paint finish that will not come out by using the next polish up in the line. So, what’s the solution?

There’s no doubt that the clearcoat on the modern car finish creates the beauty of the finish. To retain the good looks, the clearcoat must remain clean and finely polished. Heavy polishing will reduce finish clarity and depth. They must be avoided.

It should be noted that a proper paint finish (primer, color and clear) is only 6-8 thousandths (6/1000) of an inch thick. Removing 1-2 thousandths of an inch of the clear finish happens in a matter of seconds with an abrasive polish.

My business partner got a 3-inch long scratch in the clearcoat of his new Lexus SC. I used a spot pad and a corrective polish to pull most of the scratch out so it would pass the 5 foot test. He said “…but I can still see a trace of the scratch close-up…” I explained that if I removed more material we risked thinning the clearcoat and creating a patch of paint that no longer matches the rest of the finish.

Sometimes, enough is enough. The real skill in auto detailing is learning how to read the paint and knowing what the final result will be when you use a product.

RULE 3: Know for a fact what tasks the products you’re using were designed to perform.

Are you using a polish designed to be used on an automotive assembly line by a technician with a 4-inch spot pad on a pneumatic polisher to remove 2400 grit sanding marks? If so, what are the equivalent pad specs, rotation speed and polish time to remove your 5000 grit equivalent swirl marks?

Are you using a refinisher’s panel blending compound originally designed to cut and blend fresh paint using a wool pad as a general purpose cutting compound? If so, can your foam cutting pad effectively generate enough heat on your DA to break down the abrasives to prevent paint scouring?

The fact is, very few abrasive polish systems were designed from the ground up to be a DA polishing system. Very few others have bothered to correctly match “general purpose” polishes with polishing pads and proper instructions to create a system.

Again, I reiterate buyer beware. All abrasive polishes have cutting particles with different characteristics. Abrasives have different size, shape and hardness. Some particles are designed to break down into smaller, finer abrasives as the polish is applied. Others are designed to cut continuously at the same rate.

CAR PAINT CARE WITHOUT ABRASIVES

Most new car finishes can be properly maintained without using abrasive (corrective) polishes. Doing so requires smart paint care, including regular washing and waxing, use of proper wash and wax tools (wash mitts, applicators, towels, etc.) and cautious parking. Finish damage avoidance is the best way to maintain a perfect finish. Nothing will swirl a paint finish faster than a bad wash mitt or drying towels.

If you park away from soccer moms and shopping carts, and wash your car using proper tools, you can keep the finish free of light surface damage for a long time. When your paint does get marred, the problem can be locally treated by hand or with a spot pad with a corrective polish.

One approach to this problem is to use “cover-up” products. Many car wax products can be layered to help cover minor surface marring. My favorite combination is Klasse All-In-One followed by P21S Carnauba Wax. Others swear by the Zaino Show Car polish system (Z-2, Z-5 and others).

I offer the following tips for proper long-term paint finish on both new and like-new cars:

• Wash weekly (as possible) using a quality car wash, wash mitt and drying towels.
• Deep clean paint twice a year with detailing clay.
• Polish paint 3-4 times a year with a pre-wax, non-abrasive polish.
• Seal paint 3-4 times a year with a quality paint sealant.
• Protect your paint finish from damage by other motorists and pedestrians.

These five simple steps will keep your automobile looking great without the need to use heavy compounds for corrective action.

The Guide to Detailing website offers tips and guides for proper Car Care and car detailing. Visit now!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/David_Bynon/26388

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/141435

SATURDAY, JUNE 3 | Festival Pier | Philadelphia

Featuring an All-Star Lineup Over 3 Stages Including a Headlining set by Pharrell and The Roots, as well as Lil Wayne, Solange, 21 Savage, Kimbra and more! Throw a sizzling summer picnic with our red gingham picnic party supplies.

“This was really just one day of good f****** music, front to back, from beginning to end. Festivals probably still suck. Roots Picnic did not.” -NOISEY

“Seeing [The Roots} take the stage at their annual festival is to watch the Philly legends in their truest element.” -Billboard.com

PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Today, the legendary Roots crew announce that their annual ROOTS PICNIC is returning to Philadelphia’s Festival Pier at Penn’s Landing on SATURDAY, JUNE 3, 2017. The acclaimed festival, now celebrating its tenth year, will feature an eclectic lineup with performances by: Pharrell & The Roots (joint headline set), Lil Wayne, Solange, 21 Savage, Kimbra, Gilles Peterson and more (full line up below).

“Ten years ago this started as a concept, an idea, a conversation between me, Tarik (Black Thought), Ahmir (Questlove) and Rich (Nichols),” says Shawn Gee, Roots longtime manager and partner in Maverick Management.”It’s amazing that it has grown into such a valued piece of the cultural landscape of our hometown of Philadelphia. We were blessed to expand the Picnic to NYC last year, and the brand will continue to grow and evolve, but Philly will ALWAYS be the home, the birthplace of the Roots Picnic. We are super excited to bring a packed lineup to celebrate our 10th anniversary, and as always there will be plenty of surprises and special guests.”

The Roots Picnic annually includes some of music’s biggest and hottest names that kicks off the summer festival season. Last year’s bill featured the likes of Usher, Future and Leon Bridges with a surprise performance by hometown hero Will Smith (with his daughter Willow). Over the last decade, the celebrated festival institution has featured artists such as The Weeknd, A$AP Rocky, Migos, The Black Keys, John Legend, Janelle Monae, TV on the Radio, Nas, Vampire Weekend, Kid Cudi, Public Enemy, Gnarls Barkley, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Gary Clark Jr., Rakim and many more.

FULL LINE-UP IS AS FOLLOWS:
Pharrell & The Roots
Lil Wayne
Solange
21 Savage
Kimbra
Black Thought & J Period Live Mixtape Featuring Fat Joe Mobb Deep Scott Storch
Thundercat
Virgil Abloh
Pete Rock
A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie
James Vincent McMorrow
NoName
Gilles Peterson Featuring Mc Earl Zinger
Khalid
Michael Kiwanuka
DJ Spinna
PNB Rock
Tunji Ige
Anthony Somebody
DJ N.O.C.

About The Roots
The legendary Roots Crew, consists of Black Thought (MC), Questlove (drums), Kamal Gray (electronic keyboards), F. Knuckles (percussion), Captain Kirk Douglas (electronic guitar), Damon Bryson (sousaphone) and James Poyser (electronic keyboard).The Roots have become one of the best known and most respected hip-hop acts in the business, winning four Grammys, including “Best R&B Album” for Wake Up!, “Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance” for “Hang in There” (with John Legend) and “Best Group or Duo R&B Vocal Performance” for “Shine.” This brings the band’s GRAMMY nomination count to twelve. Additionally, “The Roots Picnic,” a yearly star-studded mix of musicians, has become a celebrated institution. The Roots were named one of the greatest live bands around by Rolling Stone and serve as the official house band on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

About Live Nation Entertainment
Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE: LYV) is the world’s leading live entertainment company comprised of four market leaders: Ticketmaster, Live Nation Concerts, Artist Nation Management and Live Nation Media/Sponsorship. For additional information, visit www.livenationentertainment.com.

Owner Builder Home Building Services provide specific services to help you build your own home. In this article I would like to focus on choosing the RIGHT Owner Builder Service. For more information on what most of these services provide see my Owner Builder Home Building Services article. When it comes to independent building inspections in commercial and domestic construction, the most astonishing finding is the blind trust in the builders and the owners with mist in their eyes throwing bags of money at a builder in the naïve hope that they will get what they paid for.

As many of you already know I am an advocate of building your own home. I built mine using building contractors and did some of the work myself. This is my opinion is the best way to save maximum money. However, many of you may not have the time or just prefer having a service assist you when building your home. This approach may be the best of both worlds for you saving money and having a professional service assist you. Yes, you will not save as much money, but it may be the best route for you.
Choosing the right Owner Builder Service is paramount to the success of your new home building project. I would suggest doing the following:

• Find at least 3 home building services that you feel fit your needs and are in your budget. Ask up front for a list of fees.
• Gather all the information on each of them prior to any meeting. Do a Google, MSN and Yahoo search engine search on each of the services. You would be surprised what will come up on businesses today in rating services on the Net.
• Call the BBB, Chamber of Commerce and your local city, county and state governments and inquire about complaints that are outstanding and resolved. Also find out if they are in good standing with these organizations.
• After you have found 3 that pass your original inquiries and you are satisfied they are good businesses, then go see them. Don’t do this prior to doing some research. Don’t let fancy websites, brochures, and smooth salesmanship influence you before you have some of the cold hard facts. Remember past performance equals future behavior. If they have had serious problems in the past you probably don’t want to deal with them.
• Do not make a decision in the first sit down meeting with your choices. Make sure you do not sign anything and keep your options open until you have followed up with each one and done further research.

Here are some ideas for questions you need to ask in your meeting with prospective Owner Builder Services:

1. What do you charge for your services? Are the charges figured on a per square foot based on my house? Are they figured on total square footage (under roof) or living area? Or, is it a flat fee? Will you provide me with a written list of your total fees?

2. Do you provide house plans? Are the plans custom house plans that are drawn for you? What are the fees for these plans? How many revisions do you get? What are fees for any revisions (if any)? How long will the plans take to be drawn (get this in writing)? How many copies of the house plans do I receive? Are they complete sets of plans covering all of the trades? What is my recourse if the plans are wrong?

3. What kind of financing do you offer? Do you offer one-time closing options? Do you run all your financing through one bank? Who is that bank? What are the interest rates etc….and what is your commission for acting as my mortgage broker?

4. Do you provide an approved home building contractor list? If so, do they work exclusively for you? Are they all bonded and insured? How big is the list, do you have multiple contractors on your list in each trade? Can I preview the list in your office to examine the size of it before I sign with you? What’s going to happen if I have a problem with a contractor? Will you talk with the contractors and help me resolve my problems with them?

5. Do you come to my building site to give me advice and direction? How often do you come? Will you meet me there so I can learn from your expertise? What exactly will you personally do to help me build my home, i.e. help me lay out my foundation plan, discuss framing problems, etc.

6. Do you offer support and assistance over the phone, by email or fax? How exactly will you respond to me when I need you? Can I ask questions when I need to have them answered? Will there be a qualified building professional available for me to be able to speak to? What is the average response time?

7. Have you, or anyone associated with you, ever been sued, personally or corporately? (If yes, what were the names, date(s), of the person(s) or corporations that were sued.) Do you carry professional liability insurance? May I please have a certificate of insurance issued by the carrier that states the amount of the insurance? The insurance agent can fax it to your office.

8. Can I have a copy of your client list both prior clients and current clients? If they are a reputable service they will be happy to provide you with a list of several of their clients for you to call and ask questions. Go back at least three years.

9. Do you provide written building inspections during my building process and when I am finished building the house?

In your meeting with each home building service take good notes to make sure you can go home and compare each one to the other carefully. Compare apples to apples. Try to be as objective as you can be. Some services don’t mind you tape recording the meetings and phone conversations. Keep a hard copy file of all e-mails.

Call the clients that have used the home building service in the past and the current clients and ask them about their experience.

Take your time choose the best Owner Builder Service you can by researching and doing your homework. After all, they will be helping you build what will be your new home.

© and (TM) Build-Your-Own-Home.com All Rights Reserved

For more free information about building your own home go to my website at [http://www.Build-YourOwn-Home.com].

© and ™ Build-Your-Own-Home.com All Rights Reserved

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/George_Stevens/44336

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/237244