Weekend Project: Headlight Restoration

This weekend all my friends were away so I figured that this would be a good project to keep me busy. The car is my 2005 Toyota Corolla Le. I did this process last year but stopped after polishing and applying a UV coating. I reapplied the coating but less than a year later they had faded over again. I did some online research and some people had good results with using clear coat after going through my previous process. They claim it lasts much longer with the clear coat so I figured I would give it another go.

This was the before from a few months ago (I forgot to take a before shot yesterday). 

The Process

Step 1: Disassembly 

In order to remove the headlights I had to remove the bumper.

Step 2: Sanding

I started the sanding process by wet sanding with 800 grit sandpaper. Then I moved to 1500 grit and then dry sanded with 3000. All of this was done with a drill attachment. 

Step 3: Polishing 

I used polishing formula and and a polishing wheel to polish out the haze from sanding. 

Step 4: Clearcoat

I used a UV resistant clear coat to coat the lens.

Step 5: Wet Sanding the Clear Coat

I hand wet sanded with 800 and 2000 and then dry sanded with 3000 grit paper. 

Step 6: Polish 

I used polishing compound and the polishing drill attachment to polish out the clear coat. 

Step 7: Seal 

I used an automotive sealant on top of the clear coat to protect it and try to make it last longer. It claims to last a year but I will try to reapply it every month since it only takes a couple of minutes. 

Step 9: Reassembly

Step 10: Put everything away

The jobs not done until everything is put away.

Step 11: Admire

Overall, I think this went very well. Time will tell if it lasts longer than my previous attempt. I think it takes some years off the appearance of my car. I think I put about 6-8 hours in it but could have done it much faster if I wasn’t taking my time. 

Total costs: $38

$15 for the headlight restoration kit (sandpaper disks, drill attachment, polishing formula, polishing drill attachment)

$6 for the coat

$17 for the paint sealant (large bottle and will get many uses of of it)

Overall, I think this isn’t too bad. It really depends on how long it lasts. It is a lot cheaper than buying new headlights. Even buying non-Toyota housings looked like $80 at the cheapest and around $120 for quality non-OEM. 

Other Repairs

I also repaired my bumper where it split with two pieces of aluminum and some rivets. Also I got the bumper to fit evenly by pushing out a dent on the passenger front fender. Finally I did a temporary fix on the broken driver front wheel well liner by zip-tying what was left and cutting away any sections that would rub on the tire (I had zip-tied these sections away from the tire before). Next weekend I will be installing a new gauge cluster cover as the current one is pitted and scratched up pretty badly and is hard to read.

It's actually worse in sunlight

Thanks for reading! Please comment with questions, suggestions and thoughts.

The Buchan Trucks

1987 Simplicity 4212: A Fond Farewell

A few years ago I came home from high school to a new project. A riding mower that was from a few doors down that had been marked as free. It was in rough condition and was covered with dirt and spider webs and had rats nests in it. I took on the project and immediately learned that it wouldn't start and set about cleaning it first.

Next came trying to start it. Engines need air, fuel, compression and spark in order to work. The engine had compression. I bought and installed a new air filter, spark plug, battery and added fuel. It still refused to start.

I did my research and realized it was probably a problem with the carburetor or the fuel system because I ran a test and did have spark. I installed new fuel lines and bought a carburetor rebuild kit and cleaned and rebuilt the carb. It had a lot of varnish in the carb and the gaskets in it were shot. This was also my first experience with a carb and I was learning a lot.

After rebuilding it with knowledge I learned from the internet I installed the newly rebuilt carb and it still refused to start. I then started learning about carb tuning. I got it to start and got it tuned as well as I could but it would die out after a few minutes. Then if you waited a few minutes it would run for another few minutes. This really puzzled me because it was getting fuel from the line. In my mind there was no reason for the mower to stop running. Then one day my buddy Dan suggested that there could be something in the bottom of the tank, I had cleaned it out before but thought it was probably a good idea. So I removed the tank and the line and shoved a paperclip into the fuel tank nipple and something shot out of it. Something had been partially clogging it. So I reinstalled everything and it ran great and would keep running. The fuel line wasn't replacing the fuel as fast as it had been burning. It had been running on what was in the carb and then stopping after all of the fuel in the carb burned up.

So now I had a running and driving mower but the blades weren't working. After looking into them I realized the belt was broken for the mower deck and purchased a replacement and installed it and I had running blades and it would cut ok. Next I learned how to sharpen the blades and then sharpened the ones on the mower. Now it worked great. I had done it, I had taken a lawn mower from non running scrap condition to a functioning lawn mower. I felt very proud of myself to breathing life into a machine and it was a great confidence boost for me.

We than ran it for a full season of lawn mowing. It was great and got the job done. I got through part of the next season with only a new fuel line but then we moved and it started having problems again. It hadn't been touched throughout the entire winter early spring of 2016 and wasn't starting. So I started by working on the carburetor and got it to run but it wasn't running as well so I took the carb apart and cleaned it and went to run it again and after getting it started it was idling rough and surging in the higher rpms. I found a broken governor linkage spring and ordered it to solve the surging problem. While waiting for the spring to show up I was trying to tune the carb on the low end and the teeth of the starter ground off.

This turned out to be the final straw. I had been instructed to get rid of the mower as my family purchased a brand new one and I had been looking to sell it for a hopefully $300. Now it wasn't running great and needed a new starter and hopefully I could get it to run well again. The starter ended up costing $100 and the mower is 29 years old so I decided to pull the plug. I would try to sell it as it to a local mower repair shop but struck out there as well. No one was interested in purchasing it. So the scrap yard would be it's final resting place.



























Since it was going to the scrapyard anyway I wanted a prize, specifically the piston. So I disassembled the mower and engine to get to it. This meant removing the deck, hood, pulleys and engine.

After a lot of work I had my prize.

I'm disappointed that I had to get rid of it because I had formed an attachment to the old mower but didn't have a choice in the matter. I live with my Dad and his fiancé right now while commuting to school and they said it had to go. I can't afford to move out and even if I could I can't bring a mower to an apartment. It was a fantastic learning experience though. There is something special and wonderful about taking a dead machine and bringing it back to life. The sense of pride and accomplishment is something I don't feel often but did get to experience with this mower. It was my first flathead engine and my first experience with a carburetor. I learned about engine tuning, carburetors, troubleshooting and a lot about tractors and am glad for it. It was my first big project and I think it's a fantastic way to start because it's simple enough to not be overwhelming but also big and complex enough to really learn a lot on. Much more manageable than a car restoration. I'll miss it but will use the skills I learned for the rest of my life.

I'm Sick but here are some shots I took recently

EDC Review: Kershaw Leek

EDC or every day carry is a term used to describe some items someone carries and uses on a daily basis. Typically, this refers to a tool of some kind. I carry a knife on an everyday basis in addition to several other things. I thought I would take the time to review mine.  

I carry a Kershaw Leek

I used to carry a Kershaw Blur knife which I bought because I really liked the tiger striping on the blade and liked that the company was American and so was the knife. Eventually I decided to purchase a new knife: The Kershaw Leek. Since I bought it I have started to carry it every day and because of this I took some knife laws into consideration.  

According to Michigan Law you can carry a knife of any length as long as you are carrying it without intent to harm. However,  if you were to use a knife for self-defense it needs to be less than 3 inches in length.

Honestly, I don’t really carry my knife for self-defense; I use it mostly to open packages and to cut the string that the mail comes wrapped in at work. For this purpose the knife has performed admirably.

One of my favorite features of the knife is it’s unconventional blade shape. The knife has a razor blade like edge and en extremely sharp point. It is so sharp and precise at the tip that I have actually used it like you would an X-Acto knife.

It also features a Speedsafe assisted opening blade, which helps with opening the knife one handed. I can actually open and close the knife with one hand. The assisted opening means the blade is essentially spring loaded to if you flick the knob on the blade it will open the blade the rest of the way on it's own. 

It also features a safety on the blade. I was surprised at how much I have come to love the safety on this knife. It prevents the knife from opening when dropped or in the pocket, which is especially appealing on a knife with assisted opening. With previous knives I have dropped it and had it spring open which can be dangerous.

Another design feature that makes this knife so great as an everyday carry is how slim the blade is. It is small and lightweight and I can barely tell if it’s in my pocket or not.

From Kershaw’s website you can pick up a Leek for $80 but they can be found from other sites for around $50. If you look closely on the blade you’ll notice it has XXXX imprinted on the blade. This is Kershaw’s denotation for a factory second. A factory second is a knife that didn’t quite make it through quality control. Mine failed because of a blemish on the black coating of the blade. This meant that I purchased my a fully functioning Leek for approximately $40 with the only disadvantage being it came with a scratch and doesn’t have the full factory warranty. 

The Leek is my favorite every day carry knife I’ve ever owned and it’s hard for me to think of a way for it to be better. It’s lightweight, versatile and a joy to use and own, all at a great price. If you’re in the market for an every day knife I highly recommend the Leek.

Bomb Threat Awareness Training

This week I had the opportunity to attend Bomb Threat Awareness Training for the University of Michigan-Dearborn. I took notes and typed them up for work and think the information would also be valuable to my readers. This is a very important subject to cover, I found the training to be quite interesting. I'm majoring in Public Health and plan on going into a career in it. Health education is a huge part of public health and bombings can fall into the realm of Public Health. This posts allows me to spread awareness and information about the topic and what to do if it occurs. Therefore, allowing me to take my knowledge from the training and help others and through them the public. The training was given by a Bomb Technician from the Dearborn Office if the Michigan State Police Bomb Squad. You can find out more information about them here. As always thanks for reading!

Bomb Threat Awareness Training

Bomb Threats vs Bomb Emergency

• ·      A Bomb Threat is a threat it becomes an emergency when there is a device in place.     

Bomb Threats

Usually are either calls or written threats

Call Threats  

On calls you want to try to look for the persons:

• ·      Gender
• ·      Accents
• ·      Emotional state (are they agitated or are they calm, etc.)
• ·      Age
• ·      Background noises like the train in Greenfield Village because that could give law enforcement a clue about location

Try to keep the person talking for as long as possible to try to get more information, use questions like:

• ·      Where did you put the bomb?
• ·      What does it look like?
• ·      Why are you threatening or placing a bomb?
• ·      Some unexpected questions like “how are you doing?” can give you more information because it could throw them off a little bit and could get the person to break down and explain their situation and why they are doing this

Try to take notes if you can for reference when an officer interviews you later.

You can also try to get someone else to hear the conversation or to call 911 while you are on the phone to gather more information and expedite the process.

Campus Police and 911 are communicating with each other so call either from whatever device is safer, use a cell phone to get out of the office if the threat is in there and to increase distance from device

·      If anything seems suspicious you should report it to campus safety 911 from any campus phone or at (313) 593-5333. You can also report it to police from 911 on any other phone

For credibility can look into if threat is to a secured office or public building

·      If secured building it is less credible but should still be taken very seriously

Written Threats

Typically written threats come as email or as notes

Email

·      Don’t delete the email but notify public safety or law enforcement immediately

Notes

·      If it is a note try not to touch the note or let others touch it as this can cover up possible evidence like fingerprints and DNA  instead if you have to move it try to use gloves and place it in a plastic bag to maintain evidence

·      Immediately notify public safety or law enforcement

Bomb Emergencies

Found Device

·      If you find something DO NOT TOUCH IT

·      Contact public safety and TRY TO STAY AS FAR AWAY AS POSSIBLE

·      A bomb can look like anything it all depends on how creative the bomb maker was.

·      WITHOUT getting close to the device try to get some visual information like the size and shape or if something is written on it. Also try to remember smells and sounds from it.

You want to keep the packages “happy” and try not to “upset them”

• ·      DON’T TOUCH
• ·      DON’T TURN LIGHTS ON OR OFF (there could be light sensors)
• ·      DON’T WALK AROUND THE DEVICE (there could be motion sensors)

·      Be aware that it could be set to go off remotely so the person could be in the line or sight or it could be on a timer

·      VERY IMPORTANT TO LIMIT TIME NEAR THE DEVICE TO A MINIMUM

Sometimes there are other things left in the room by the bomb maker like in a dark room he or she may have left a flashlight

·      DO NOT TOUCH THE FLASHLIGHT or other unrecognized items we don’t want to disturb the scene or upset the device.

Evacuation

·      Evacuate far away from the device (recommend at least 300 feet)

·      Maintain a maximum distance at all times be aware of the walls of the room of the device. Walking down a hallway may put you right next to the wall with the device in it. Choose the route that keeps you farther away from the device

Be aware of evacuation point threats because there may be a secondary device by that route.

·      Looking for secondary device

• ·      Things looking out of place
• ·      New things by the evacuation route
• If you are suspicious of an evacuation route your life is the most important thing. If you feel the need to you may break a window in order to escape safely.

Never know for sure what will happen or how a device will be laid out as the patterns are so unpredictable and constantly changing.

Always maximize your distance from the device to avoid injury from shock blasts and shrapnel.

Motives of Bomb Makers

• ·      Want to scare people
• ·      Want to get the most amount of people as they can
• Be wary of bags left in high traffic areas and gut feelings that something isn’t right

 There is usually a threat before a bombing

Information Gathering

Try to remember little pieces of information as they can be important for the investigation

·      Ex. This person was hanging around a lot last week in the same area or this person was acting strange

Be Aware be Vigilant

·      Ex. Person wearing bulky coat in summer or seeming really anxious and sweaty is suspicious don’t hesitate to call it in to public safety or law enforcement

After call in police will do a walkthrough with staff because staff will know much better if something is wrong or out of place or new

Practice by going through scenarios in your head as a mental exercise to be more prepared if a threat ever occurs. 

·      Ex. If I received a call I would take notes on this or I would motion for this person to come over and I would ask these questions

Remember:

            DON”T TOUCH

       SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING

   

       GET OUT AND GET AWAY 

Contact Public Safety by dialing 911 on any campus phone or by dialing (313) 593-5333

Contact Police at 911 on any other phone