Boat Detailing - Diagnosing Gel Coat Surfaces

Boat Detailing - Diagnosing Gel Coat Surfaces

Determining Oxidation Levels on Your Yacht and how to deal with them:

Gel coat is an extremely tough porous surface applied to boats. It is best to preserve the original surface as much as possible just like cars, trucks, etc. You will come across boats that have been improperly sanded, washed, buffed, boats that have been neglected for years, and boats that will require intensive reconditioning because of these flaws. Without question for most boats to look good requires the touch of a professional. To make them look great it is definitely required. First, you must diagnose the level of, if any, oxidation. Do not be intimidated if there is absolutely no gloss, and a chalky stayue appears on your hand if you touch the surface. Even this can be redone. Gel coat is tougher than automotive paint and 15 to 20 times thicker. More often than not, you will be able to machine buff out most oxidation and other blemishes. These cloudy surfaces can be remedied and repaired.

Levels of Oxidation

Level 1 or light oxidation: You will see patchy cloudiness in the finish. Remainder is good to very good. You can use a new special product called; Aussie Gold DuraGleem to remove the oxidation and any swirl marks without abrasive action. Or you can do it the hard way, the old fashioned way. In this case you will need to use Meguiar's # 44, Production's Bristol # 9, Monster Aqua Blue or an appropriate light compound. Machine buff with a non-abrasive wool or foam pad and apply the sealant by hand or orbital polisher. A wool pad may be easier than a foam pad to use to keep from sticking or bouncing, especially as the friction heats up the surface. Usually a. High grade Carnauba will suffice. Starbrite has a liquid wax which is very easy to use as well. Most automotive detailing products will suffice at level one oxidation.

Level 2 oxidation or medium oxidation: The surface will have obvious degradation on the deck and the hull. The best product we have found is Aussie Gold's DuraGleem Extra Cut. It is a little tougher than Aussie Gold DuraGleem Original, but with level 2 oxidation you are going to need it. This may not work on all level two oxidation, but it better to try the easy way first. If this does not work, then you will need to proceed with the Meguiar's product # 49, you'll need to follow with # 45 polish and their # 55 sealant. Monster Aqua Blue also has a similar product. Many Marine Industry Detailers prefer Starbrite Products up to level two oxidation. Polish with a polishing pad, orbital buffer or by hand.

Level 3 would result in severe oxidation: You'll see no reflectivity. The surface is chalky to the touch and to sight. We do not always recommend a foam pad on severe oxidation gel-coat surfaces because it heats up and may slip. Gel coat conditions such as these will usually require a very thorough washing, uni-grit sanding of a minimum of 1500 sandpaper grit, machine buffing with Meguiar's # 49, polishing with Meguiar's # 45 and a finishing with Meguiar's # 55 sealant. If this does not work to your complete statisfaction, you should probably paint the vessel. If you are still intent on saving it then this will require many, many hours of labor and due to environmental concerns, may usually only be performed on land in a controlled setting. If you use Monster Agua-Blue 100, it contains no petroleum products or silicone and is 100% water based and water soluble. This may avoid the hassle of wet sanding.

First try using Monster Agua-Blue 100 and 200 buffing compounds with a wool pad. They are like wet sanding with 1000 grit and 2000 grit sand paper. Then follow with Blue Magnum 80% Carnauba wax or sealant to prolong the finish. There will be pricing guidelines in the manual or you may e-mail the home office for bid price assistance as each project can vary. Here is where we get the stuff.

SwirlMasters

[http://www.swirlmasters.com/products.htm]

Meguiar's Unigrit

http://www.meguiars.com

(for safest results)

3M Products

http://www.3m.com

If you can not find a competent marine canvas person in your area we suggest this phone number to owners who realize that it is far too late for cleaning after holes have occurred. If it is time for a new cover call 1-800-362-9154 Walk-Winn Covers.

Image Marketing is a Waste of Money - Market to Prospects, Learn How an Annuity Pro Does It

Image Marketing is a Waste of Money - Market to Prospects, Learn How an Annuity Pro Does It

Many insurance agents think that image marketing will help build prospects and clients. Nothing could be further from the truth, image marketing does not work unless you have an unlimited budget and even then it is questionable.

Image marketing is a major mistake because they provide no call to action, no reason to respond and no offer of benefits. Marketing must be specific and contain a hook. A hook is a reason to respond and a reason to take action. An example could be, the first 10 people who buy a case of Pepsi get a free T-shirt. A reason to respond would be the gift, a result of a call to action.

Image marketing rarely requests prospects to take "action." The result is a wasted marketing budget and wasted marketing efforts. Large corporations such as Pepsi are motivated by name recognition and a directly specified 'image for their brand. The insurance agent who focuses on Image building will fail from the simple concept that their brand does not represent and specific product. No direct sale will be realized from image marketing.

While image and your good name is important, marketing to it as an image will not result in increased sales and in attracting new prospects and clients. Your image will keep your prospects with you once they understand your abilities and your available services.

Marketing plans should ask for a specific action, such as a reply card for information etc. Image building is important but for the annuity salesperson, it is done with relationship building at the prospect and client level. The image built will be rewarded with loyalty and referrals.

Car Cleaning - How Often You Should Wash Your Car and Why

Car Cleaning - How Often You Should Wash Your Car and Why

Washing your automobile is a very important task to do if you want to keep up with your automobile the correct way. Washing your car regularly will help keep the paint and clear coat on the body in shape. A car that has not been washed or maintained on a weekly basis will start to get a build up of pollen, dirt, or tree sap that has accrued on the paint surface.

In addition to the build up and other substances on the paint on your body, the underside of your car is also at risk. Many people are not aware of how dirty the undercarriage of an automobile can get. It is very cruel that users clean and wash the underside of their car or truck. There are a lot of cars, either new or used that have drainage plugs on the underside of their car that needs clearing regularly. If a car or truck owner ignores cleaning the undercarriage and chassis, a large amount of rust and other debris can build up, a problem which could cause larger issues in the long run.

It is very important to know that a wash or cleaning is not something that happens every couple months are so, washing your car should be something that should be done on a more frequent basis. Cleaning your car is especially important if you live in an area with a large amount of annual snow fall or live close to the beach and your car is exposed to salt air. When your car has been exposed to either heavy snow or salty conditions, the cleaning process must happen even more often to make sure the vehicle stays in good shape.

At the end of the day, the most important part to keeping your car clean and keeping it in good condition is to keep or hold the car's value. As a car starts to get dirty and be neglected of cleaning the value can start to decrease very quickly. Many car buyers are looking for a well-maintained and overall clean car when they are in the market for a buying a used car. Even if the car is an older model, if the car is taken care of properly then it is worth more. Not only do you want to keep your car or truck in good shape for resale, but driving a clean automobile leads to much satisfaction.

Quality Bakery Equipment - The Difference Maker

Quality Bakery Equipment - The Difference Maker

Why take chances? Why not rather take advantage of what the market has to offer? The term bakery equipment is vague in itself for a lot of people planning a bakery start up or those who have genuine interest but not a lot of experience with commercial bakery.

What kind of equipments is used?

Here are some 'must haves' in your bakery:

1. Cookie Machine: A cookie maker comes in handy for making tasty cookies at a commercial level. A premium cookie machine is a great investment for any bakery.

2. Bakery Slicers: Some money should also be spent on quality slicers for that perfectly made bread, for it is not only the taste and ingredients that matter, but the look and presentation of bread and other products as well.

3. Bakery Cake Depositors: These machines help the baker deposit the material (what later becomes cake) into its container. This helps in baking lovely cakes that are flawless and a delight to be relished.

4. Bakery Donut Proofers: Donuts are becoming integral to modern bakeries. These refrigerator looking machines help with donut production and also come handy for other general bakery purposes. They come in various sizes to pick from.

5. Bakery racks and shelving: A bakery can't have racks and shelving like that of any other shop. If one doesn't want to pester himself or herself with frequent renovations and space problems all over again in the future, then the solution is to get some expert shelving done and arrange for some high grade bakery racks once and for all. This will ensure that the space is effectively utilised and makes the bakery warm and inviting as well.

And of course the list does not end here. As the technology advances, the machines and tools have made our lives easy and much sorted. Every inch that needs functioning have an equipment to make the operations quick and less cumbersome.

Short on Cash?

Gone are the days when these will burn a huge hole in the baker's pocket. The solution is to order some second hand-bakery equipment. These are easily available both in shops that specifically deal with such stuff and the internet as well. So it really does not matter if one has been in the business for a while or has just entered or plan to get into it in the near future, these steps shall help with all endeavours. Ensure that before you procure, the equipment is in a working condition and fulfils your requirement. Also see that the second-hand equipment does not require immense amount of maintenance and repair. The cost that you pay for the machine, should not trouble you at least for a longer time.

How to Save Money on Gasoline - Eight Tips

How to Save Money on Gasoline - Eight Tips

Gasoline prices do fluctuate but the overall trend is upward. Here are some tips to help you save money on gasoline.

1. Take advantage of savings if you buy your food at a chain grocery store that also has a gas station. Often there are significant discounts if you have a membership card at the store and spend a certain amount on groceries. This can be one of the very best deals around.

2. Check online for the best gas prices in your city. Type "best gas prices" and the name of your community into a search engine like Google. There are websites that track this. Sometimes they are part of the website for a local newspaper.

3. For a smaller savings, get a credit card that offers a rebate when you use it at the gas station. This is similar to getting frequent flyer miles on a credit card; you will not get both on the same card. Of course, getting any credit card is a money saver only if you are not tempted to overspend with it!

4. Drive less. Combine your errands when you go out, and do your grocery shopping once a week rather than running out to get something all the time. Car pool to work or for the kids' sports events, if possible. Try taking the bus if it is not going to take you a lot longer. Ride a bike or walk to nearby locations if those are reasonable options for your circumstances.

5. Keep your car tuned up and it will require less gas to run.

6. Keep your tires inflated to the pressure recommended for your car. It's a good idea to check this every couple of weeks with an inexpensive tire gauge that you can keep in the car.

7. Avoid using air conditioning except when you really need it. Running air conditioning requires more from your engine and lowers your miles per gallon.

8. Drive smoothly, without fast accelerating and braking, for a real benefit in terms of the amount of gas you use. Jerky driving can use as much as one-third more gasoline. There is a new method of saving gas by driving smoothly called "hypermiling." You can check on a search engine if you want to explore this further. On the freeways, staying at the speed limit or lower will keep you close to the point where the car uses the least gas per mile.

Following some or all of these steps can cut your gas usage enough that you will notice it in your wallet. This will also help the environment. It's well worth a little trouble to create the new habits that will come from doing any of these things.

Tips for Choosing a Cake for an Event

Tips for Choosing a Cake for an Event

If there is some important event around the corner, then you are probably looking for some good gift ideas. Although there is no shortage of options, there is something unique about gifting cakes. Whether it's a wedding, a wedding anniversary or a birthday party, you can never go wrong with a cake as far as gifting is concerned. Gone are the days when you had to hit the market and do some rigorous work to find the right baker for your cake. Today ordering a cake is just a click away. With so many online cake shops, choosing the perfect cake can never be a problem. But you must get into a deal with the baker, only when you know they are reliable. Or else, the services received may be dissatisfactory. Following are a few ways to know if an online baker is worth your money. Find out-

Never choose an online cake shop that looks dubious. Look for testimonials. Generally, all cake shops these days have user reviews against their products. Read these reviews. By going through the reviews, you will also be able to know what specific problems the baker has or what positive aspects people have highlighted about them. Besides, you will also find out the products that have been liked by the most number of people.

One thing that, however, needs to be kept in mind is that all such reviews cannot be positive. If you see, every review a cake shop has received for its services is too good to be genuine, this could very well be a trap to attract more customers. Exceptions are there, no doubt! So, the key is to be careful. Also, use your judgment when you read user reviews. If you are a routine online shopper, then you will easily be able to tell the difference between genuine and fake reviews. This way, you can come up not just with the right baker, but also the best cake.

The second thing to consider is the kind of expertise the baker holds. And that is because both taste and looks are important for a cake. After all, it's a food item. And like all other culinary processes, the presentation is an important aspect of baking. A cake could be the most delicious ever, but without a good presentation, people won't get attracted towards it or they won't crave to gorge on it. That's not what you want for your cake. Isn't it? So, what to do? Have a close look at the cakes the baker has put on display. Almost all online shops dealing in cake delivery have their cakes put on display. Zoom into the pictures; look at the details of a finicky buyer. Any flaws in the designs you see could be a red flag about their baking skills. Hire a baker, only when you are satisfied with the kind of work they do.

Now, comes the third and the last aspect, and this includes a lot of things. So, what is of importance to you as a customer, other than the reputation of the baker and the expertise they possess? It's the price. If you are on a tight budget, there is no point browsing through the official websites of bakers that charge exorbitantly for their services. Look for service providers quoting reasonable prices. However, if the budget doesn't concern you, then what should concern you is the quality and look of the cake. Other things like punctuality and professionalism shown by bakers may also influence your choice.

Comments: The Basics of Inflation

Comments: The Basics of Inflation