The choice of the headliner adhesive that you use is very important when replacing/repairing your car headliner. This is because it is necessary for your headliner material and the board to bond permanently.

A headliner is that cloth that you see at the ceiling of your car. It consists of a board that is covered with foam-backed fabric by gluing them together before attaching it to the ceiling of the car.

Car headliners are very important not only for aesthetics but also insulation. It also protects your head during the impact into the interior roof area of the car.

You should replace the headliners whenever the fabric deteriorates or when the material and the backing starts to separate. Sometimes, the foam backing crumbles leaving the headliner fabric sagging.

When you see these signs, there is no need of injecting glue through the fabric or stabling the fabric up. This is because things will only get worse and your safety is further jeopardized.

Types of headliner adhesives

There are several brands of headliner adhesives, but they fall into two categories:  liquid and aerosol headliner adhesives. This makes it easy to find the best adhesive because both types may be sprayed on the fabric and work great but in different conditions.

You can spray liquid headliner adhesives using a paint gun and have very strong adhesive power. On the other hand, you can apply aerosol adhesives using aerosol cans. You can do this by removing the cap and then spraying it right away.

It may not provide a strong hold as that of the liquid adhesives. But it can withstand extreme temperature conditions without melting. This makes it an ideal adhesive if you live in hot climates. In hot areas, the interior heat in a closed up car or truck can get as high as 200 degrees.

Choosing a headliner adhesive

The problem with many people is simply choosing any adhesive that they happen to come by. Even those who go for the right type of adhesive find themselves buying one of the most affordable or widely available headliner adhesive.

What differentiates a good headliner adhesive from others. It is its bonding strength, the ability to withstand varying temperatures of the inner lining of the car roof and its compatibility with the vinyl material of the car as well as the fabric.

Liquid or aerosol adhesive

The secret of finding a good headliner adhesive is considering not only the type of the adhesive but looking at the respective features as well. Every brand of headliner adhesive has its own list of features that it boasts about. And it is cumbersome to keep going through them every time you want to buy an adhesive.

The good thing is that there are only a few features that really matter in a headliner adhesive. The primary one is the adhesive to ensure that you get a permanent hold that will not have you re-glue it every time.

Another important feature is temperature resistance. You do not want one that melts at the slight increase in temperature and makes your headliner to sag and fall off within a short time.

Compatibility with the mostly used headliner materials like vinyl and fabric is also very important. This is because adhesives are designed to work best on specific materials like vinyl, foam, fabric, rubber, trims, polyethylene and so on.

It is clear that both liquid and aerosol adhesives are good for their respective applications. Whether you are buying a liquid or aerosol headliner adhesive, choose a brand that has all the basic features before comparing other extra features like the price, staining, drying time and ease of use among others.

Aside from an efficient engine and state-of-the-art features, a nice car seat is what many would want in an automobile. You can have the smoothest brakes and accelerations but all will surely be put to nil if you as the driver or your passengers are not comfortable in your seats.

There are different types of materials that you can use as covers for your car seats. While choosing the right one for you is easy, this task is still not something that you can do in haste. When you evaluate a material, you should look at the following dimensions:

• Durability. Concerns for durability is nothing but normal. Surely, you will not want to replace your car seat covers often. Making sure that the material that you choose is durable will keep the need for constant reupholstering at bay.
• Looks. People usually say that you shouldn’t mind what the inside looks like because others can’t see it. Don’t succumb to this kind of thinking. If there is someone that you need to impress, that’s you. So pay attention to how the material looks. At least you will feel that your investment is worth it every time you see and sit on it.
• Ease in Cleaning. Even if the material that you chose is the most attractive, it will still be nothing if it’s not kept clean. We understand that you are a busy person and don’t always have the time to clean stuff. That’s why it’s really important for you to choose a cover that is not hard and time-consuming to clean.

Having presented those, we present here three options that you can explore.

Faux Leather

Now that people are becoming more aware of the need to protect animals and the environment, the use of fur and leather has become so regulated. Yet, those who’ve seen and touched leather in the past cannot just forget how good it feels and how elegant it looks. If you are one of those people, then getting faux leather is something that you should consider. It’s still as attractive as the real deal, but a lot less costly. It’s also surely free of any form of animal cruelty.

As for durability, faux leather is known to last long with proper care. Speaking of care, this material is easy to clean. It’s not porous so dirt don’t stick to it. Spilt liquid can just be wiped and loose dirt can just sucked out by a vacuum cleaner.

Microsuede

Microsuede is a man-made material that mimics the appearance of suede. It is actually made of fine polyester fibers. As such, it is soft to the touch and very inexpensive. This is really good news if you are someone who prioritizes comfort and practically above anything else.  

Users also say that it is not hazardous to pets and is very easy to clean. This is such good news if you have kids who tend to spill juice or other kinds of liquid on it.

Neoprene

Neoprene is the type of fabric that many car owners will recommend. It is the top choice of many because it is resistant to the elements. Being exposed to the sun does not discolor it. It also protects your seat from moisture because it dries quickly. Because this material is also what’s used in wetsuits, you can expect it to be easy to clean in case of spillage. Its current users also agree that neoprene is an attractive cover. It’s open for customization, too!

Aside from ensuring comfort, fixing your car’s interior is one of the surest ways on how to get a title loan at a significantly larger value. Because of this, it is important that the overhaul task is executed well.

Investing in a good vehicle is an expensive undertaking. It would really break your heart if it happens that somebody steals it. NHTSA estimates that over 750,000 drivers fall victim to vehicle crime each year and the loss amounted to $6 billion and $5 billion in the year 2015 and 2016 respectively.

There are many ways to keep your vehicle safe, and even though car thieves are coming up with smart ways of stealing, it is those that have little to no security measures that are easily stolen. Careless mistakes like leaving your keys in the ignition or valuables in plain view, and driving without locking the doors or with windows down can prove costly.

Anti-theft devices

Carjacking also does happen, but there are many anti-theft devices that will help you keep your vehicle safe. They include steering wheel locks, tire wheel locks, kill switches, electronic tracking systems, and baby monitor among others.

The theft of wheels, tires, and rims especially those that are high-end and attract a good price is common. Yet much of it go unreported.

Experienced thieves who work in groups can leave your car on blocks in under 10 minutes whether they are jacking it up or using a tow track to elevate it. One of the most effective ways to prevent this is by using the best car wheel locks which make lug nuts extremely difficult to remove.

How wheel locks work to keep your vehicle safe

Before you install the wheel lock lug nuts, you need to remove the existing lug nuts first. Start by removing the hubcap using a lug wrench if it is present. It will enable you to access the log nuts.

After this, you need to check the lug nuts if they require any special tool for their removal. If not, you need to loosen all of them using a lug wrench before jacking it up for replacement with wheel lock lug nuts.

Just like lug nuts, you will need to install wheel locks correctly to avoid them getting loose with time. For this, you will need to install using the right torque and torque wrench. You also need to place the wheel locks securely on the bolt. So that you do not round the keys off. The danger of not doing this is having a hard time when you will be removing the bolt.

Wheel locks use a specific key which comes with the set for installing and removing them. This is because they only operate in a specific pattern. This simply means that you need to be careful not to misplace your wheel lock key. This is because you will need it when removing the locks in the future.

When removing the wheel locks, insert the key into the same socket that you use to remove other lug nuts. Then, use the socket wrench to remove the wheel lock lug nuts.

Types of wheel locks

Every wheel style has its own different wheel lock and you can only remove them using a specific key. A wheel lock set consist of four to five lug nuts together with a device used to remove the lugs.

There are different types of wheel locks depending on their design and materials that they are made of. They include locking lug-nuts that have rough interior design but smooth exterior surface. This makes it extremely hard to open without a key or even break it with a wrench.

There are the spline drives where lug-nuts are fitted into smaller lug holes with a closed-end design and more gripping power.

Car manufacturers sell alloy wheel locks. They are characterized by a solid alloy material finish and a special socket. There is also the clamp wheel lock that is placed around the wheel and the rims so that the vehicle cannot move unless the clamp is removed.

As the number of tires, wheel and rim thefts increase, it is important that you use wheel locks to keep your vehicle safe and have peace of mind every time you park your car.

Cleaning your car’s catalytic converter using a catalytic converter cleaner is not a messy process as many people imagine.

As long as your car still runs by burning fossil fuels, it will produce pollutants like carbon dioxide, nitric oxide, and carbon monoxide gases.

CO2 is a greenhouse gas that is mainly responsible for global warming since it absorbs heat from the sun and traps it in the atmosphere. Carbon monoxide, on the other hand,  is lethal to humans when present in high levels. This makes the later more damaging to both humans and the environment immediately it leaves the tailpipe of your car.

Catalytic converters are devices that are fit onto the car’s exhaust system. They convert harmful emissions like CO and NO into to CO2 and nitrogen respectively.

When your car fails an emission test, it means that it is not emissions compliant. This is something that your OBD-II should be able to indicate. This happens because the catalytic converter is either degraded or it is dirty from carbon buildup that accumulates over time.

In order to improve the efficiency and durability of your catalytic converter, it is necessary that you clean between 2 to 4 times a year depending on the size of your car. This involves the use of a catalytic converter cleaner.

A catalytic converter cleaner is a chemical that strips away carbon that accumulates on the surface of the catalyst. The use of this cleaner is simple, but you need to start by making proper preparations as follows:

Find out the cause of your high emission levels

In order to extend the lifespan of your catalytic converter, it is important to clean it regularly. Clogging of the converter with carbon from the car engine minimize or block the contact between the catalyst and harmful gases for conversion.

Sometimes the cause of high emissions may not be related to the catalytic converter but a poorly maintained engine or bad tuning. However, display of OBD2 error codes like P0420 and P0430 will indicate that the problem is in the catalytic converter which needs to be cleaned or replaced.

Find out the cause of the carbon buildup

High emission level is usually caused by excessive carbon build up. Carbon build up is a process that you cannot prevent. But you can slow it by driving within the revolution limit that gives the best MPG fuel economy. Also, make sure that your tire pressure is at the right level.

The buildup is accelerated when the air-fuel ratio is less than the optimum in a situation commonly known as a ‘fuel rich’ situation.

This simply means that your car engine is not burning all the fuel as expected. For this reason, it is necessary to check the condition of your spark plugs. Replace them if necessary before you proceed to clean your catalytic converter.

Buy a good quality catalytic converter cleaner

When your emission problem stems from a clogged catalytic converter, you need to find the best cleaner to restore it. With a huge number of cleaners in the market, you will need to go through their features and reviews to settle on the right one.

The most important feature to look out for is the ability to greatly reduce CO and NO emissions as well as remove accumulated carbon and dirt from the converter and engine.

A good catalytic converter cleaner should work on all vehicles whether diesel, gasoline or hybrid. While no miracle cleaner is best in everything, you may need to try out a few products. Find the best one with time.

Prepare to clean your catalytic converter

After confirming that your converter needs cleaning and have found a good quality cleaner, it is time to prepare for the actual cleaning.

The first preparation at this stage is to ensure that your gas tank is almost empty. The next step is to pour the cleaner into the gas tank in order to blend with the remaining fuel. After this, you need to drive your car normally for at least 50 miles nonstop before filling the tank full.

It is important to ensure that the levels of dangerous emissions that your car produces are always at the minimum. Not only for compliance purpose but also to protect the health of people and the environment.

Catalytic converter cleaners do work, and it gets even better when you use a good quality brand. Clean your converter regularly and always ensure that your car is in good condition.