Sunday, October 28, 2007

Galeri Hardware Penang

DIY/ Do-It-Yourself


Heard of a DIY Hardware shop in Penang?

I was on holiday in Penang, and passed by this old shop house that sell DIY hardware, with a unique name - GALERI HARDWARE . Since nothing to do and lotsa time to waste, so drop by to buy some stuff.

Found that the things there quite cheap and some branded tools quite reasonable.

I bought a "S" hook (RM3.10), Pentalite White Undercoat Paint, Paint Brush, Paint Roller, Paint Pan...... summore got tools for my car and the usual polish,wax,rainX.


You can find almost anything you need from A-Z for DIY here, even gardening tools, drills, laser measuring equipment, nuts and bolts.

Don't have to worry about going here and there to find different DIY needs, the range are all easily found here. Every tool comes in different sizes.

Anyway, you can take a look for yourself:
Galeri Hardware Sdn Bhd
Your Do-It-Yourself Centre
No 218, Jalan Macalister, 10400 Penang.
Tel: 04-2279218 / 227 9219
Fax: 04-227 7219

Thursday, October 25, 2007

DiY handytips

Instant elbow care


If you have dry, discoloured elbow, rub them with half a lemon. This will remove dead, dry skin and even out skin tones. Always apply a moisturiser afterwards.

Natural Exfoliator


For a refreshing body exfoliator, combine coarse sea salt with you shower gel in your hands and rub the mixture on as you shower.

Milk stains


Rinse washable in cold water. Then soak in Luke warm water with detergent and a dash of ammonia. If needed, follow up with dry cleaning fluid, rinse, and then wash as usual. Non washables: sponge with grease solvent then with lukewarm water blot dry.

Candle Holders


Use marshmallows as candle holders on birthday cakes- they prevent wax running onto the cake.

Care for your neck


Don't neglect your neck! For a quick home treatment, try smoothing natural yogurt over a clean skin. Leave on for half and hour, then rinse off. This will soften the skin on your neck and give a brighter appearance.

Behind stove and fridges


After cleaning the walls and surfaces well, spray and buff well with furniture polish. The next time you clean you will only need to wipe down with a damp cloth and grease and grime will come straight off without the hard work. Polish the surfaces again with furniture polish when cleaning starts to become a chore. After the 3rd n 4th wipe down should be sufficient.
Hair spray is another good thing to use instead of furniture polish.

Brighter brass


Boil small brass objects in water containing salt and vinegar. Wipe dry and polish with commercial brass cleaner for sparkling results.

Do your light bulbs last as long as they should?


Do you have to change your light bulbs often? Have you ever wondered why your light bulbs did not last as long as they should?

The common fault for light bulbs frequent blow outs and have to be changed often is the error in wiring of your lighting point. Proper and correct wiring should make your light bulbs last at least 3 to 4 years of daily 4-5 hours use (switched on).

The correct wiring should be that the center of the bulb should be wired to the in-coming "live" wire while the side out-going to the "neutral." To know which the “live” incoming point is, use a test pen. With the bulb uninstalled from the socket, switch the power on and insert the test pen to the center of the socket. If the test pen is lighted, this shows that the center contact is the "live"(correct) wiring. If the test pen only lighted when inserted to the side of the light bulb socket, this shows that the wiring is reversed, which will result in the frequent blow out of the bulb.

NB. Please adhere to all safety precautions and never touch any exposed electrical point unprotected. If in doubt, call a professionally qualified electrician.


WD-40 info

I had a neighbor who had bought a new pickup. I got up very early one Sunday morning and saw that someone had spray painted red all around the sides of this beige truck (for some unknown reason). I went over, woke him up, and told him the bad news. He was very upset and was trying to figure out what to do. Probably nothing until Monday morning, since nothing was open. Another neighbor came out and told him to get his WD-40 and clean it off. It removed the unwanted paint beautifully and did not harm his paint job that was on the truck. I'm impressed! WD-40 who knew?

Water Displacement #40. The product began from a search for a rust preventative solvent and degreaser to protect missile parts. WD-40 was created in 1953 by three technicians at the San Diego Rocket Chemical Company. Its name comes from the project that was to find a "water displacement" compound. They were successful with the fortieth formulation, thus WD-40. The Corvair Company bought it in bulk to protect their atlas missile parts. Ken East (one of the original founders) says there is nothing in WD-40 that would hurt you.

When you read the "shower door" part, try it. It's the first thing that has ever cleaned that spotty shower door. If yours is plastic, it works just as well as glass. It's a miracle! Then try it on your stovetop... Voila! It's now shinier than it's ever been. You'll be amazed.

Here are some of the uses:

1) Protects silver from tarnishing.

2) Removes road tar and grime from cars.

3) Cleans and lubricates guitar strings.

4) Gives floors that 'just-waxed' sheen without making it slippery.

5) Keeps flies off cows.

6) Restores and cleans chalkboards.

7) Removes lipstick stains.

8) Loosens stubborn zippers.

9) Untangles jewelry chains.

10) Removes stains from stainless steel sinks.

11) Removes dirt and grime from the barbecue grill.

12) Keeps ceramic/terra cotta garden pots from oxidizing.

13) Removes tomato stains from clothing.

14) Keeps glass shower doors free of water spots.

15) Camouflages scratches in ceramic and marble floors.

16) Keeps scissors working smoothly.

17) Lubricates noisy door hinges on vehicles and doors in homes

18) It removes black scuff marks from the kitchen floor! Use WD-40 for those nasty tar and scuff marks on flooring. It doesn't seem to harm the finish and you won't have to scrub nearly as hard to get them off. Just remember to open some windows if you have a lot of marks.

19) Bug guts will eat away the finish on your car if not removed quickly! Use WD-40!

20) Gives a children's play gym slide a shine for a super fast slide.

21) Lubricates gear shift and mower deck lever for ease of handling on riding mowers.

22) Rids kids rocking chairs and swings of squeaky noises.

23) Lubricates tracks in sticking home windows and makes them easier to open.

24) Spraying an umbrella stem makes it easier to open and close.

25) Restores and cleans padded leather dashboards in vehicles, as well as vinyl bumpers

26) Restores and cleans roof racks on vehicles.

27) Lubricates and stops squeaks in electric fans.

28) Lubricates wheel sprockets on tricycles, wagons, and bicycles for easy handling.

29) Lubricates fan belts on washers and dryers and keeps them running smoothly.

30) Keeps rust from forming on saws and saw blades, and other tools.

31) Removes splattered grease on stove.

32) Keeps bathroom mirror from fogging.

33) Lubricates prosthetic limbs.

34) Keeps pigeons off the balcony (they hate the smell).

35) Removes all traces of duct tape.

36) Folks even spray it on their arms, hands, and knees to relieve arthritis pain

37) Florida 's favorite use is: "cleans and removes love bugs from grills and bumpers."

38) The favorite use in the state of New York WD-40 protects the Statue of Liberty from the elements.

39) WD-40 attracts fish. Spray a LITTLE on live bait or lures and you will be catching the big one in no time. Keep in mind though, using some chemical laced baits or lures for fishing are not allowed in some states.

40) Use it for fire ant bites. It takes the sting away immediately and stops the itch.

41) WD-40 is great for removing crayon from walls. Spray on the mark and wipe with a clean rag.

42) Also, if you've discovered that your teenage daughter has washed and dried a tube of lipstick with a load of laundry, saturate the lipstick spots with WD-40 and re-wash. Presto! Lipstick is gone!

43) If you sprayed WD-40 on the distributor cap, it would displace the moisture and allow the car to start.

P. S. The basic ingredient is FISH OIL

P. P. S. I keep a can of WD-40 in my kitchen cabinet over the stove. It is good for oven burns or any other type of burn. It takes the burned feeling away and heals with NO scarring.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

A Pot Pourri Recipe

Pot-pourri a mixture of dried flowers, herbs, spices and oils that are used to deodorise homes.


Flowers

Flowers are certainly the most important ingredient of pot pourri. Many florists sell packets of dry flower petals, or you can dry them yourself. Use any flower that has a pleasant and/or strong scent. Roses, violets, jasmine and forget-me-nots are the more popular flowers used in pot pourri. Pick your preferred flowers and separate the petals, shaking off as much moisture as possible. Place the flowers in a flat box, with about 1/2 cup of salt (to about 7 cups of petals). The ideal place to dry petals would be under a bed, as long as it is well ventilated. Shake the petals around every 2 hours or so. It may take 2 - 3 days for the petals to dry.

Leaves

My favorite leaves are geranium and lemon leaves. Their scent is strong and makes perfect additions to pot pourri. Dry the same way as you would the flowers.

Herbs and spices

This is very much up to the individual. Herbs that are popular are rosemary, thyme and mint. My favorite spice to add to pot pourri is cloves. Cinnamon, nutmeg, cassia and allspice can also be used. Be careful not to use too many spices as their smell tends to overpower the other scents.

Essential Flower Oils

These oils add the finishing touches to pot pourri, but must be used sparingly. Buy flower oils (different fragrances like jasmine, rose, and lemon verbena) at florists and at flea markets. You need only add a few drops as the oils are concentrated.

Fixatives

Fixatives help to "block in" the fragrances longer. Orris root is the most common fixative - this can be bought at health shops. I prefer to use the peels of oranges and lemons. Peel the skin thinly and dry in the same way you would dry the flowers. You can either dry it in strips, or better still grate it. What I often do is to dry it in large strips and then grind the peel. Even wood shavings of fragrant wood (e.g. cedar) can be used.

To make Lemon Pot-Pourri

2 cups dried lemon leaves
1 cup dried lemon verbena leaves
dried peel of 3 lemons
3 cups of yellow/gold rose petals
1 cup jasmine petals
1 cup marigold petals
4 Tablespoons fixative (Orris root powder or wood shavings)
7 drops lemon verbena oil

Combine all the ingredients and mix thoroughly. Store in a sealed container until needed.


Source :
PageWise, Inc.: http://vt.essortment.com/potpourrirecip_rrfj.htm

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Brass, Copper and Bronze Cleaner

Natural Methods
Lemon juiceIf you’ve ever had a lemon tree in your backyard, or even somewhere in your neighbourhood, you will have discovered that there are only so many ways you can before these prolific trees are simply wasting their fruit! However, they are especially handy for cleaning things around the home, either when juiced or simply chopped in half.
To clean brass with lemon juice, you can either use it neat, or mixed with vinegar and/or baking soda.
• Mix up a couple of teaspoons of lemon juice and a couple of teaspoons of vinegar.
• Add enough baking soda that it becomes a gritty paste
• Use this with a cloth to scrub your brass items.
• Rinse with lukewarm water and dry with a clean cloth.
Or you can simply cut a lemon in half, sprinkle it with either salt or baking soda (enough that the juice of the lemon doesn’t dissolve it), and use this directly on your brass. Remember that this method will be slightly abrasive – don’t use if you want to keep your lacquer, and don’t overdo if your item is only brass plated.
You can either rinse with water, or simply buff the surface with a clean, dry, soft cloth.
Lemon juice, vinegar and baking soda are all especially acidic (with pHs of around 3-4), that is why they are effective cleaners, especially for alkaline dirt like soap scum or hard water deposits.

Milk and Yoghurt
Use either sour milk, natural unflavoured yoghurt, or whey to clean your brass.
• Either put the item in a pan of sour milk or whey, or coat it with yoghurt
• Leave it somewhere away from your nose for a minute or two!
• When the yoghurt is dry, or the time is up, remove the item from the dairy product (!), and wash it off with lukewarm water.
• If you want a very gentle way to scour off dirt after the item has been soaked like this, you can use a woollen cloth dipped in ashes. Or, a microfibre cleaning cloth!
• It is a good idea to either rinse the item very well and rub it dry, simply to avoid your house smelling like a dairy graveyard!

Ketchup and Worcestershire Sauce
There is not much difference in effectiveness between these two delicious cleaning products! They both have a pH of around 3-4, which is why they remove dirt wellThe one you choose to use will probably depend on which is more readily available in your house, and which one you prefer the smell of while you are using it to clean. A small note – tomato sauce is similar to ketchup, but doesn’t work as well in the cleaning stakes, as it is less acidic. This does make it gentler, though.
• First try rubbing the sauce into your item with a soft cloth.
• If this doesn’t remove the dirt very well, coat the item in sauce and leave it to sit for a minute or so.
• See how much dirt is removed when you rub the sauce off after a minute. If the item is still fairly dirty, leave it for one minute more next time, then another minute, etc. The time taken will depend on the nature of the dirt.
• If the item is especially dirty and you want to clean it evenly, leave it immersed in sauce rather than simply coated (as gravity does its work you will end up with patches that are slightly cleaner than others).

Onions
Another method you will need to employ in the kitchen, but make sure it is well ventilated first, and then be prepared to wash your item well afterwards!
• Put a couple of inches of water in a small pan.
• Chop onions to fill the pan – make them small enough that the water will cover them when put in the pan. Don’t chop them too finely.
• Bring to a boil and then simmer the onions for two hours.
• Use a vegetable strainer (colander) to remove the onions
• Keep the water and use this with a soft cloth to polish your brass.

DIY Methods - Brass, Copper and Bronze Cleaner
While you can make this brass (and copper and bronze) cleaner at home, with ingredients from your cupboard, it is definitely not safe for consumption. While the natural methods may smell a bit, they are definitely more child and pet friendly than this one! Therefore, if you make up this cleaner, don’t store it in empty food containers, make sure it is labelled and kept in a place that kids can’t reach.First, gather the ingredients together:
• 1/2 c flour
• 1/2 c salt
• 1/2 c powdered detergent
• 3/4 c white vinegar
• 1/4 c lemon juice
• 1/2 c very warm water
Mix all of the dry ingredients together first. When they are well mixed, add all of the liquid ingredients. Then it is pretty much done! Pop it in a jar that won’t be mistaken for food, label it and put it with your other cleaning products.Be aware that the salt and powdered detergent can make this cleaner an abrasive one – don’t rub too hard if you have a brass plated item, or if you want your lacquered brass to stay lacquered.

Salt and Vinegar
Great in small amounts on potatoes, but really quite potent chemicals when mixed together in pure form! That is why they are in the DIY section rather than the natural methods section.
• As for the general metal cleaner, use equal parts of salt, vinegar and flour to create a paste.
• While you are making your evil concoction (!), leave the brass soaking in hot water. If it is a large piece, give it a squirt of water and leave it on.
• Coat the piece with the paste and leave it to sit for half an hour.
• Check its condition after this time, and if you need to, leave it for another half an hour.
• To give your unlacquered brass a bit more of a polish, or remove chunky dirt, use a cloth to buff the item with the paste still on it, and the salt should act as an abrasive.
• When it is clean enough for you, rinse with water and dry off with a clean cloth.

Discolouration - If you don’t rinse your brass off with water after using vinegar to clean it, you can get some reddish discolouration, especially in the valleys of your piece. This will be important for many of you that are cleaning older doorknobs, which often have engraving or surface detail. If you like, you can leave this on as an artistic effect! If you prefer a solid colour throughout, use water and a toothbrush to remove all of the cleaning solution from the brass, then dry with a cloth rather than airdrying. Alternatively, you could use a hairdryer to blow your piece dry, or even a fan forced oven for small pieces. Don’t leave it in too long though! And definitely don’t put your metal objects in the microwave to dry…
If your object has discoloured already, and you want to remove it, use Brasso or another commercial brass polish to remove the discolouration.
The salt and vinegar is a good method for tarnished brass, as opposed to merely dirty brass (which would be best served by soap and water). The reason for this is that tarnish on brass is caused by oxidation of the metal (oxygen molecules in the air attach themselves to the brass molecules, creating a different compound). Oxidation tarnish is easily removed by acidic substances – like vinegar, lemon juice, etc.

Vinegar and Steel Wool
This is one of the simpler methods available. Grab some vinegar, pour it on or soak your item in it for a minute or two if size allows, then just use steel wool to remove the tarnish.HOWEVER!All of the precautions we have noted elsewhere apply to this method also.
• If your item is brass plated, not solid brass, using steel wool probably isn’t the best idea. You could use vinegar with a soft cloth instead, much of the cleaning action comes from the acidity of the vinegar rather than the physical scrubbing.
• Use a fine grade of steel wool (if it is numbered, 000 is the minimum, with 00000 and a bit more time being preferable).
• Watch your item if you are soaking it in vinegar – some items will discolour in the vinegar, and you will then need to buy a commercial polish to remove the discolouration!
• See the Salt and Vinegar section for tips on preventing your item from discolouring when it has been cleaned in vinegar, and also for rescue methods if it has already discoloured.
Some people use apple cider vinegar, while some report that red wine vinegar works better than white wine. Which works best fro you will depend on your particular dirt!

Toothpaste
Toothpaste is a gentle abrasive – gentle enough to be used on brass plated items. Use the opaque toothpastes rather than the clear toothpastes – opaque ones are more likely to contain a mild abrasive, whereas clear pastes are likely to be more focused on killing bacteria and freshening breath. All noble aims, but not strictly necessary for cleaning brass!
Be aware though, that this method will probably not be as effective as many of the other methods, as toothpaste is alkaline, not acidic. The main cleaning action will come from the physical scrubbing of the particles on the brass surface. In the lemon juice, vinegar, ketchup, baking soda and salt methods, the acidity of the substance helps remove the oxidation chemically – the oxidising of the metal is what creates the tarnish effect.
Toothpaste should not discolour your metal at all, though, which is always something to watch out for with the chemical methods. It is also a handy alternative if you find you have unusual dirt (!) – not just tarnish – on your brassware.
To feel especially weird, use a toothbrush to apply it!

Mineral Oil
The mineral oil method is a good one to finish off with, using it in conjunction with one of the acidic substance methods. If you use it at the end of the cleaning process, it will give your brass piece a nice shine and a protective coating which isn’t as restrictive as lacquer. Mineral oil is also known as baby oil, when it has fragrance added. It is quite similar to petroleum jelly, which is good for wound care. You may know it as white oil or liquid paraffin in your part of the world, and it is usually safe for pieces that kids and pets are around – it is a food-grade oil, although used mostly for machinery and not as an actual ingredient!
If you need to be especially gentle with your brass, for example if the piece is very old and the plating is wearing thin, or if you want to clean your piece while preserving a brushed effect, mineral oil is a good option.
• Apply the oil to a cloth and wipe it over the brass, rubbing if necessary.
• If this doesn’t get it clean enough, use one of the other methods listed.
• Then use the mineral oil method to finish off!
Mineral oil is made from petroleum – many mechanics and tradesmen know that petrol is great for cleaning greasy hands. Despite its oiliness, the mineral oil is actually a solvent for greasy grime on your brassware, making it suitable for some types of dirt, but not necessarily for straight brass tarnish.

Ammonia Dip
Yet another method that depends on a chemical reaction to help with the cleaning is using ammonia. The ammonia method is wonderful if your piece of brass is absolutely disgustingly tarnished, or covered in grime.HOWEVER! Be aware that while acidic compounds such as vinegar, lemon juice, milk etc, attack the tarnish on the surface of the brass, without reacting to the actual metal, compounds that are caustic, or alkaline, will react with the brass itself and eat away at the metal if this becomes your favourite method of cleaning your brass. They will work over an even shorter time if you leave your brass soaking in a caustic solution. Have a look at the Be Careful section if you’d like to know more.
For smooth brass items, clean them with ammonia by:
• Mixing up a dilute solution of 1 part blueprint (80% strength) ammonia to 8 parts water, or 1 part household bleach to 2 parts water.
• Pop the piece in the solution, with rubber gloves.
• Stay with your piece to watch how it reacts.• Use a soft bristled brush while the piece is in solution to scrub away grime.

Bug Juice
Stop! Stop! Don’t reach for your butterfly net and specimen jar! Do you hear the collective sigh of relief from your backyard?! ;-) Bug juice is a navy term for the Kool-Aid (cordial for the other half of the world) mix they get in the service. Not actual … bug juice! In the navy this comes in paper sachets which are mixed with around 5 gallons of water to make a drinkable mix. It may not be available in your part of the world in the reported form – but you may be able to get something similar in the supermarket as a powdered sort of cordial. You then only need to do a conversion on the dilution ratio – sailors recommend using the ‘bug juice’ at about 10 times the required dilution for drinking (mix with a litre of water instead of 5 gallons). If you are using powdered cordial or Kool-Aid, simply divide the amount of water they say to add on the packet by ten.
Coca-Cola is also listed as working in a similar way to bug juice. Be aware that it is quite acidic – don’t leave items soaking in it for too long. It will also remove verdigris patination (the bright green, mouldy looking coating on some very old items), so if you want to keep your verdigris, try a more neutral method, like mineral oil.
• Mix up your solution in a cleaning bucket
• Use a cloth to apply it
• Rinse clean with fresh water, and dry with a clean cloth.

Ready to Use Solutions
With ready-to-use solutions, the golden rule is to read the label – both for your own safety and the preservation of your brass items. Some of you will no doubt prefer different solutions, depending on whether your brass mostly gets tarnished or dirty, and your individual cleaning style – our recommendation is to start with the cheapest option, and work your way up, as bottles or tins of brass cleaner can sometimes last decades – you don’t want to be waiting to use up the tin before trying something different!

Brasso
… many people remember it with fondness and nostalgia, and some of our cleaning methods use it as a secondary method, although it is perfectly usable on its own.Brasso works in a similar way to mineral oil, as it is around 60% hydrocarbons – the basis of all petroleum products, including plastic, incidentally! Another active ingredient in it is ammonia, which was mentioned in the DIY section, along with a cautionary note about it dissolving the actual metal. However, as you’ll hear many times, follow the directions on the label – the manufacturers know best what conditions their product should be used under.
We prefer the straight liquid to the pre-soaked wadding – more cost effective, and more control over how much product is used at once. Therefore less wastage!
Basically you need to soak a cloth in Brasso, and use it rub the tarnish off brass items. You can use it as a finishing method for other natural methods also – it helps remove the smell of sour milk or ketchup! Wear gloves while you are doing it.

Autosol
This is usually used to clean hubcaps and metal hardware on cars (hence the ‘Auto-’ in the name…). It is slightly abrasive, so be careful using it on brass plated items. Just start gently!