Press Release
Source: 3M

On Wednesday July 27, 2011, 2:36 pm EDT

ST. PAUL, Minn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
You can tackle just about any small repair project around the house. Yet
you’re intimidated when it comes to doing minor repairs on your vehicle.
There’s no need for a skills disconnect between your front door and your
driveway, according to Karl Champley of the DIY Network and HGTV.

“Your home improvement skills are a valuable asset around the house, and
they can be just as valuable in your driveway,” said Champley, car
enthusiast and host of HGTV “Wasted Spaces” and DIY “DIY to the Rescue”.
“If you can use a drill, sand a surface, patch drywall and paint, you
can make basic repairs like restoring your headlight lenses and paint,
repairing scratches and dents and even doing simple tune-ups.”

Champley is teaming up with 3M Car Care for their program “Skills and
Drills: Simple Car Projects You Can Do with Basic Home Improvement
Skills” to teach consumers how to translate their household skills to
the driveway. Here are some basic automotive repair jobs — and the
professional-grade but easy-to-use product solutions that will help the
household DIYer keep his vehicle running great and looking great — with
significant money savings.

Simple Tune Up and Maintenance
If you’re a household DIYer
you have a solution in a simple tune-up and maintenance program that can
be done in the driveway and deliver big savings of about $800 per year
in fuel costs alone, not to mention thousands of dollars in service
charges.

“Just like around the house, it’s better to monitor your car and do your
tune-ups and regular maintenance than have an expensive repair like a
new furnace or water heater,” said Champley. “It’s not worth having to
spend $2,500 to rebuild your engine or buy a new car. That approach to
maintenance and prevention helps you maintain your home, and can help
your car perform better and last longer.”

New easy to use tune-up kits like the Fuel System Tune-Up Kit from 3M
makes it simple to perform a basic tune-up on your engine. The kit
cleans fuel injectors, intake manifold, intake valves, combustion
chambers and throttle plate with the same trusted 3M products used by
automotive professionals. Each kit contains Complete Fuel System
Cleaner, Do-It-Yourself Intake System Cleaner, Throttle Plate and Carb
Cleaner, all from 3M Car Care, and an instructional DVD.

Professional Scratch Removal
“If you want to improve your
car’s appearance and save money, too, repairing simple scratches
yourself is now an easy project that delivers great benefits,” said
Champley. “3M Car Care uses professional-grade products and processes to
create a DIY kit that delivers high-quality results.”

The Scratch Removal System from 3M provides all of the products and
step-by-step guidance needed to repair small scratches. It improves a
vehicle’s appearance by sanding, compounding and polishing the clear
coat. It is designed to remove defects to the clear coat, like fine
scratches to the door handle, door panels or the trunk.

Paint Restoration
Now you can restore tired paint and repair
irritating scratches without an expensive trip to the body shop. A new
solution from 3M Car Care offers car owners an easy and affordable way
to make those repairs – in their garage in just one afternoon
with basic tools.

The Paint Restoration System from 3M contains everything needed to bring
a vehicle’s paint back to “like-new” condition. Each system includes
Scratch Remover Plus, Shine Restorer and Synthetic Wax Protectant, all
from 3M. It also includes a patented scratch eraser pad and three levels
of foam pads needed to deliver a great finish. The only tool a consumer
needs for the job is a six- inch polisher, available at automotive and
home improvement stores.

Headlight Restoration to Improve Visibility
Hazed or cloudy
plastic headlights can reduce a vehicle’s visibility on the road, making
it very difficult to see not only in spring showers but also on a clear
night.

Drivers can restore plastic headlight lenses and other plastic surfaces
to like-new clarity just in time for the warm weather driving season
with the Headlight Lens Restoration System and Lens Renewal Kit, both
from 3M and both easy to use solutions for removing the yellowing and
hazing that reduces headlight performance and visibility. The kit,
available for under $30, only requires a household drill and 30 minutes
to complete the job.

Dents and Dings Body Repair
With very basic skills and the
right products, those who can do simple household projects like patching
drywall can add to the value of their vehicles by repairing dents and
dings. 3M Car Care is making it easier with a new complete kit for the
task, called the Bondo^® Small Dent Repair Kit. It contains
everything needed for repairing small dents, chips and holes, including
a Bondo^® Single Use 6 oz. can of filler, spreader, scooping
stick and 3M sandpaper in 120, 180 and 320 grit to take the job from
start to finish. The kit retails for under $20.

“Anyone who has patched drywall or fixed a dent in a piece of furniture
is familiar with sanding the surface, applying the patch material,
letting it dry and sanding it until it is smooth,” said Champley. “It’s
the same process with fixing a dent on your car. Just follow the basic
instructions on the repair kit, then paint with a touch-up paint from
your local automotive retailer. You’ll be as good as new in no time.”

Home Improvement Skills = Big Savings in Vehicle Repair

• Do a DIY tune-up and save $800 per year in fuel costs
• Get rid of simple scratches with the Scratch Removal System to save
  more than $500 in body repairs
• Return your paint to “like-new” condition with a polisher and the 3M
  Paint Restoration System to save more than $500
• Use your drill and 3M Lens Renewal Kit to tackle hazed headlights,
  saving more than $150 to $1,000
• Get rid of small dents and dings yourself with the 3M Bondo^®
  Small Dent Repair Kit, cutting up to $250 on a body shop visit

For video of these cost-saving tips, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsVXgbqR2HE.

The 3M Car Care has a comprehensive line of 3M products for automotive
maintenance. The innovative product line includes performance cleaning
products, waxes, compounds, adhesives, abrasives and specialty products,
previously available exclusively to the professional market. 3M serves
the automobile owner and hobbyist as well as professional body shop,
recreational vehicle and mechanical service markets. The 3M Car Care
product line can be found at leading automotive aftermarket retailers
and online at www.Shop3M.com.
For more information, visit www.3M.com/CarCare.

3M and Bondo are trademarks of 3M Company.

About 3M
3M captures the spark of new ideas and transforms
them into thousands of ingenious products. Our culture of creative
collaboration inspires a never-ending stream of powerful technologies
that make life better. 3M is the innovation company that never stops
inventing. With $27 billion in sales, 3M employs about 80,000 people
worldwide and has operations in more than 65 countries. For more
information, visit www.3M.com
or follow @3MNews on Twitter.

3M is a trademark of 3M Company.