David L. Farquhar, computer security professional, train hobbyist, and landlord
I recently acquired a 3D printed door for my Commodore 1084 monitor. It was missing its original. Of course, it came in white. I can live without an imperfect match, but I want something closer than white. But can you paint 3D printed objects? Yes you can. Here’s how to paint 3D printed models.
Plastic can be tricky to paint, but 3D prints tend to have some texture, and that makes it easier for paint to bond to them than molded plastic. Still, some prep work is still a good idea.
Does paint have lead in it? It’s not supposed to anymore, because it’s a serious safety issue. But there was a time when it did, and people might even pay extra for more of it. So why did paint have lead in it, and what can you do about it now?
Ingesting lead lowers IQ and causes other health issues. That’s why the United States banned lead paint for residential use in 1978. However, certain industrial paints, such as the paints used for street markings, can still contain lead even today.
If you cut a drywall outlet hole too big, don’t fret. It’s easier to fix than it seems. You even have a couple of different options.
Kobalt is Lowe’s house brand for power tools and hand tools. As a house brand, they are less expensive than the big name brands. But are Kobalt hand tools good? And who makes Kobalt hand tools for Lowe’s? I did some digging to find out.
Kobalt hand tools are made by Apex Tool Group, a company owned by Bain Capital. Apex also makes several brands you may have heard of, including Wiss, Allen, and Weller.
It certainly is tempting. You have tile on the wall with broken grout and need to patch it up. Removing and replacing the grout will take all weekend. A tube of caulk costs $5, and you could probably cover those gaps in 15 minutes. So can you caulk over grout? It sure would be easier.
While caulking over grout is a fairly common quick fix, there are several reasons not to recommend it. It seems to work sometimes, but when it doesn’t work, you end up with two problems.
It’s a rule, right? No project is complete without three unplanned trips to the hardware store. Needing screws for an electrical box can absolutely chew up one of those trips. But I can at least make it easier. Let’s talk about electrical box screw size, because in the United States at least, it’s almost certainly one of three sizes.
The most common electrical box screw size is 6-32. However, for many applications, 6-32 is too light duty, so we use an 8-32 or even a 10-32 instead. The thread pitch, however, is always 32.
How much weight can a 2×4 hold? There’s a meme going around social media showing the differences in 2x4s over the years, decrying how old houses were stronger. But appearances can be deceiving. Modern 2x4s are probably stronger than you think.
Under optimal conditions, a single 2×4 can support about 1,000 pounds, or half a ton vertically. And when we build a house, we don’t ask it to support much more than that horizontally.
Brushless drills are more expensive than brushed drills. But old-fashioned brushed drills are getting hard to find. What’s the big deal about a brushless drill vs brushed? Which is better?
Brushed tools are cheaper, often by $20, when you can find them. Brushless tools offer longer battery life and better reliability and lower maintenance in the long run, in addition to being smaller, lighter, and having more power.
Blackout curtains help to keep light out, making them useful if you have a lot of light pollution at night or need to sleep during the day. But do blackout curtains help with heat? Do blackout curtains save energy? And how much?
Blackout curtains can have an R value of up to 5, depending on how you use them. Considering most windows have an R value between 1 and 5, and your walls have an R value of at least 13, blackout curtains do help with heat, and can save you hundreds of dollars per year.
If you want a good paint job, you need to make sure the paint dries thoroughly and completely before disturbing it. So how long does oil based paint take to dry? And how long does it take oil based primer to dry?
It varies depending on the paint formula and the temperature, but it typically takes 8 hours for oil based paint to dry. The general time can range from 2-24 hours, so it’s best to check your instruction label for your paint’s specifics. Oil based primer can be ready for a topcoat within 1-2 hours, but that may or may not be what you mean by dry time.