u/catalinashenanigans

Have a 2013 Ford Fusion that needs some love. The paint is still in good shape, but it's getting older and I want to make sure I get many more years out of it. Want to start a detailing routine and was hoping to get some feedback on what I'm planning and the products that I'm going to use.

2x/year (spaced ~6 months apart)

1. Optimum No Rinse wash with the Big Red Sponge
2. Don't dry
3. Spray on concentrated ONR solution and use The Rag Company Ultra Clay Scrubber
4. Dry
5. Spray on Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions Ceramic Spray Wax Coating and buff

10x/year (1x/mo when not doing the routine above with TW)

1. ONR wash with the Big Red Sponge
2. Don't dry
3. Spray on Opti-Seal
4. Dry

How does this look? I can't say I'm a huge fan of detailing (yet) so I'm mostly just looking for some protection and a little shine. I'm not a big car guy and I drive an econobox so definitely don't need a mirror finish.

I haven't really thought about what I'll do for the interior. I heard I can wipe it down with ONR and then spray on Opti-Seal? If so, I'll probably just do that since I already have it on hand.

Thoughts?

If not, what cajun seasoning brands would you recommend? I'm located in California so probably won't have nearly as many options as some folks.

Have tools (but not any specialty ones if there's something like that for this job), and like to think I'm pretty handy, but never done something like this.

If it's easy, I'll give it a go myself. Anyone have any speaker recommendations? Not an audiophile so don't need to spend much. Don't want to buy shit, but fine with passable speakers on the cheaper end.

May seem like a dumb question, but we were planning on going to Howling Wolf tonight for a concert. I called to see if they would be offering refunds and they were very casual about the situation and stated the show is still going on. So wasn't sure if these are common occurrences and locals don't pay them much mind. Was planning on cancelling everything (and still am) but it's our last night so would be great to be able to do some things if possible, but obviously don't want to be stuck in a situation we shouldn't be in.

Love your city by the way!

Edit: Thanks, all! Planning on going out, looking forward to it.

Would obviously pay for anyone's time.

Never really hit a driver (until recently) and never learned to hit up on the ball. Hit my 3 wood as far as my driver.

I tilt my spine towards my trail foot at setup but then don't feel like I can really shift my weight to my front foot on the downswing. Ends up feeling like I'm falling back on my follow through.

Any suggestions? Anyone have similar issues and, if so, what worked for you?

Have a "cased opening" (basically a doorway connecting my living room and kitchen with no door) that we'd like to put a shelf over. Either ends of the shelf will have brackets that are drilled into the studs. The opening spans 70", though, so I want to make sure that we've got some support in the middle.

I was thinking about driving some screws through the back side of the shelf—in the middle unsupported section—directly into the header. I'd drive the screws into the top of the shelf, and angle them downward and backward into the header. That said, I'm not sure if it's a load- or non-load bearing header.

The shelf will also be resting on the trim above the cased opening, which comes out of the wall about a half inch. The shelves will be 8 inches deep.

Thoughts on my tentative plan?

Edit: I'm located in California, if there are different building standards for headers in the US.

Have a "cased opening" (basically a doorway connecting my living room and kitchen with no door) that we'd like to put a shelf over. Either ends of the shelf will have brackets that are drilled into the studs. The opening spans 70", though, so I want to make sure that we've got some support in the middle.

I was thinking about driving some screws through the back side of the shelf—in the middle unsupported section—directly into the header. I'd drive the screws into the top of the shelf, and angle them downward and backward into the header. That said, I'm not sure if it's a load- or non-load bearing header.

The shelf will also be resting on the trim above the cased opening, which comes out of the wall about a half inch. The shelves will be 8 inches deep.

Thoughts on my tentative plan?

Edit: I'm located in California, if there are different building standards for headers in the US.

Have a cased opening (basically a doorway connecting my living room and kitchen with no door) that we'd like to put a shelf over. Either ends of the shelf will have brackets that are drilled into the studs. The opening spans 70", though, so I want to make sure that we've got some support in the middle.

I was thinking about driving some screws through the back side of the shelf—in the middle unsupported section—directly into the header. I'd drive the screws into the top of the shelf, and angle them downward and backward into the header. That said, I'm not sure if it's a load- or non-load bearing header.

The shelf will also be resting on the trim above the cased opening, which comes out of the wall about a half inch. The shelves will be 8 inches deep.

Thoughts on my tentative plan?

Have some hardwood (i.e., jatoba) for shelves that I need to plane. Any idea where I might be able to use one and or pay someone to plane the boards for me?

Just picked up some jatoba for shelving and really excited! Really pretty species. That being said, I have very little woodworking experience and want to make sure that we don't ruin this wood that we just picked up.

• We need to cut ~45° angles into two of the boards that will meet in the room's corner for one of our shelves. What would be the best way to go about this? I have a circular saw and a speed square that I was planning on using. I think my friend has a miter saw that I could probably borrow if that'd be the easiest and best way.
• The pieces that we got have some minor scratches/blemishes that we want to sand out. What grit would you recommend I start with and what should we end with? Would the latter depend on how we want to finish it?
• Would you recommend using grain filler?
• What would you recommend finishing it with? We were originally thinking about tung oil, and still might go that route. We did leave the wood out in the sun for a few days to see how much it'd darken it up and the reds are really starting to come out now. In fact a may be a bit too red for our liking. If we wanted to get it a bit closer to brown, while still being able to see the grain, what would you recommend? Walnut is probably our favorite species but it was out of our price range unfortunately. I've heard Rubio Monocoat might be good. Open to other suggestions as well, even if it doesn't mute the reds much.