Here in New England we are well into winter weather. For those of us who don't have a garage, this means scraping the frost and ice off your windshield most days. My ice scraper hasn't been cutting the mustard (or shall I say ice) lately. So I decided to sharpen it. Sharpen it? Yes, you heard me. While you might be tempted to chuck it and go buy a new ice scraper, like any other cutting tool (although it's plastic), you can sharpen it and restore it to full functionality.
Here's what you do: Place a piece of 100 grit (medium) sand paper on a flat surface.
While maintaining the proper angle - so that the front edge of the scraper is flat against the paper (see diagram on right), sand it back and forth. When you have removed enough plastic to restore the sharp edge, smooth it off with some 150 grit (fine) sandpaper.
That's all there is to it. With a little maintenance, you may be able to pass your plastic ice scraper on to your grandchildren!
OK, I need to rant for a minute. There is a new trend in car headlights/signal lights that is not only annoying, it is useless and perhaps dangerous. I'm talking about the trend to include all the lights on the front of a car into one unit (see top picture). Now this may be a very clever and stylish way to do it, but it's not very useful. When the headlight is on, it completely washes out the signal light. (Clever is often the enemy of good). There needs to be a reasonable separation of the two lights, so you can actually see the dimmer one - signal light (see bottom picture). Look sometime - with these new cars, you can't see the signal. Enough said!
