Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Road Trip Prep With Prestone and 3M & Giveaway

This summer the boys and I will be making our annual trek to Minnesota. That means getting the car prepared for the miles we're going to be driving and having the right items tucked away! This is where Prestone & 3M comes in. They reached out to me asking me to try their products, and hello, who could turn down such an automotive staple? Of course I agreed!

Now, dad has always done minor work and maintenance on his cars. He didn't pass that gene on to me.

Kidding! I love doing what I can on my own with my car. So much so that I've tried to pass that on to my kids. What I love is getting a call from my oldest daughter (who's in Minnesota) and her starting off with, "Mom, my car is..." I try narrowing down what might be going on and try to give her the confidence to figure it out or to be wise in finding someone who can help her.


Empowering myself and my family when it comes to our cars is really a necessity. Do you realize how much money you can save by doing things like checking brake fluid, restoring headlights, and checking your antifreeze/coolant? Keeping up with home maintenance on your own vehicle will not only save you money, but will extend the life of your car.



So, let's get into the nitty gritty before we talk about what you should take with you on any road trip!

Have you EVER driven in Minnesota in the middle of mosquito season? It literally rains bugs. And at night, forget about it. You may as well drive with the windshield wipers on. The Prestone BugWash® is what will get us through driving through the midwest in July! lol It's also great because it creates a barrier from things sticking to your windshield.

When we moved into our house Fred was parking on the right side and I parked on the left. I don't know what happened, but somehow we ended up swapping our cars around. One day I came out and noticed both of our driver's side mirrors were warped. I also realized my driver's side headlight was messed up. We think the windows on the house are doing the damage. The 3M Headlight Restoration Kit is exactly what was needed!


Now, I don't know about you, but I'm as skeptical as they come. For real. I'm rarely buyin' what you're sellin'. Get my drift? I'll be honest with you (aren't I always?) that I wasn't sure how this was going to perform. THEN what do I do? I kind of gave the kit the stink eye as I started the process.



I read through the instructions, grabbed a small spray bottle, and a Meguiar's microfiber towel, and set to work. The first step was to clean the headlight and then tape it with the tape that's provided in the kit. I was only targeting the damaged area because the rest of the headlight looked fine. If you're going to be scrubbing near the paint of your vehicle, I would highly suggest doing a double wide line of the tape in case you slip as you're sanding. Nothing like working on one thing and scratching up another.



There are 3 different grits of disks: 1000, 3000, and 5000. You use them in order from smallest to largest spraying the water on the light and disc as you go along. The steps are incredibly easy to read and understand. With the first pass of the 1000 grit the headlight was still pretty hazy. I was trying not to be too judgey judgey. I still had a couple steps to go.

Next the 3000 and 5000 grit were used and I finished by spraying off the headlight and then wiping it down once again. My initial response was, "No way!" I hadn't been expecting the results I got. It was literally crystal clear. You can see the difference in the before & after images. The only negative part was I now see how bad the rest of the headlight is and will have to do the rest of it! I mean, eureka. No need to drop cashola on replacing the entire headlight cover.

My hubby came home halfway through the restoration. Now, some of you might have a hubby who will just take care of all things automotive or if he sees you attempting something will swoop in and just do it himself. Not my guy. He knows better. lol He came over to say, "hi," and then went about his merry business.

I thought checking and filling fluids on my car would be relatively easy. And I'd say it was other than Chevrolet putting covers on things so you have to unsnap them to get to what you need. No problem. Just went to grab my car manual and flat head to find what was needed.



It was easy enough to fill up the windshield washer fluid. It's one of the most obvious looking caps under the hood. Every car engine I've looked at has that windshield wiper design on it. It was nearly full, but since it's spring, aka "bugs are alive and well season", no reason not to top it off!



From there I checked my brake fluid, but that was already full since my car had been into the dealer recently. Then came the fun of finding the spot for the power steering fluid. I found it in the manual, but realized it had to take off a rather large cover to get to it. So strange. Once I took off the oil cap, I just had to heave ho the large cover and it came off. Voila there was the power steering fluid. I cleaned off the dip stick, filled it up until the fluid was between the min & max, replaced the cap, and put the cover back on.



The antifreeze/coolant was a different story. The place to ADD the coolant was visible. The place to CHECK the radiator fluid, not so much. I had to remove an extremely large cover from the engine to see how the radiator fluid was doing after I filled the reservoir. Thankfully removing the covers only takes a minute. Everything was good to go so I replace the cover and was finished with my tasks.



Now that everything under the hood was taken care of, I wanted to show you what I like to keep in the car for not only road trips, but for any surprises that might come up! Here's the list of what we'll bring:

  • blanket
  • emergency road side kit
  • snacks
  • personal reading light
  • power inverter
  • hand wipes
  • first aid kit
  • sunscreen/bug spray
  • bottled water
  • tire gauge
  • umbrella

I bought a tote a couple weeks ago, and a friend from church has an embroidery business. I put in an order for her to personalize the tote for all of the road trips we do, including to Minnesota. I love, love, LOVE how it came out!


Will you be hitting the road this summer? Where will you be headed? Before you go anywhere, be sure to enter the giveaway to win what I received from Prestone and 3M!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

49 comments:

Amanda said...

Thanks for the tips! It is supposed to snow here in Colorado again this weekend so I could still use the washer fluid de-icer ��

Anonymous said...

Mine could also use the Prestone® Belt Dressing.

Linda Szymoniak said...

Let me say, first of all, that I honestly feel that anyone who drives a car should know certain things - how to change a tire, how to check and top off fluids, how to change headlights, etc. All three of my daughters and I do basic maintenance and repair on our own vehicles. Actually, my youngest is a mechanic so she does much more. Anyway, as far as what product I need, I would love to swap out my regular coolant with Prestone Low Tox. I have three dogs who have run of the backyard - and our garage and part of the driveway are included (we have gates across the drive to keep them from getting out). We have three indoor-only cats (dogs can track things in) and there are some feral cats that frequent our yard. This would make me feel better about letting the furbabies around our vehicles and into the garage.

[Whatever U are, be a good one!] said...

I would love to try the Prestone Triple Seal Protection Radiator Stop Leak
Thank You for the great review and giveaway!

Fiona N

Shelley P said...

I could use the Prestone® Low Tox® Antifreeze/Coolant. I like that it's formula provides an added margin of safety for pets and wildlife.

Amy Orvin said...

We could really use the Prestone® Radiator Flush + Cleaner.

Lisa B said...

Would love this for my Son whos driving his first car and it needs a total detailing!

tat2gurlzrock said...

Our vehicle could also use the Prestone® Radiator Flush + Cleaner.

scottsgal said...

I'd pick the ice fighter for Chicago winters

Dan Dykstra said...

My van is hitting 100,000 miles, I think it would be a good time to use Prestone® Radiator Flush + Cleaner.

Ann Fantom said...

I would like to get Prestone's Low Tox Antifreeze/Coolant

abfantom at yahoo dot com

Anonymous said...

I could use the Prestone® Multi-Vehicle ATF + Stop Leak Rosanne

Anonymous said...

I've got a 1999 Chev. Tahoe with 175,259 miles on it an the head gasket is starting to leak. I could use the head gasket sealer !

Marti Tabora said...

My car could use the Prestone All Season 3 in 1 Windshield Washer Fluid. I hate having a dirty windshield.

Unknown said...

I would definitely use Prestone De-Icer in the winter. The windows are always so icey in the winter time here by Chicago.

Edye Nicole said...

We'd like their "Radiator Stop Leak!"

mia2009(at)comcast(dot)net

Cheryl said...

I could use Prime Conventional "Green" 50/50 Prediluted Antifreeze/Coolant.

Maryann D. said...

My car could use the Prestone® Concentrate
Antifreeze/Coolant and Prestone® Radiator Flush + Cleaner
twinkle at optonline dot net

arress said...

I would use Prestone power steering fluid.

mecarolks said...

I like the Prestone Triple Seal Protection Radiator Stop Leak

Aleksandra Nearing said...

My car could use their Prestone® Deluxe 3 in 1 Windshield Washer Fluid.

Unknown said...

Thanks! I would love to win!

Unknown said...

Great road trip must haves list!

CindyWindy2003 said...

I don't know much about cars but I'm pretty sure my husband could use the Prestone® Concentrate Antifreeze/Coolant.

Kim Avery said...

We could always use the deicer during the cold icy New York winters.

Unknown said...

We live in Northern MN where it snows about 10 months out of the year lol, so I'd definitely use the Prestone Ice & Frost Shield! They have so many products to choose from!

babydjs_mom@yahoo.com

mommy2luke2008 said...

In the winter we definitely need to deicer additive!

wen budro said...

I could also use their cooling system treatments in the Summer months.

laurie nykaza said...

Prestone® Concentrate Antifreeze/Coolant sounds great to use.

Rachel B said...

The Prestone Triple Seal Protectant

1porkchop said...

Occasionally I will have small leaks, so the engine block stop leak is another product I could use.

cyndi br said...

I could use the Prestone Radiator Flush Cleaner

reneejr said...

My car needs Prestone® Bug Wash® Windshield Washer Fluid for summer fun travel!

Angela Saver said...

We could use the Radiator Stop Leak! THanks for the giveaway!

benz1171 said...

My car could use their Prestone® All Season 3 in 1 Windshield Washer Fluid.

Rusthawk said...

We could also use the Prestone® All Season 3 in 1 Windshield Washer Fluid

Natalie said...

I live in MN so I could really use the Prestone 50/50 Prediluted antifreeze/coolant.

Randall robison said...

Complete fuel system cleaner

LesleyfromWI said...

I could use the Prestone De-Icer

Anonymous said...

I think my van could definitely use the
Prestone® All Season 3 in 1 Windshield Washer Fluid

Anonymous said...

My car needs the three-in-one Prestone windshield washer fluid.

Paulwilbur at Hotmail dot com

jbscpark said...

I really could use the Prestone Interior Cleaner, my kids are so messy! Thanks.

clynsg said...

We could use the Windshield Washer Fluid. Unlike Minnesota (where I grew up)anti-freeze is needed here, but certainly not to the extent of multiple degrees below zero. In fact, when I first moved here, we routinely went to Minnesota for Christmas so I had my car prepped for the appropriate temperature that might occur. I remember the mechanic telling me that there was no place that got that cold!

sarah mayer said...

I'd pick the ice fighter for Wisconsin harsh winters.

Dana said...

Definitely the Windshield Washer Fluid. I live in the Mississippi Delta and this time of the year when farming is at it's peak and mosquitoes are rampant, windshield washing is an every other day chore!

laurasloves said...

Our car could really use the Radiator Stop Leak.
Laurie Emerson

Gloria said...

Prestone De-Icer. The Prestone Complete fuel system cleaner

Elicia P said...

I could use Ice Fighters. Heck even washing fluid too!

slehan said...

I could use the New Prestone® Triple Seal Protection™ Stop Leak Made with DuPont™ Kevlar® Resin Helps Avoid Costly Engine Repairs.Thanks for the contest.

slehan at juno dot com

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Woven by Words by Mimi B is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.