Caring For Your Car Paint

Choosing a color for your desired car involves an array of influencing factors. The color of your car reflects your personality as black is cool, red is sensual, silver signifies your stylish lifestyle and white cars are conservative. But can you imagine what color will it be after a few years on the road? Before that nightmare happens, I believe the prevention lies in caring for your car paint straight from the day you get the keys.

Caring for your car paint may be a tough job, but if you want your car to give you your desire, then it's for you to give her what she wants so that she retains her allegiance, radiance, luster and beauty. But the secret lies not in giving her some few lustrous touches during the few months after you own her, it's the continuous care that she needs, sometimes a beauty touch and sometimes a healing touch.

The article below will help you out in caring for your car paint. Believe me, vehicles also feel love and care. It's from my experience I have gained over the years that I'm giving you this advice. The more you care and let the car understand your love, the longer it will be your companion.

Regardless of the types of finishes; acrylic, matte or enamel they are all subjected to environmental wear and tear. But if taken good care, they can last for months and years without even a sign of aging.

Exposure to sunlight, moist weather, pollution, etc., can diminish the glossy coat of your car.

I'd recommend washing your car at least once in a month. Residues like bird droppings or limestone drippings can permanently damage the paint if not washed off in time. A car, when washed dries up soon, but the moisture accumulates when it's dirty and starts corroding. Pressure wash can be a good option to clean the areas which are unreachable, but do not hold it too near as the pressure can peel off the paint. Wash every corner and joints where dirt and salt could accumulate.

The next step after washing your car is to wax. Waxing not only gives it a shine, but also protects it from harmful pollutants and ultra violet rays from the sun. It takes only about 30 minutes to completely wax a car in order to make it last two to three months. But, remember not to be fooled by the ads which claim to give you everlasting shine. Periodical waxing is the best way to make your car the talk of the town.

If you live in a humid area, or where salt use is high in winter, under coating and rust proofing is a must. This protects the paints below and it's vital mechanical parts like the braking system which saves you from dangers and harms.

Likewise, stone chips and scratches may also be a threat to the paint if not repaired on time. You don't need a specialist for doing these simple jobs. Just get yourself geared up with a touch-up or spray paint of the same color and a tooth pick. Shake the paint well and spray a small amount into the cap. Now dip the tooth pick into the paint and cautiously fill up the damaged portion and you are done concealing a blemish.

To remove some marks which damage just the clear coat, you will need an ultra fine 1500-grit or 2000-grit waterproof sandpaper which then should be used to work over the effected area. After this, the marks will vanish, but the clear coat will also lose its shine. Now, to give its shine back, use a few drops of polishing compound using a damp sponge. Rub well until it shines back and then blush the area with a good quality car wax.

Now that you have all these handy tips with you, be sure to promise your car a good care always. Caring for your car paint is just like caring for your face and skin. So, always keep the car just the way you keep your skin and hair. But in order to give it a true long-lasting life, you must give importance to the engines as well. So, remember to get your car regularly serviced by a certified professional.

Paint Protection Film for Your Vehicle

To prevent rock chips and pitting on the front of the car, the traditional solution was to install a custom vinyl black bra or you just wait until the bumper is damaged enough and then paint it. Neither solution was very appealing. Now, there is an answer to all the problems of rock chips and road debris. It is generically called paint protection film. Several familiar names are in the business of making the film: Avery, 3M, Venture, Llumar. The original developer of the film was 3M and it was used in the Korean War to protect helicopter rotor blades. 3M later redesigned it for application to the front bumpers and hoods of vehicles.

With an enhancement in design to adapt the film for the auto industry, the idea took off. The concept was unbeatable. Car owners could now apply the film to bumpers and hoods, and drive the vehicle anywhere without worrying about getting a rock chip in their $100,000 Ferrari. Initially, each installation was custom cut from a bulk roll and carefully applied to the paint. It was time consuming and required lots of experience. The idea took a while to trickle down into the main stream vehicles. As demand increased for the protection, new companies sprung up design kits that could be cut out on a plotter and applied to the car. Hence, another segment of the paint protection film industry was born. The last piece of the puzzle was to have a network of independent, trained installers. Unfortunately, the industry suffers from a lack of skilled technicians.

Most films in the industry carry a 5 year warranty against discoloring or clarity factors related to the film becoming cloudy or opaque. More of a problem of earlier automotive films, this was one of the initial problems. On aircraft, the film is removed every year, and replaced with a new piece. On a vehicle, most people wanted a protection that did not need to be removed and reapplied so the manufacturers went to work to redesign the film to maintain its clarity for 5 years plus. Now films come with a 7 year to lifetime warranty on the clarity stability.

The film has never had problems with its adhesion principles. It does not peel off or peel back. While the film does not require any special treatment, it should be cared for through regular waxing. Also, keeping the car in the garage at night will extend the shine of the film as well as the vehicles paint job. All the film requires is basically good vehicle maintenance. That should include waxing the car 3 to 4 times a year and regular weekly or biweekly washes.

The benefits of paint protection film:

The paint protection film solved all the negatives of the vinyl bras and improved the benefits of having one. Utilizing the black vinyl bra is just a hassle to put on and take off. Worse, the bras would damage the paint where it was rubbing, and frankly, now they are not very fashionable. The paint protection film is nearly undetectable on the paint, the film does not damage the paint, and it does not require removal for washes.

Perhaps the most unique benefit of the film, aside from its durability against rock chips and road damage, is that you cannot see the protection on the car. It is on the vehicle all the time, rain or shine, ready to repel rocks and pitting.

Overall, the film is more effective at preventing rock chips and road debris than anything else. Unlike the paint, when the rocks hit the film, they just bounce off. It does not get marred up and scuffed from the day in and out driving. Over a 3 to 4 year period, the film not only maintains its clarity, but it does not get damaged and worn out. Another plus is that with the paint protection film in place, it still allows the paint to fade at the same rate as the rest of the car.

The ideal customer for the film is someone who cares about keeping up their car. Secondly, the daily commuter will fully utilize the film every day they get on the freeway. Lastly, this film is for the car owner who keeps their vehicle longer than 5 years and is concerned about maintaining the vehicles resale value at high blue book.

When shopping around for an installer, look for a company with experience. Good work is never cheap and cheap work is never good. Anyone can buy the film. The quality of the job can vary widely and there are a lot of people who try out the industry and find out how difficult it really is. It takes years to become competent with installations. After all, the last thing you want to do is invest lots of money into a new car and then skimp on the quality job. Once the film is professionally installed, it will not require any further maintenance.

On the subject of price, this service is never cheap. The average coverage on the bumper alone can range from $350 to $450. Think of this as an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Most bumper repaints will run into the $600 to $700 range.

What Is Automotive Paint Protection Film?

Paint protection film is a layer of thermoplastic urethane applied to the painted surfaces of an automobile to protect the paint job from chips, splatters, and small abrasions. Is is also commonly used on airplanes, motorcycles, electronic, cell phones and other electronics. Almost all automotive manufacturers have approved the usage of paint protection film on vehicles. It is also commonly referred to as Clear Bra which was the original manufacturer.

It is recommended by manufacturers to entrust the application of the product to certified Vinyl Wrap and Clear Bra professional shops as the installation requires unique skills and techniques to get it to look right and last the life of the film. Many Window Tinting and detail shops also perform the installation.

The primary purpose of Clear Bra is to prevent scuffs, rock chips and other types of vandalism which cause damage to a vehicle's paint and body. It is commonly applied on the front facing portions of cars, trucks, and SUVs. It may also be used on the full body of a vehicle to provide maximum protection for the vehicle's factory paint.

Originally developed for use in military applications, it is now commercially available for public use. The automotive industry took note of the benefits offered by the paint protection film and began applying it to race cars to protect the expensive carbon fiber and fiberglass bodies. Originally the film was thicker and tough to install because the thick film was designed to protect helicopter blades from sand erosion.

The film available on the market today is specifically designed to be flexible and conformable to a vehicle's body. There are many options available in the market with specific types manufactured primarily with the technical capability to offer top level protection and even self-healing capabilities.

Why use Paint Protection Film?

Scratches on brand new or well-maintained vehicles not only destroy the look of your car, truck or SUV, they reduce the resale value. To prevent a car from suffering at the hands of vandalism or road debris, paint protection film is the perfect solution.

Clear Bra has the strength to withstand the hazards on the road such as debris, rocks, sand and cement. It will shield the areas on the vehicle where it is installed and keep the body looking like it did the day you applied the film. Many of the premium films have self-healing properties so the film will heal itself when damaged by scratches and cracks. Another great application is to protect your vehicle from children playing near the car and scratching the paint surface with their toys.

Which Paint Protection Film Brands are the most trusted?

The most reliable brands of paint protection film on the market today are the original Clear Bra, 3M, Suntek, and Xpel. Xpel and 3M are the preferred films used in our shop due to their self-healing properties and industry leading warranties. In addition to full rolls of film, many of these manufacturers offer the DIY enthusiast pre-cut kits that are unique to a vehicle's make, model and year.

Today there is no shortage of cheaply made films imported from places like China and India and sold on sites like eBay and Amazon. Always be wary of any material that does not come from a reputable manufacturer. Cheap paint protection film will not protect your vehicle, and often the cheap adhesives used in this type of material will damage your factory paint when you attempt to remove it.

How is It Applied?

There are many types of installation for paint protection film. Most installers do not have plotters. Therefore they have no choice but to apply the fill directly from the roll and cut the material to length on your vehicle. Reputable installation shops that have invested in plotters use specially designed software to create a pattern for the shape of the panel on which the film is to be installed and have it plotted or cut with precision. A plotter can also be used to modify the cut pattern to fit custom patterns such as aftermarket body kits and bumpers.

A popular installation technique for the DIY customer is a pre-cut kit. A pre-cut kit can be ordered by your vehicle make, model, and year and comes ready to install out of the box. The downside of a pre-cut kit is if you damage one of the sections of material during installation, you'll have to purchase an entirely new kit. Pre-Cut Kits are also not available for any custom parts you have on your vehicle such as an aftermarket bumper, body kit, or spoiler.

When you are looking for a Clear Bra installer, it is imperative to select a reputable shop with good reviews. The installation requires cutting near your car, truck or SUV's paint with razor blades. An impatient or unskilled installer can quickly cause substantial and irreversible damage to your expensive vehicle.

Where can the Film be Applied?

Paint protection film is manufactured to appear practically invisible to the naked eye to maintain the appearance of your vehicle. It can be applied to any area of the car however it is mostly recommended for portions of the car that are susceptible to damage. The most common areas are the side mirrors, front bumper, and hood of your vehicle. Another area that Clear Bra can be used is door edges as they are prone to wear and tear from the constant opening and closing. Protecting door edges offers an excellent shield against chipping and scrapes which often happen in parking lots.

It may also be applied to door handle cups because they get damaged from constant use. The scratches and scrapes can are prevented through the application of an invisible film of Clear Bra on the door handle cups.

How Recruitment Agencies are able to attract Good Recruitment Consultants

While talking and giving consultation to many recruitment agencies bosses, one common problem occurs is that they are having a tough time recruiting recruitment consultants, of course, when they are having a tough time getting “normal” consultants, it is quite impossible to get “good” recruitment consultants.

The main points of this article are:

Does not pay attention to their own branding
Does not seem to have a plan for the future of the potential new consultant
The company size is too small
The office Setup is terrible
Salary offer is not good
Basically, when I reviewed the client company, the operations and the style of management, I realized some common issues that occur that created the “reasons” of not able to attract good recruitment consultants.

Some Critical Reasons Why Recruitment Agencies are not able to attract Good Recruitment Consultants:


1) Does not pay attention to their own branding
Many agencies boss have this simple idea that as long as they have an office, get the clients and candidates, they are in business.

This is absolutely not true because they do not believe or have no idea that branding plays a very important part in attracting good consultants.

In fact, not just the consultants, the clients and candidates also see the “brand” itself to determine whether they want to give you the “business.”


2) Does not seem to have a plan for the future of the potential new consultant
Apparently, the consultant wants to know if they have any future with the company so they will like to know what the career path is if they were to join the company.

But many times, the company does not have a concrete plan for the consultant and hence creating a very blur future for the candidate.


3) The company size is too small
Well, if it is a one-man company, then there is nothing much they could do about it, as it is the limitation in resource available to attract good consultants.

However, this may not be a critical factor as I have helped a company to recruit over 25 new consultants within 2 months that is run by one person and their resources are also very limited.


4) The office Setup is terrible -
The image is very important, if you were to expect a good consultant to join a company whose office is Grade D standard, it does not happen in real life.

You see, if your office is Grade D, you will attract Grade D consultants and vice versa.


5) Salary offer is not good -
If you want to get a good quality consultant, you will need to pay the premium to get them to join you. If their expected salary is too low, usually there will be some problem for them.

Of course, there will be the situation where you may be lucky that you can get someone at a very good salary but most of the time it does not happen.

During my consultation with the clients, I offer the solutions and strategies to get new consultants and how to attract good recruitment consultants like a magnet. 

The journey to attract good consultants is tough for many because they are not able to find their own reasons.

Without good consultants there will poor sales, poor sales mean that the company will not able to last long. It is a problem for many…

Can PPC (Pay-per-click) Really Helps Recruitment Agencies to Get More Clients?

Many recruitment agencies who are at a lost of what to do to ensure that their agencies stays afloat are searching online for marketing methods and strategies to create more sales and business.

Many a time, they will be bombarded with advertisements and articles on pay-per-click advertisement and some of them who are not very sure with this type of advertisement platform yet will venture into it hopping for some magic to happen and sad to say that most of them are not finding great or any returns in their investments in the pay-per-click advertisement platform.

The current more popular pay-per-click advertisement platforms are:

1)      Google Adwords

2)      Facebook  Advertising

3)      Linkedin Ads

4)      Yahoo! Search Marketing (Also know as Overture,formerly under GoTo.com before acquired by Yahoo), updated as of 2018, don't waste time on it, I do not think Yahoo will eventually suvive.

There are still a few other players coming up but the above are more popular and acceptable in the market, overall, regardless of which platform you will be using, the concept is about the same, that is – You will only pay based on per click, regardless of whether the user is potentially a genuine customer or not.

That means you only pay when someone click on your advertisement.

You will have to bid for the top spot usually by the price you are willing to pay, some platform such as Google adword (They have renamed it as Google ads) will also be based on your “quality score” to determine your advertisement placement position and the cost per click.

Determine The Objectives of PPC (Pay-per-click)
Generating Sales

Many times, advertiser has the belief and impression that by placing the advertisement in the Pay-per-click media, they will be able to bring the visitors to their website and convert them into a sales, with this mindset, it is sad to share that most advertisers who are expecting good returns will be in for a big surprise.

In general, most of the advertisers who are looking to generate good sales will not have a great ROI because the cost and the sales generated are usually not good.

As such, many advertisers will face a situation where after placing the advertisement for a while, they will conclude that PPC (Pay-per-click) is not a great platform to generate sales.

Marketing and Branding

If you notice that many players in the PPC are actually BIG players and they are constantly putting their brand name and advertisements in PPC and their agenda usually are to create the awareness to the public so that people will continue to recognize their brand for a long time.

The big players know that by constantly exposing their ads and brands in the internet PPC campaign, they are able to secure a firm market share in the long term, hence even with a huge budget for the PPC campaign and with almost a negative returns, they are very willing to do so because their agenda is very different.

Hence, whether PPC (Pay-per-click) can really help recruitment agencies will really determine by the objectives of the agencies, if they are seeking for a quick sales in a short-term, many will be pretty disappointed but if they were to use it as an awareness and branding perspective, then the rewards will be better in the long term.

In summary, PPC (Pay-per-click) can be great for sales, only and when you know what you are doing.

It is also a great avenue to branding and positions your recruitment agency as more exposure means more people recognized you as a brand. (Provided you have a great brand to be remembered)

In the game of PPC (Pay-per-click), do ensure you know the rules of the game as failure to understand them will lead to wastage of advertisement cost and also a low click-through ratio.

Good luck on your PPC (Pay-per-click) campaign!

An article by Dougles Chan, SEO Singapore Master | Digital Marketing Singapore Guru

Age Should never be the issue when Hiring

Sometime ago, I came across a candidate who was 50+ years old and was looking for a sales job. I felt obligated to interview him, as I always believe that everyone should have an equal chance, but I am not too sure other employers would be open enough to hire someone at that age….

At first glance, he was not very impressive. His beard was not shaved, he wore a shirt that was torn, and my impression towards him was not too good; but something amazing happened when he was describing his job experience….

The atmosphere changed for the better, and I felt so glad to give him the opportunity to prove his worth. As I was rushing to another appointment to meet a client, I told him:

“Sir, (his name was Yuosf) I like what I am seeing in you, and I want to see you in few days at my office again. I want to talk to you further on how I can hire you.”

A few days later, he came into the office, and he was hired. He was 50+ years old, and nobody would give him a chance; but I did, and I am glad I did because I know he will be one of the best salespeople I have ever had.

What was his secret in turning the tables around and getting the job that he really wanted? The keyword is “SINCERITY.”

In his eyes, I saw the burning desire that he really wanted this job and really wanted to prove to someone that he was still worth the value.

If he can do it, I believe anyone can…the only problem is that YOU are the only hurdle. It takes sincerity, passion, and desire to overcome this hurdle and if you have it, the job will be truly yours.

An article by Dougles Chan, Digital Marketing Singapore Guru

If you like to talk to people and make a difference in a person’s life by finding them a job and career, then a recruiter job is one of the most fulfilling occupations one can have. It would be even better for a recruiter to work freelance, so they can enjoy the freedom and still stay employed with pretty decent income.

Being in the recruitment industry for so many years, mentoring and training people to become super recruiters has been a passion and a source of enjoyment for me. In turn, seeing those people enjoying life, family, and financial freedom are the rewards I have achieved for the past few years.

These types of “2-hour” weekly jobs are a highly sought after lifestyle; so much so that many people are discovering that such “jobs” are proving to be somewhat of a dead end.

Anyhow, let me introduce the lifestyle of the “2-Hour Work Week Freelance Recruiter:”

Monday – Use Email marketing to reach 10,000 candidates, asking them if they are looking for a job (5 minutes).

Tuesday – Attend to replies from candidates via e-mails, and filter their CVs based on category. Reply to each of them to arrange a meeting on Skype for personal profiling (20 minutes).

Wednesday – Skype interview and profiling with three candidates (40 minutes).

Thursday – E-mails sent to 20,000 companies regarding the three profiles (5 minutes).

Friday – Attend to replies from companies and arrange interviews for three candidates (50 minutes).

The following week those three cases are closed in just two hours of work.

Total sales generated – Based on a $3,000 salary and charging 100% of the 1st month’s salary, a total of $9,000 is earned.

Total potential sales for the month = $9,000 a week x 4 weeks = $36,000 a month. Commission earned? More than enough to have a very interesting lifestyle…



This is the lifestyle of the Freelance Recruiters that I train and mentor. The difference between this and a normal consultant is that the Freelance Recruiter’s “style” is different, their approach is different, there is no visiting of clients, and no asking for job orders or even job descriptions.

Such an approach is not being used in any recruitment agency simply because it does not exist. They either do not know how to do so, or they do not have the technology and database for it.

Many people, even with the database and the technology, are still not able to “copy” what I have taught the “Elites” because they do not have that X factor. The X factor is defined as: eliminating fears with a strong belief, a strong gut feeling, and the ability to adapt to ultimate openness in anything I showed to them.

Success is not about copying; it is about innovation. One method used only works in the first round. If it is used in the second round, people will get used to it, and by the third round it will become stale. This is why many formulas out there do not work after some time.

I train people how to adapt, change, and innovate. Using the “2-hour work week” concept, one can enjoy the lifestyle of having time with your family, enjoying life, and achieving personal financial freedom.