Packing all the features we liked before (the cool lantern mode, the easy-clean body) the XL Plus brings with it 2 crucial improvements that we were begging for last time we looked at this product. Firstly, the Plus ships with it’s own battery rather than relying on you to supply the USB power source of your choice. Sure, most outdoor enthusiasts have several battery packs laying around (I know we do!), but still I want to open a product and have everything it needs to work right there in the box! Much more importantly, the Plus now includes 3 additional magnets that allow you to hang the strand in almost any configuration. Let me explain…

The last Luminoodle we got came with two magnets – one on each extreme of its 5ft. This was convenient if you wanted to hang it up, but only if you wanted to do so in a straight line. Now with three additional magnets, each slidable down the length of the strand, allow for some really great applications. Our favorite was in the engine bay of our project car. With this 10ft rope light, we were able to completely surround the engine bay rather than a single directional light source. This made finding parts and adjusting connections a breeze, and is going to quickly become a feature I can’t remember how I lived without it.

The Luminoodle XL Plus picks up where its predecessor left off and runs it all the way to the goal line. This is the perfect trifecta of a great working product, a great looking product, and a great startup company that only you are cool enough to know about. All kudos to the Power Practical team, they are on a run and we can’t wait to see what’s next.

The post The Perfect Outdoor Rope Light appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

Funny name aside, this USB-powered strip of LED lights is set to solve a plethora of outdoor and adventure needs. Encased in waterproof silicone, this 4 1/2″ strip of lights can bend, bunch, tie, and drape its way to lighting just about any conceivable surface or angle. Add in a couple magnets for hanging on car projects or from your porch roof, and you’ve still just scratched the surface of the Luminoodle’s possible uses. Best of all, stuff the whole strip in the included carrying bag and you’ve got yourself a handy lantern. Slick stuff that.

This string of lighted goodness is currently up on Kickstarter – don’t worry, all of Power Practical’s campaigns always meet and exceed their goals – but we got an early hands-on test and put it through it paces. In fact, you’ll notice a certain Porsche Project in the Kickstarter video… We found the Luminoodle to be very bright, tough, and easy to work with. The imbedded magnets made suspending it under the car, or around an axle, an absolute breeze. Best of all, after a dirty night of wrenching, the silicone cover wiped right off and looked good as new.

We are unashamed fans of what the Power Practical team is up to, and this light strip is no different. It is versatile, tough, bright, and fills a need that hasn’t been solved yet. We highly recommend picking one up and getting your noodle on.

The post Power Practical Luminoodle: Let There Be Light appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

What I do know is that Mothers hooked us up with their NuLens Headlight Renewal Kit so we could test it out. I’ve always been pretty skeptical of these kinds of kits ever since they first started appearing a few years ago. But we here at FactoryTwoFour are men of science, so we rounded up an old Honda with beat-up lenses and got to testing.

Our mule is a 2004 CR-V with fairly, but not extremely, faded and scratched lenses. Mothers’ kit is pretty straight forward. You tape off the area to protect the bodywork paint, then attach the spongy buffing dome to a cordless drill. Dribble on a nickel-sized dot of the restoration compound and get buffing. Even if you take it easy with the RPMs, there will be fine compound splatter sent all over. All. Over. Don’t have a nicely washed vintage car parked next to the vehicle you’re working on. Ask me how I now.

I didn’t think the damage or yellowing to the Honda’s headlights were all that bad, so I was surprised when the buffing wheel and compound didn’t make that much of a difference. It looked ever-so-slightly shiny-er, but still very faded. Luckily, the Mothers kit included additional options for “highly-damaged” lights. If our Honda’s lights count as highly damaged, woe be unto you if your headlights are so far gone they look like yellow fog lamps.

For severely scratched lenses, Mothers provides three graduating sanding discs – 800, 1500, and 3000 grit. The process is much the same as the buffing ball, save for now you are wet sanding so now you need to keep a solid film of water on the lens as you sand away all the pits and scratches.

Going from disc to disc, the Honda’s headlights got worse (because now I’m scratching away whole layers of plastic) to just generally hazy all over with the 3000 grit. Now its back to the soft buffing ball to finish off. Did it work?

You know, it actually did. I had my doubts, but after the full restoration process, the lenses were left pretty near perfect and smooth. I definitely and completely recommend picking up the Mothers headlight restoration kit if your headlights are looking a bit yesteryear. All in, both lamps took me about 2 hours, but that included camera set up and testing on different portions of the lens. If you dive right in, you should have new headlights in about an hour. Then your car will look brand new again, and valets will stop pretending their lot is “full.”

The post Do Headlight Restorers Work? Let’s Find Out! appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

Say goodbye to light colored shirts. Yes, I know it’s the summer and you want to wear those pastels but the truth is sweat will show up easily on gray, light blue, red etc. Gray is one of my favorite colors to wear, but in the summer it looks like I smashed two water balloons underneath my arms. I now opt for an indigo t-shirt, which hides the sweat marks perfectly. Other colors that have worked are maroon, army green, and color block shirts where the top block is a darker shade.

Get a high strength antiperspirant. Certain-Dri has been a mainstay in my repertoire of toiletries for the past few years. Before using this product, consult your physician and see if it is right for you. I apply it before bed and I’m good to go the following day. Without getting too graphic, I have noticed I get clogged sweat ducts from time to time which are pretty uncomfortable and resemble a zit you can’t pop. Beauty has its price, as does not looking like swamp monster.

Fun fact: Sweating doesn’t cause the pit stains; it is the aluminum in the antiperspirant. The aluminum is what stops the sweating and is generally harmless because it is in a controlled area, but clothes hate it. I recommend putting on any antiperspirant at night to minimize the pit stain effect. In the morning, apply your deodorant as normal and you’ll be fresh the entire day.

The final step if none of these tips have worked: Botox. That’s right, LA’s favorite age-defying Botox. If you have arrived at this step, consult a professional as I am not an expert on Botox. It is better to hear it from specialist in the field than a guy who gives out fashion advice on the internet.

If you viewed our post on linen, we remind you that a linen shirt is a light layer that will hide the sweat. While these methods can’t stop hyperhidrosis or excessive sweat, they can conceal sweat just enough to provide you that confidence you need. Now you’re ready to head back out into the world with tell-tale rings around your arms and collar. Go forth dry man!

The post Hiding Sweat in the Summer appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.