I embrace my messiness and just go for it 
jglass wrote:My old car stays messed up with something lol. The connections on the battery are getting gunk on them more often which cause the thing not to start. It is going to have to have a new battery soon.
A few drops of oil on your battery terminals will keep the post and wiring free of most of that build up. Should keep it from losing the connection. It won't restore a battery that's past it's prime though.
>>battery terminal corrosion
as you can guess - the battery has acid in it. fumes (and hopefully not liquid) attack the metal - and you get the gunk on the cable end, on the typically lead terminal post you'll often see a whitish buildup.
a good mechanical cleaning (wire brush - especially on the posts - auto stores sell specialty brushes for the job) is needed to first get it clean. then I use a bowl of water with 2-3 Tbls baking soda to dip the cable ends - foams like crazy as the soda&acid react & neutralize each other - followed by a good fresh water rinse. auto stores also have felt washers you can put under the cable connection with (I don't know what...) in them that will keep the corrosion at bay for quite some time.
in my years playing Mr. Fixit under the hood I've found once corrosion sets in, you need to take a more aggressive approach or it just keeps coming back every month or two.
hope that helps.
as you can guess - the battery has acid in it. fumes (and hopefully not liquid) attack the metal - and you get the gunk on the cable end, on the typically lead terminal post you'll often see a whitish buildup.
a good mechanical cleaning (wire brush - especially on the posts - auto stores sell specialty brushes for the job) is needed to first get it clean. then I use a bowl of water with 2-3 Tbls baking soda to dip the cable ends - foams like crazy as the soda&acid react & neutralize each other - followed by a good fresh water rinse. auto stores also have felt washers you can put under the cable connection with (I don't know what...) in them that will keep the corrosion at bay for quite some time.
in my years playing Mr. Fixit under the hood I've found once corrosion sets in, you need to take a more aggressive approach or it just keeps coming back every month or two.
hope that helps.