Are you ready for your next project? I promise this one is easy, and boy will you like the end result. How is your garage door opener? If you are like me, you don’t care about it much until it doesn’t work, or is making lots of noise. So let’s make it like new again. Clean the track with paint thinner. Now you have to have ventilation when you use the paint thinner, especially if your water heater is in the garage, and it’s a gas one- so leave the garage door open about 12” from the floor. By closing the garage door, you can clean the top track. The paint thinner will not only clean out the dirt and grease, but when it evaporates it will leave it dry. Now we want to lubricate the clean track with Tri-Flo. This product is not a grease or oil, it is a spray teflon. And the nice part about that is it will not attract dust or dirt like other sprays. Tri-Flo is like liquid ball bearings in a can. While the door is still in a down position (still 12” from the floor) clean the rollers with the paint thinner. An old paint brush is great for cleaning the rollers. Now we are ready to clean and lube the side tracks. Raise the door. Clean them just like you did the top rack. Spray with Tri-Flo. All of this should take 20 minutes. And you will be shocked how quiet your opener will be, plus adding life to the opener.

Now to the e-mail….

Question: I just love, love, love your column. I have a fountain recently purchased that cracked on the tub holding the water at the bottom. I am not exactly sure of the material of the fountain. But I think it is fiberglass. My husband put some silicone on the inside of the tub, but this did not repair the leak. I have read your column about the product Through the Roof and wondered it this would be the right product to use. Even though the product is for roofs, it sounds like it might hold up to the heat and water involved in the fountain and repair the hairline crack.
Answer: First take out the silicone with a product called De-Solv-It contractors solvent. Then repair the crack with a product called Plumbers Goop. Then use the Superior Shield and spray over the whole fountain. Spray it about 3 times. If you can’t find the products locally, check our website www.acmelumber.com. I love, love, love y’all too.

Question: We have a grease stain on our flagstone patio that has been impossible to remove. We have tried a paste of talcum powder and acetone as well as a StoneTech product. Neither has worked. The stain is under our ceiling fan and we think it is coming from there. Do you have any suggestions?
Answer: The Old Time Hunter ceiling fans needed to have a drop of oil every 2-5 years and someone might have put too much oil in the fan motor. Well that’s my guess. Try and stick some pipe cleaners in the motor and that should suck out the excess oil. The best product to pull up the oil would be Drive Up. I don’t know if the other products might affect the Drive Up, but I hope not. Put about a ¼” on the oil stain, and leave it alone for an hour, scrub lightly with a broom, and rinse with clear water. It works on everything oil stain I have had, even an old stain.

Question: My dishwasher rack are rusting and dropping rust on my dishes. I have a Whirlpool and I have heard that buying the racks, is like buying a new dishwasher. I don’t want that. Do you have any ideas?
Answer: Can you live with out your dishwasher for a week? If so, then we can take care of the racks. Remove the racks, and sand the areas that are rusty. Spray the rusty areas with Rust Cure. In an hour, wipe off the oily residue. Then wait a week for the Rust Cure to cure. It will turn a gun metal grey and will never rust again. How is that for an easy fix?

Now to the e-mail….

Question: A year or so ago we bought the NoSlip product for out tub and have been well pleased. It’s time to buy again, and I can’t find it on the web. Help would be appreciated.
Answer: It’s a special product that I write about and it is on our web site, it’s called Grip On. It will make ceramic tile and your porcelain tub non slip. Also it makes the tub easier to clean.

Question: I was interested in the clear product seal called MD referred to in your article. But what does MD stand for?
Answer: Ask any hardware store, and they will tell you, Macklanburg Duncan.

Question: My house is about 6 years old. Part of the roof looks like it has streaks on it. The roof is black. What can on do to get rid of the streaks? Can one pressure wash a roof?
Answer: Please no pressure washer on the roof. You might loose the shingles. Just use a product called JoMax and here is how you use it. One pt of JoMax to 3 pts of Clorox and fill the rest of a 2 gal pump up sprayer with water. Apply it to the roof. It will not hurt grass or shrubs. Clean a small area at a time, and then rinse with clear water. Be careful about getting on the roof, the Happy Handy Man stays on the ground now.

Question: I enjoy your column so much and have tried many of the products that you endorse with much success. We have flagstone around our pool and with the drought conditions that we have been having in Texas, I have noticed some cracks in the flagstone. Is there a product like Quikcrete that I can use on flagstone?
Answer: Yes, and it’s called Mor-Flex. It comes in the mortar colors and cleans up with soap and water.

Question: Regarding your column suggesting the use of a product for window tinting called “ClingView”, and I can not find it on the web. I went the Gila website, but they did not have ClingView. Any help you can provide would be great.
Answer: It is sometimes called Peel and Cling. There # is 800-528-4481.

Question: You wrote an article about a product to use on spacers on the driveway. You said you found a new self leveling sealant made by Quikcrete, but you never gave the name or where to buy it-help.
Answer: Sorry about that, it is called Quikcrete Polyurethane Sealant and it comes in a caulking tube.

Got a question for Johnnie? Tune in to Johnnie's radio show Saturday mornings on KKYX from 11-12 or call (21) 341-1573. Reach him on the web at www.AcmeLumber.com.