Before you toss those zip tie scraps in the trash, consider saving them for plastic repair jobs. In many cases, the plastic used in zip ties will bond with common automotive plastics with the help of a soldering iron.

Let’s review some of the icons and oddballs we’ve featured here so far.
What does “MIN THK.” really mean?
Don’t waste your time with codebreaking. Just grab a paint pen.
Shop Press is the news and idea hub for everything related to working on cars and trucks, focusing on repair, technology, and wrenching lifestyle. With interesting stories from around the world, features on creative people and solutions, and all kinds of other stuff that’ll make you use your mind and your hands.
Auto care news and advice you can use.
Stop beating your sockets to death.
Inspection of a belt goes beyond the old standbys of checking for cracks and fraying.
On a car with disc brakes, what is the most likely symptom of a vehicle with rotors that measured out-of-spec for thickness variation when measured at several places on the rotor surface?
Peter Meier discusses the importance of testing coolant and how mechanics can use simple strip testers to keep cooling systems safe.
Dorman trainer Pete Meier turned me on to a handy new tool.
Are you a wrench and a writer? A counterperson and a communicator? A service writer and a scribe? Get paid to share your experience and expertise with thousands of Shop Press readers.
Auto care news and advice you can use.
Can independent repair shops benefit by offering mobile service to an increasingly immobile America?
A Master Technician and nationally known trainer joins the Shop Press family. Say hello to Pete Meier!
Female metric square drive plugs were new to me. They might be to you, too.
Each line item confirms it—cheating doesn’t pay.
Ford made a V-8 engine affordable to the mass market consumer for the first time.
Which of the following is LEAST LIKELY to cause an oil leak? Our technicians have the answer.
Spoiler alert: be careful running it through the car wash.
Nick and Lemmy check out a flex plate from an imported Japanese automatic transmission with very few miles under its belt.