Category: Auto Body Blog

Often times, when you wash your car, the bugs that have gathered on your windshield are the most stubborn part of the job. Thick wads of insect guts don’t respond easily to a bit of soap and a squeegee. When you find yourself struggling with bug stains, try one of the following solutions:

A bit of undiluted car wash solution may serve well to pre-treat the stain before washing your car.
Mix three tablespoons of a common household cleaner with a quart of hot water. The hotter the water, the better, but don’t use anything that is too hot for you to comfortably handle.
Soak a rag in extra virgin olive oil, then rub it into the stain with a circular motion. This is an effective method, but you will need to wash the oil away with soap afterward.
Mix baking soda with water so that it forms a paste. Apply this paste with a paper towel or disposable rag, then allow it to dry over the stain before washing it away with hot water.
For particularly tough stains, a degreaser may be in order.

When your car’s problems go beyond simple stains, bring it to our auto body shop in Seattle.

When you take your car off of the comfort of pavement to drive along a gravel road, you’re going to notice a significant difference. You sacrifice traction, which is going to affect both your speed and handling. It is best to slow down significantly when you first start driving on gravel to get a sense of your reduced capabilities, and to avoid throwing up rocks to damage vehicles behind you. If you know that you’re going to be driving on gravel, you can also benefit from checking your tire pressure; pressure that is either too high or too low is going to compromise your ability to drive.

Should the worst happen, bring your vehicle down to our Seattle auto body shop for all of your collision repair needs.

When you puncture your tire, that’s not necessarily the end of it. Certain holes can be repaired without you needing to buy a whole new tire. As a general rule, you can only expect to repair a puncture in the tread area that is no more than a quarter of an inch in diameter.

There are DIY repair kits available, but you shouldn’t rely on these for too long. Though they can get you out of a jam, like a spare tire, they’re no substitute for a proper tire. A puncture can only be fully repaired by removing the tire from the wheel and applying a patch to the inner liner. Consult our Seattle auto body shop for more on vehicular repairs.

Car batteries represent one of the big success stories in the recycling world. Though they contain toxic materials, including lead and battery acid, these materials are highly recyclable. Today, lead acid car batteries are the most widely recycled consumer product, with over 98% of all such batteries making their way back into the manufacturers’ hands. This is well over the 55% of aluminum cans, the 45% of newspapers, and the 26% of glass bottles.

When your own car battery can no longer support a charge, be sure to dispose of it with a proper lead acid battery recycler. And, if your car should struggle with any other body or engine problems, bring it in to our auto body shop in Seattle for quick and reliable repairs.

Are you smelling a musty odor when you drive your vehicle? Is your climate control system not working like it used to? It’s possible that you need to change your cabin air filter. This filter cleans the air entering your cabin, removing bacteria, dust, allergens, and exhaust gases. A failure to maintain a clean cabin air filter could be subjecting you and your passengers to high levels of contaminants.

It is generally recommended that you change your filter every 12,000 to 15,000 miles, depending on your particular vehicle. Check your owner’s manual for more information. If you require any further help with car maintenance, contact our auto body shop in Seattle.