Motor Vehicle Maintenance & Repair Stack Exchange
Motor Vehicle Maintenance & Repair Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [body]

The part of the vehicle which surrounds and encapsulates the drive train and occupants. Is usually made out of metal, such as steel or aluminum, but can be made of fiberglass or even plastic. Can be referred to as the "skin" of the vehicle.

Materials used to create bodies include but are not limited to various metal allows, plastic, fiberglass and carbon fiber. The body often has properties of safety, aerodynamics, insulation and sound proofing incorporated into it.

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Do I really need to wash the outside of my car?

Some people say they wash the outside car every week as it makes the paint nice etc Are there any benefits of washing the outside of my car? Do I really need to wash the exterior of my car every week? Does it damage my car if I don't wash it for a…
George
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How should I remove a paint scuff on my vehicle?

The painted edge of a side mirror on another car recently scraped the side of my vehicle, leaving a scuff of paint about half a meter long. There is no indentation or scratch, but the other vehicle left its mark behind in a very difficult-to-remove…
JYelton
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What are the pros and cons of fiberglass body?

Fiberglass is a prominent material for building boats. It's well-tested and durable. Over the years, there have been few attempts to adopt fiberglass as in automotive industry: Glasspar G2 - a 1950 car with all-fiberglass body Chevrolet Corvette…
Koder
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How should I remove stickers or pinstripe decals from paint?

I want to remove a dealer's sticker from my car. The sticker is on a painted surface. What is the best way to do it? Could I remove pinstripe decals in the same way?
William Cline
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What is an "A pillar"?

I hear the term thrown around a lot about the A pillar or B pillar ... What are these and of what importance are they? Are there any other pillars in a vehicle? Do all vehicles have all the pillars?
Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2
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How to prevent body damage and rust from salted roadways?

I bought a used 2001 Toyota Camry this past summer. Overall it's in great shape, and I presently see no rust. Living in Wisconsin, we use salt pretty liberally to deal with snowy and icy roadways. My last car, a '97 minivan used exclusively in…
Robbie
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What can be used to protect the under-carriage of a hot rod?

With a sand blasted cab and bed I am looking for a solution to protect the metal body of a C10 hot rod on air ride. I have looked into possibly rhino lining the under side of the bed and cab but I wanted to know if there is another solution since I…
Hᴇʀʙɪᴇ
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Paint peeling around body filled area 6 months on

I sanded and filled a dent in my cars plastic/foam bumper, applied primer and factory matched auto paint. This worked and look fine for about 6 months. Today I noticed the paint around where the filler is is beginning to crack and peel. Would anyone…
MeltingDog
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How much protection do grill guards give?

My wife was just rear-ended by some woman who was "tired" (her claim—in fact she was more probably texting) and not paying attention. This did a lot of damage to the rear end of our Honda Pilot. This is the third accident my wife has been in in a…
iconoclast
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What clean, non-sticky lubricant can I use for door hinges?

I cleaned the hinges of my doors and tailgate, the grease had attracted all sorts of dirt and turned black, tar-like and abrasive (metal shiny when I wiped the stuff off). I used a toothbrush, WD-40 and then Simplegreen and now the hinges are…
Blackbeagle
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Why did my clear coat turn out matte instead of glossy, and how can I fix it?

A while back I fixed up some rust spots on stone kicks on my hood, and ended up repainting my whole hood to cover them up after grinding/puttying/priming. I got custom matching spray paint made and used that to paint to hood, and then covered it…
Pedram
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What does "Chopped & Channeled" mean?

"Chopped & Channeled" is another term I have come across in the hotrodding scene. What does it mean? What is the purpose of applying these modifications to your vehicle? Are there any negative effects? Must a vehicle have certain requirements to…
Jonathan Musso
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Subaru Forester Power Tailgate won't open

When I press the power tailgate button to open the tailgate, it beeps 3 times quickly (and does not open). Same behavior when trying to close the gate using the button on the bottom (3 beeps, doesn't close) Workaround is to press the release for a…
BadPirate
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What are the protrusions on a front-end bra for?

Every now and then I come across a car that has parts of its front covered in a leather-like tissue. Finally, I have learned that these things are called front-end bra or front-end cover. The linked Wikipedia article also has some discussion about…
Benedikt Bauer
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How can you prevent the frame and undercarriage on your car from rusting?

I drove a '97 Subaru Legacy for many years and that thing got over 280,000 miles and was still running smooth before rust finally killed it. The frame started rusting away; there was a hole straight through to the trunk interior from the outside. It…
temporary_user_name
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