Fixing your Honda Rust

Appearance, Paint & Body Work
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By mage182
- Mon Apr 30, 2007 2:59 am #6928 Hey guys. quick quick question. What are you using the seal the inner fender to the outer one? I know u can spray undercoating from the inside to seal it but what about the outside? Is everyone spot welding the seam? And what are you using the seal the gap? thanks.
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By teal_dx
- Mon Apr 30, 2007 12:51 pm #6944 I used an automotive adhesive to bond them. It's made by 3M and it is like a thick black calk. I wore rubber gloves and spread it along the seam with my finger. Not sure if this is the 100% correct way to do it or not though.

By rhd dc2
- Mon Jul 09, 2007 7:47 am #13565 hey guys, I found this link on H-T and I think this is the best write-up I've seen in a long time. I just picked up a hatch for $390 and it came with new 1/4 panels.. I was going to start today but didnt want to rush it.

I have a couple of quick questions....

1. how long did it take to do each side. I dont own a garage so everything will be done outside, I dont want to have to leave it all cut up overnight

2. I have rot that extends along the bottom of the quarter all the way into the door sill. any suggestions on how to fix that? ( I'll post a picture in the morning)

3. instead of welding the whole panel, could I just tack say every 6 inches and seam seal from the inside and bondo the outside?? or will this just cause the same problem down the road?

heres a general picture of the car, you can see the terrible bondo job that was done, and sort of see the rust at the bottom

Image
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By teal_dx
- Mon Jul 09, 2007 1:07 pm #13575 Some people will say that adhesive is just is good as welding, adhesives have come a long way. I still trust a weld better though. With the amount of work you have on hand, there's no way you'll get it done in a day. Maybe a weekend if you have everything you need and you work a lot. Well I shouldn't say it's impossible to do it in one day, you might have more bodywork experience then I do. If you have the same 1/4 panels that I did, then they aren't going to solve the problem on the bottom of the side panel. If your rust has spread up that far from the bottom, then chances are the area behind your plastic side skirts is toast. The rust begins behind the sideskirts and works its way up. I was able to fabricate the pieces for behind the side skirts, they didn't have to be perfect because nobody would see that area. But for the average joe to fabricate a piece for tle lower part of the side panel will be tough to match the curves and get it to look perfect. Once you start removing the crapy bondo job, you'll see that it is worse than you might have thought.
Lets see the rest of the pics to get a better idea, but I would plan on buying a tarp if you are going to be leaving the car outside.
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By teal_dx
- Fri Jul 13, 2007 3:18 am #14101 That's pretty bad, I don't know if it is able to be saved at the point where it is eating up the door jambs. After so much corrosion in that area, the structural rigidness of the car comes into question. I hate to say it, but it would probably be worth your time to start looking for another hatch and swap any aftermarket parts over to it. You need to figure how much time and $$ you would put into yours to get it back to normal. Then add some because rust is always worse than it looks from the outside once you get started. And then there's still the chance it can return.
The only reason I would attempt that was if I had good experience in body work, all the tools and a welder, and had the hook up for a paint job. Then it might be worth the time & money. You'll definitely have to do some fabricating and unlike my fabricating, yours is on the surface of the car where it will be seen so it needs to be perfect.
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By Ej2-B16a
- Tue Oct 30, 2007 6:17 am #27976 dude.. :thumb: thats all i can say..

By Joshsayswhatt
- Wed Jan 07, 2009 5:58 am #87322 I really need to do this to my driver side. It was hit before I got it and below the gas tank lid back to the tail light and down from there to the wheel ( like a triangle portion ) is missing in my quarter panel. What do I need to put a new one on. Will an arc welder do the job? I have a grinder, will a regular metal cutting bit work? And lastly about how long would it take to replace just one side?
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By teal_dx
- Wed Jan 07, 2009 2:24 pm #87348 an arc welder is heavy duty, a mig would be ideal. not sure how much damage there is or how you work, it could take a while.

Maybe try to do one side as a weekend project, and paint it the next weekend?
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By hatchie
- Tue Feb 03, 2009 11:21 pm #94031 nah the adehsive stuff still sucks stick to a welder cuz the adhesive after being through hot and cold a couple times it starts to crack and show through again i took two years of collision repair and we shaved the handles on a car and the handles are popping out now and that crap was expensive! i go with welder like he said

By REDCIVICOUPE
- Sat Apr 18, 2009 12:34 am #111368 was it you that made the Shape of the wheel or you bought a panel for the car would it be possilbe just with sheet metal on the outside ? i was suposed to pay a body shop to do it but there charging me about 1700$ and i find thats way to much help thx
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By 92egdxhatch
- Sat Apr 18, 2009 2:58 am #111391 any body else have rust up in the roof by the spoiler?
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By Dubcity-EG
- Sun Jun 07, 2009 3:38 am #121127 I used an adhesive called Lord Fusor specially made for putting on quarter panels. GM actually uses it. Its a tube of 2 different things: adhesive and hardener. You put it in the gun (you have to buy the gun with it) and then the tip of the tube mixes it together and it comes out mixed and easy to apply. I pre drilled holes through both panels applied the adhesive to the back of the panel then put screws in tight to pull it against the car. Then instead of removing the screws i ground the tops of so they were almost flush with the panel. You then put on fiber glass and then finish it off with bondo or whatever body filler you want. mine is very strong and i have no problems with it. I would highly suggest this method over welding, It is a lot easier, you have no chance of warping or burning through the metal. Though it does cost about 45 bucks i thought it was well worth it.

By midnight
- Mon Nov 16, 2009 4:58 pm #156810 awesome write up...glad i found the thread as I will be doing this soon!

where did ya find the panels?

By mxracer84
- Mon Dec 21, 2009 7:57 pm #163206 Teal after you welded your quarters on did you put body sealer on them then body fill on top of that ?
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