Hey all,
As my Acura is approaching 13 years old, she has developed several rust spots. What is the best way to go about repairing these spots?
I have experience doing it with my Olds, but I took the fiberglass shortcut and just fiber glassed the whole bottom quarter panel of the car after grinding/cutting/sanding the rust away (since a good sized part of the panel needed to be re-created).
Advice? Recommendations? I’m a big DIY’er so if anyone has done this pass on your knowledge please!!
Thanks all.
Its probably in the vacinity of the rear wheel wells? Your going to have to have the entire portion cut and welded if the rust is anymore than surface rust. Even once you do this itll probably just start in another location if you drive your car in the winter. Pre2001 hondas are all awful like that.
Yea, the passenger rear wheel well almost entirely around, I can’t tell if its surface or really deep yet since I haven’t sanded the paint. There’s also a dime sized spot of surface rust on the drivers 1/4 panel, but I know thats surface and will be easy to take care of. I’m just nervous about the wheel well.
Fiberglass is a big cob job.
If you can see the rust through the paint, its toast. It starts from the back/under the paint and works its way into the metal and out towards the paint.
Only way to properly do it, is to cut the section of the metal out, and weld in a replacement piece.
The next best way to do it is to remove the paint away from the damage and then some (to allow you to feather out your filler for a flat surface). once you grind out the rust it will look like a 13year olds face full of little zits. The little dimples in the metal will hold rust in… which if you just prime over and paint will be back in less than a year. you need to use a chemical to remove the rust and completely clean the metal then etch prime it and go at it from there. Or use a POR15 which chemically changes the rust and seals the panel off. That stuff is crazy, you literally paint it over rust and it will seal it in for ever (well not really but it will not be back for a long time!)
If you remove the paint and the rust already eat through the metal and the back side is rusted too, your completely fucked… get out the nibbler and welder and replace the metal.
Btw if your not a body man, which fiberglassing a rusty rocker def is not… you are biting off more than you can chew. just getting to fresh, unwarped metal is hard to do… let alone proper filler/body work. then painting, blending and clearcoating.
have fun!
Honda cancer FTL
I have poked screwdrivers through little inocent dime sized surface rust spots before… 99% of the time it is not what it looks like on the surface. I will put money on that if you see a dime sized bubble of surface rust, once your remove the paint you will have about a 2 inch + dia circle of effected metal under the paint you cant see from the surface.
Honestly take an awl or a screwdriver and go poke the spots gently. That will tell you if its rusted through or not in 1 second. just dont hit it so hard that if it isnt rusted through that you dimple/dent or distort the panel!
I’ll try the awl when I get out of class, so we’ll know in about 25 minutes if its rusted through or not…
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Definitely surface rust, pushed the awl into the spot a bit and it didn’t even budge. I’ll take a pic later or tomorrow, but the spot is literally less than the size of a dime. Gonna take care of that this weekend most likely so it doesn’t get worse.
As for the wheel well, its as good as gone. Definitely rusted all the way though, the awl easily warped the metal with close to no effort.
Once you fix the problems whos going to spot in the paint and blend it? Which isnt going to be easy on that old of a car. you prolly wont be able to just bring the vin to a paint shope, and shoot what they mix up. you would have to have them put a surface camera on and take a reading and mix the paint based on that. But this isnt a show car so i would say just mix up the paint off the vin and shoot it. then buff the entire car so the new paint doesnt look completely out of place.
Btw they dont make replacement wheel arches for those or hardly any cars for that matter. Usually what we do is buy up a bunch of old cheap SOLID fenders for $5 a pop and use a body gauge to find a section of a old fender that fits the arc close enough and use that for a replacement panel.
Or bust out the english wheel and make one from scratch!
sell it! Buy new one from down south, or just drive it.
Welcome, you own a honda
Yep, hes right.
I have no experience blending paint, the way my situation worked out with the Alero was that a few weeks after we finished the repairs, the car was totaled, so I never figured out the paint situation.
As for this time, I’m not sure yet how I’m going to take care of painting. I have an air compressor, I think it might be worth it to invest in a paint gun set, but I don’t have a lot of experience in painting. Maybe better left for the professionals, but I don’t have the money to do that right now.
I also have minimal experience working metal to car bodies, but I have a lot of past experience with metal work in general. Like I said before I’m a pretty DIY person in general so this should be an interesting experience for me.
Gotta start somewhere though!
Leave it. Wait for the car to rot out and buy a new one :lol
WOW no.
lol
Tottally right
List of tools you need:
Water trap for compressor
HVLP gun with a tip/needle (1.4) for paint, should have a larger tip/needle 1.4.-1.6) for clear & must have a larger 1.8+ for primer or high build primer.
Base coat
reducer/hardner for base
Clear
Catalyst for clear
primer
hardner for primer
mixing cups. or digital scale (have to me mixed dead on btw)
strainers
sanding blocks
cheese grater (rough shaping tool while the filler is still sorta soft)
80-100-120-180-220… up to 320 grit prior to prime.
prime
after prime 400-500 grit
surface cleaner/prep
base coat
flash time
clear coat
buff out orange peel :rofl
angle grinder or air grinder
cut off wheel
gringing wheel
flapper wheel for paint removal
replacement panel or sheet metal
metal working tools
body hammers dies and what not
welder (mig works… flux core WILL NOT work forget that) TIG is better but takes a long time
Rust removal chems, &/or primer/sealer
filler, regulary grey/red bondo blows dick. get the lightweight stuff, or the yellow can stuff.
Body work is an art, and is why it is usually the most expensive repair done to a car. It is the easiest thing to cob job, and make look ok but it wont last. Honestly if you screw up one step above your repair will last a year tops. Everything must be done perfect for a repair to last years and for the untrained eye to not know a repair was ever done.
If your going to tackel it, have the right tools, and a heated clean garage. Ask specific questions and I will help you the best I can. Read up on autobody fourms too there are lots of guides out there.
go to the junk yard, get an old hood. smash it with a hammer and repair it. practice before you try it on something you care about.
Right there says why I will never do body work . FUCK that SHIT!!. I would leave it up to somone that has the skills and is legit to do it
Plus one duke. I dont got patience for that shiz