How to deal with rust spot?

I have a 94 Accord with only 54K miles, but have one rust spot near
the passenger side rear wheel well. Actually, it's right above the
seam that runs horizontally back from the wheel well. I don't know
what the names of the panels are, but the lower one has the side
rear relector, and the upper one has the fuel tank door on the
driver side. In fact, if the fuel door was on the passenger side,
the rust would be directly below the middle of it, beginning about
an inch back from the wheel well. There was a parking lot ding
there some years ago. The rusted area is maybe two inches long and
one inch high.

The paint appears to be bubbling up like an orange peel, but it's
still firm. Anyway, I would like to understand what I'm up against
to get this fixed. I assume a body shop is gonna want a couple
hundred bucks to fix it, maybe more. Is there a chance I could get
in there with my Dremel tool, grind everything away, stuff some
Bondo in there, and hit it with touch-up paint, and at least prevent
the rust from spreading? Or is that a foolish idea?

I can't get to the back side of the panel where the rust is, so
whatever I do would need to be done from the outside. I don't know
whether the rust is just on the outside, or has come through from
the inside.

The car only has 54K miles on it, so I need to get this fixed. It
doesn't have to look perfect, but I need to stop the rust from
spreading.

Advice?

 

Seems this is a requirement for older Hondas- the rust spot by the rear
wheel. If it's just on the surface you can heavily sand and paint.
It'll never look good as new. You say you "can't get to the back side
of the panel where the rust is" (?) Sounds like it'll need to be cut
out and patched. Not a typical DIY job. I would bring it to a good body
shop- no huge discount chain. 54k miles? Barely broken in.

BTW- hi all. Been busy putting more miles on my bike than my Civic.
Just turned 153k.

 

It's rusting from the inside. You'll never get rid of it now without
spending hundreds of dollars to cut out all the old metal and weld in
new.

You'd spend an awful lot of time fixing it, only to see it bubble back
up again in a year or so. One winter is usually as long as home-type
repairs last.

Live with it. Or sell the car.

 

Tegger says...

Will it continue to spread if I leave it as is? Anything I
can do to keep it from spreading?

Do I cost myself any money trying to fix it myself? In the
end, if it doesn't work wouldn't the body shop just cut out
whatever I had done?

You mean get it fixed professionally or leave it as is?
Getting a new car just isn't something I can do right now.

 

Or.... He could buy a rust free southwest car and swap his good parts
into it.. Gawd, I hate(d) those rust belt winters. Never again!

JT

 

It will keep spreading. There's nothing you can do at this point short
of cutting out *all* the rot, which will mean a large amount of metal
and money.

Yes, and by then the rust will have spread even further. Rust is like an
iceberg: what you can see is only a small part of what's actually
underneath. The longer you leave it, the worse it gets.

A famous rustproofing company in my province has this apt slogan:
"Rust Never Sleeps".

Even a professional repair is problematic: no body shop I know of will
warrant a rust repair.

 

OP seems to be in Oklahoma, based on his traces. Maybe the car was
originally from further north.

 

Which is also the title of a Neil Young album. Who came up with first?

 

Thinking about plying my trade in warmer climes myself. Where are you
at JT?

 

If I was gonna try to do a home repair, I'd probably use one of those
fiberglass repair kits. I hear they work about the best out of the
home remedies besides using new metal. Of course no matter what
you use, if all the rust isn't cut out, it's a waste of time.
It will be bubbling back up within a year.
My accord has the beginnings of this problem. I probably oughta do
something about it before it gets bad. I think the main reason for this

happening is the rear drains get clogged up. Real common.
Every time I hear of rust on an accord, it's always the same place.
They say if you use the fiberglass kits, and do everything right, they
hold up pretty well. I'm not sure how easy it would be to repair that
particular spot though as far as access though.
MK

 

Tegger says...

No. The car has been in Tulsa since I bought it new in
1994. It has 53K miles on it, and is always garaged except
for a couple hours a day (at the gym, and on errands).
Except for this one spot, the car is immaculate, inside and
out, and as far as I can tell, underneath.

We get snow two or three times a year here, and they do use
road salt and sand at those times. But I'm not sure that's
the source of the problem - it seems like I would have seen
it other places on the car in 12 years if that were the
case. And, you know, rust just isn't a frequent problem
on cars here.

But there was a parking lot ding at this spot which I
thought was responsible for the water getting in. But that
wouldn't be true if it's rusting from the inside. I also
can't figure out where the water would be coming from if
it's rusting from the inside.

So the car is hardly a basket case, and I don't think
Oklahoma is officially part of the rust belt. I think it
makes sense to fix it if that's possible because it has lots
of useful life left in it.

The problem I would have working on it myself is that I
don't think I can get behind it. Immediately behind it is
whatever makes up the wheel well. I don't think there's
more than 1/4" separating them at that point. And I think
removing the entire panel would be a major job - it goes
from the rear light assembly, up over both windows and just
past the side-view mirror. I would have no trouble cutting
out whatever needs to be removed. It's just figuring out
how to fill that in when I can't reach around behind it.

Well, I'll take it to a body shop and see what they say.
Maybe also the Honda dealer, just to see if they have any
different view of it.

Thanks for everyone's advice.

 

Oklahoma (especially as you go north) has a substantial amount of snow
and "treatment" on highways. Probably not as bad as your neck of the
woods though. Also, if the car was sold in OK, it stands a good chance
that it was never rust proofed..

JT

(Who has sworn off the rusty stuff for the rest of his time on earth)

 

It's possible that it might be an isolated incident.

Hell, my '83 Civic FE has two bubbling areas on the roof rust forward of
the rubber filled grooves. And this is an original TX car sold in this
area back in '83.

Jack the car up, observe safety rules for using jack stands and poke
around underneath. Bad areas should reveal themselves without a lot of fanfare...

JT

 

I'm in Austin but I would not recommend it for anyone unless they are a
bleeding heart liberal. I'm looking to relocate to the San Antonio
suburbs within a year.

JT

 

Small world. We were thisclose to moving to San Antonio with the wife's
company. Still a possibility. Cheers.