Learn me grassroots rusty quarter fix?

I got a rusty hatchy for a deal today, and I want to slow the rust down as much as possible. Yes, the rust goes all the way through. It took some work but I managed to put the key right through the quarter panel.

This is a budget build, so $1000 worth of quarter panel replacements and body work is out of the question.

I'm hoping to make it look reasonable for at least another couple of years. The car will reside in the south for the rest of it's life, so that should make things better.

Let's hear the ideas.

Can't tell you how to fix it, but I can tell you that the rust probably started as a result water getting by the sunroof seal. Even with clear drains, water will get down into the quarters and rockers. So, if you fix it, get a new seal while you're at it.

That being said, my 89 Civic Si was, by far, the best car I've ever owned. I'm getting all teary-eyed just thinking about it!

Woody wrote: Can't tell you how to fix it, but I can tell you that the rust probably started as a result water getting by the sunroof seal. Even with clear drains, water will get down into the quarters and rockers. So, if you fix it, get a new seal while you're at it. That being said, my 89 Civic Si was, by far, the best car I've ever owned. I'm getting all teary-eyed just thinking about it!

This is my second one, and on the drive home I had the biggest grin on my face. Out of my SR20VE + suspension four door sentra, 240sx with big brakes, and my two 89 Sis, the Si wins hands down.

Thanks for the tip about the sunroof seal.

Grassroots solution? Duct tape, contact paper, spray paint and vinyl graphics, in that order.

Top it off with a GRM sticker, and you're good to go!

I wonder if Honda did the same silly thing Fiat did. On the 124 spider, the rear window drains from the convertable top had their hoses down into the sills.. not through them.. into them. Hence all the rust that starts there,

mad_machine wrote: I wonder if Honda did the same silly thing Fiat did. On the 124 spider, the rear window drains from the convertable top had their hoses down into the sills.. not through them.. into them. Hence all the rust that starts there,

No, the Honda drains went straight to the ground. But, when the seal leaks, the volume can exceed the drains' capacity to handle all the water.

Firestone peel and stick semi cured EPDM roofing flashing (aka PS4020) Basically the same stuff that the Nascar guys use to stick a car together when they damage it. Ive been using the roofing material long before nascar discovered it at endurance races.

It is black, It is very UV stable (it is for roofs after all) and with a little bit of care can actually be made to look ok. I have fixed many a Toyota Camry fender with it.

Here is the Form flashing (conforms to 3d shapes very well but is less UV stable)

http://www.firestonebpco.com/templateFiles/includes/common/displayFile.ashx?fileId=2251

And the regular stuff that is best if you only form it in 2 dimensions

http://www.firestonebpco.com/templateFiles/includes/common/displayFile.ashx?fileId=2245

If you know a local commercial roofing contractor he can set you up with some. FYI a roll of 100 feet is about $150 for the semi cured and 2x that for the form flash so expect to pay a couple three dollars a lineal foot at least. Primers are a great idea but reality is clean the surface well of all dust dirt grease etc. We then wipe it with unleaded gas or you can use paint thinner. We use to do this for roofs but the manufacturers discovered that they could mandate the use of there primers and make more $$$. You could get the manufacturers primer but they cost $$$$ and are not really needed for this application (you are not getting a roofing warranty.) But if the roofer offers take some but be mindful that these are commercial products that deserve some respect when being handled. The primer is like napalm in both consistency and how it sticks and burns and the fumes will get you high as a kite at the expense of many brain cells. SO BE CARFUL!!!

If you can not get some of the Peel and stick membrane I have access to it and could mail you it.

A 4th Gen Civic with rust around the rear wheel arches...weird. You never see that.

My temp work was always to cut away the rust and fit new metal from Lowes. I bend the edge of the clean metal inwards, and then pop-rivet the new metal into place. Just bend it and hammer it with some hand tools. Then cover it up with mouse-fur or bondo or silly putty or whatever.

Fiberglass repair kits can also be useful for covering a large hole. It won't stick to rusty metal, but clean it up and put the glass on both sides of the hole.

pinchvalve wrote: A 4th Gen Civic with rust around the rear wheel arches...weird. You never see that. My temp work was always to cut away the rust and fit new metal from Lowes. I bend the edge of the clean metal inwards, and then pop-rivet the new metal into place. Just bend it and hammer it with some hand tools. Then cover it up with mouse-fur or bondo or silly putty or whatever. Fiberglass repair kits can also be useful for covering a large hole. It won't stick to rusty metal, but clean it up and put the glass on both sides of the hole.

Is there a way to work rivets into the body work so it looks relatively seamless?

I'm loving the roofing idea.

sell it for what you bought it for and buy a $1200 one with slightly less rust?

I went very ghetto on mine:

Kept grinding and the hole kept getting bigger. Ended up JB welding a piece of aluminum to the back of the sheetmetal. Bondo'd over it w/ Bondoglas, primed and painted. I didn't take shots of the finished product, but it came out OK. I left some harsh masking lines, but whatever--it's my beater.

Go to the local U-pull it with a sawzall and hunt for a rust free EF?

Rust Never Sleeps.....

Neil Young - hey hey, my my

The tab for holding up my bumper is gone on both sides. The other side looks identical.

I found this site, check out "the honda patch." http://www.civicdutyparts.com/products.asp

If I cut out the rest of the metal I could use a "honda patch" to patch my... honda. I need to come up with a way to mount my bumper though...

What do you think of this approach?

That is brilliant.

A cheap way to breathe life into old Hondas.

The thing that seems so perfect to me is there is no way for rust to come through that panel... I'm gonna take off my bumper today and see if there is a way I can mount an L bracket or even a ziptie to hold my bumper in place with just the honda patch.

The makers of the "Honda patch" are working on a "new Q" (CF replacement quarter panel) for your Civic, less than $300 for both sides. Maybe drill a hole, zip tie the bumper on and wait for those?

The real grassroots method is to ignore it.

If you're determined to stop it, rusty metal primer. Then you can fancy and slather some black paint on it.

Black duct tape blends nicely, and gives you a nice looking patch it you cut it square.

Pop rivets and a nicely cut piece of aluminum for a patch gives it an aircraft repair panel look.

Brass screws and a rusty hunk of metal give it a steam punk look.

Holy zombie thread!

I've repaired at least a half dozen Civic's and CRX's with this kind of rust, not to mention several Accords. I'll admit I didn't read the responses above, but I can tell you that grassroots fixes only last a short time. Also, the rockers on these cars are an important structural member (don't ask me how I know.), and really need to be repaired correctly. The repair panels are not that expensive, so my advice would be to just get them and do it the right way.

Zombie canoe resurrection, but it made me look at some Civic Si goodness on Craigslist. It's amazing how hard they are to find non-molested. Almost every single one of them has been screwed up badly.

dculberson wrote: Zombie canoe resurrection, but it made me look at some Civic Si goodness on Craigslist. It's amazing how hard they are to find non-molested. Almost every single one of them has been screwed up badly.

THIS. Been looking at CRXs as possible winter beaters. All total rust buckets, rice rockets, or both.

BTW, I know this is a zombie post, but this site has many patch panels available that are apparently made in Denmark. Lots of good stuff cheap including for Miatas, Civics, and even obscure cars like the Mazda 323 GTX and Merkur XR4Ti!

http://www.fixmyrust.com/

Seems like you could just make a sheet metal stamp for your car and then just sell little rust patches

For almost the price of one patch and shipping, buy an $89 flux wire MIG from HF, go to your local metal distributor and buy some cast-off sheet metal for $10, cut and bend replacement panels or local JY and cut out section you want, weld, grind, bondo/fill, sand/smooth. Makes a fun project...