Body rust, suggestions?

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k24a4

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I recently found this on my '04 Accord:

IMG231.jpg


IMG232.jpg


Driver side rear wheel well, all other wheel wells are fine, only rust on the car. I wash and wax often; the paint is in excellent condition aside from this.

The inner lip was deformed from the factory and I think the paint was compromised from that point forward. I would like to fix it before it becomes a bigger issue and was thinking of the por15 starter kit:

4 oz. can of POR-15®
8 oz. PREP & READYTM
8 oz. MARINE CLEANTM
(2) Paint brushes
(1) Pair of latex gloves
Instructions

Any other suggestions?
 
Only real solution is to cut it out, weld new metal in, rustproof behind and paint the exterior edge to edge on the panel. The outer bubbles might be passivated by a quality POR job, but those fender lip spots will be impossible.
 
They dont look bad enough for new metal to me at all.You will have to get it to bare metal in those areas a 3M stripper wheel would work best.If you have no holes your good if you have a small hole use metal prep on all areasthen USC all metal on small hole if there is one. Then a self etching primer.You can use touch up paint and blend the panel if you have experience.I would undercoat the backside of these areas after your done to help make the repair last.If you have those issues they are more than likely in other areas or will be soon.You have to get the area to bare metal POR or whatever is not a good idea in my opinion.The fender well spots are the easiest because nobody is going to see them and they are only just starting.The quarter panel and painting the area and getting it to look right is the biggest challenge.
 
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You could sand away the blistered paint. Treat the rust with Por-15 or other treatment. Then apply aftermarket wheel well moldings/flares to cover the areas.
 
Get to bare metal, etching primer and paint. You should get to a point where there is no rust and then POR isn't necessary. I would be surprised if you needed to add any metal, it looks like you could sand those down and have plenty of metal... but I'm surprised all the time.
 
You first need to consider you have a 10 year old car. How long do you want to keep it. Isn't it one of the years where the transmission grenades?

If you want to keep it you need to CarWell, Krown or FF the entire car.

Then deal with the rust you have found.

Replacing the metal is the only permanent fix.

Keep in mind POR (great stuff) produces a super hard shell over the rust. You can paint over it, but not sand then paint.

Eastwood Rust Encapsulator is similar and Loctite Extend is also similar.

With POR or Rust Encapsulator you need to treat the rust first with naval jelly.
 
POR15 comes in a silver color that would be REAL close to the color of your car.

I have done a lot of work like this on my truck....and used POR. And the results have been great.

Here is what I'd do:
Remove that bubble. Use a screw driver and gently remove the bubbled paint. Try not to scratch around it. Maybe mask it off if that helps you. Use a wire brush and clean the rust metal underneath. If there is no hole, treat with the prep solution (this is basically zinc oxide dissolved in phosphoric acid). Treat it several times AFTER you've removed as much flaky material as you can. Then rise the heck out of it with water and let try.

Then paint the POR15 onto it with a small brush. The paint gets real hard, like an epoxy almost. Make sure you use a fine brush and get it into every nook and cranny of that rusty material to "seal it all up.". It might match well enough that you barely notice it if you get the Silver POR15 paint.

Now, if you have holes through the metal OR if the pit is far too deep, I've had GREAT success using Marine Epoxy Putty (found almost anywhere). When the POR15 paint is dry, you need the 2-part epoxy together and smear/rub it into the dimple or holy spot . Keep a small container of water handy. You gotta work fast, because once you start kneeding it together, you got about 15 minutes until it cures.

Once you have the epoxy filling the hole to your satisfaction, wet your pointer finger or thumb and smooth out the epoxy. It will have all kind of waves and your finger prints in it from you needing it into the whole. Your wet finger will enable you to smooth all that out.

Then you can use POR15 over the epoxy if you want (if it's close enough of a match), or you can get some matching Duplicolor from NAPA or most auto part store and blend it in.

That's the method I've used and it's worked great.
 
All excellent recommendations.

You could put a ton of effort into it to slow the process, but it will come back. It's always worth it IMO.
 
I've got the same problem on my '99 Altima, but my rust is much more prevalent (multiple areas including the rocker panels and more rust than you have). I'll wait for the weather to get better before I tackle the issue.

I'd love to get another 10 years out of the car, but I'm not sure the body will hold up.
 
Man, this is a great forum. Thanks to each and all for your suggestions so far. I appreciate it.

A few more details: the bubbled paint was the most recent to appear, while the line of rust on the inner fender has been there for some time. My guess is the rust is seeding from behind the flare, or opposite the painted fender lip. If so, how might this area be approached?


Originally Posted By: Donald
You first need to consider you have a 10 year old car. How long do you want to keep it. Isn't it one of the years where the transmission grenades?


I hope to keep it until the wheels fall off; it runs and drives great. Fortunately, this car has a manual transmission (Save the MT's!). The transmission issues affected the previous 6th gen Accord, 1998-2002, not this generation Accord, and the combinations affected were more often than not the V6 with Auto.

Just like practicing preventative maintenance, my hope is to catch this early before it becomes a bigger problem.


Originally Posted By: Phishin
POR15 comes in a silver color that would be REAL close to the color of your car.

I have done a lot of work like this on my truck....and used POR. And the results have been great.

Here is what I'd do:
Remove that bubble....


Your post will be a reference when I attack this issue in the coming weeks/months. Thank-you for the step-by-step and details, Phishin.

BTW, I grew up in Lewis County, near the Tug Hill Plateau. Funny seeing all those Windmills up there now.
 
When you grind the spot on the panel it you may end up with a huge hole.
It is rusted from inside out.

I did a Subaru with a spot about that big and ended up rebuilding the entire inner fender well and about an 8 inch hole in the quarter. be prepared for anything when it comes to rust.
If you can see it its really got a hold inside.

once its ground down jab it with a screwdriver and don't be shocked at how far it goes.
Not saying it will but it happens all the time.

The lip needs sand blasting down to bare metal to do it right, the other spot cut out and mig/tig welded.
 
Originally Posted By: Phishin
POR15 comes in a silver color that would be REAL close to the color of your car..


Last I checked, Poe needs to be topcoated due to uv sensitivity.
 
Originally Posted By: JTK
All excellent recommendations.

You could put a ton of effort into it to slow the process, but it will come back. It's always worth it IMO.


Yes, this seems to be the consensus and the reason why Auto Body shops don't warranty rust work. I want to slow it down and keep it from becoming a bigger issue. But I harbor no illusions that it will disappear outright.

Originally Posted By: Samuraidog
I've got the same problem on my '99 Altima, but my rust is much more prevalent (multiple areas including the rocker panels and more rust than you have). I'll wait for the weather to get better before I tackle the issue.

I'd love to get another 10 years out of the car, but I'm not sure the body will hold up.


That is a noble goal and I wish you luck. My '93 Miata has the notorious rocker panel rust. Seems the only approach there is to cut and weld, but I have experience in neither. Summer '13 is looking to be the Summer of Body work.
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
When you grind the spot on the panel it you may end up with a huge hole.
It is rusted from inside out.

I did a Subaru with a spot about that big and ended up rebuilding the entire inner fender well and about an 8 inch hole in the quarter. be prepared for anything when it comes to rust.
If you can see it its really got a hold inside.

once its ground down jab it with a screwdriver and don't be shocked at how far it goes.
Not saying it will but it happens all the time.

The lip needs sand blasting down to bare metal to do it right, the other spot cut out and mig/tig welded.


You do this kind of work? Maybe I'll pm you for a quote if you do.
The sandblasting would be done with something like this?:

http://www.harborfreight.com/20-lb-pressurized-abrasive-blaster-68994.html
 
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I use to do a lot of this work but now mostly for myself and helping friends out.
If it turns out to be bigger than you thought PM me, i can probably help you out as a side job on a weekend.

You don't need a blaster that big for this small stuff. It will work fine but a small siphon unit in a bucket of play sand will do this okay and only cost a few bucks.
 
Wheel well rust and dog leg rust with a seam like that are rusting from the inside out.

A neighbor of mine has that generation Accord and it was hit in that area. There are two pieces of metal on top of each other with some sort of bonding agent.

Looks like the bonding agent inbetween attracts moisture and causes it to rust from the inside out.

Unfortunately, it's going to be a lot worse than it looks.

DO NOT USE BONDO - I didn't see it suggested, but don't. It's going to attract more moisture and rust it quicker.
 
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