99ej8
06-20-2010, 12:30 AM
I got really tired of looking at the rust on my $400 beater. I would find water in the hatch after it rained, and the wind noise on the highway was crazy :(
Sooooo.... I started thinking of ways to fix this. First, I read this thread http://civic-eg.com/viewtopic.php?t=24 and thought "Oh shit, I gotta weld on new EVERYTHING." But I took off the sideskirts, and saw that it wasn't rusty at all! So I just decided to fix my quarter panels in the usual cheap way... using copious amounts of bondo. BUT!!!! I took it a step further by making steel patch panels that I attached and sealed to the body. Because I took this extra step instead of just bondo'ing over air, I think that this will last a few years at least.
Step 1. Cut out all bad metal. If you don't want to have future rust, you've gotta do this. It might look bad when all the metal is missing, but it'll save you from future rust issues. Pictures in the next step.
Step 2. Add expanding foam. I did this just to seal things up a bit. This stuff is extremely waterproof, which makes it pretty appropriate for this situation. Don't believe me? Get this shit on your hands and try to wash it off with water. You can't! hahaha.
http://i45.tinypic.com/a9u542.jpg
Fly as a mug.
Step 3. Trim foam, make patch panel. I used galvanized steel cut out of a circular ductwork section I had lying around. Trim with tin snips, WEAR GLOVES. Its razor sharp!
Step 4. Attach patch panel. I used epoxy. Once epoxy is dry, seal the panel in using seam sealer... Mine was designed for sealing gutters shut. Found it in a bin in the garage hahaha.
http://i47.tinypic.com/2pp0f2c.jpg
Damn straight.
Step 5. Bondo it up! I used the "premium gold" stuff, it was advertised as having better adhesion to galvanized steel. Take your time with the bondo to get the contours right, do a lot of small coats. Be careful when sanding too, always use a sanding block so it doesn't look lumpy when you're done!
Step 6. Seal up the underside. I used silicone caulk and rubberized undercoating to really make sure no more water can get up in there. This is pretty critical if you don't want it to rust again.
Step 7. Prime that bitch.
Here's my finished product! I'm ordering paint... It'll be here next week I think. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Perfection was not the goal with this product. I just wanted to stop having water in my trunk every time it rained!
http://i45.tinypic.com/azfcja.jpg
straight up boss.
so yeah... here's how much the whole thing cost.
bondo-premium gold. $9 at walmart
sheet metal-free
sandpaper-$6
seam sealer-probably $4 or less
silicone-$5
rubberized undercoat-$7 at napa
fill n seal foam-like $3 at menards
Total-$34. Worth it.
So yeah... don't judge me too much, this is my first shot at bodywork... I'm 17 and do all my work out of my parent's garage. This project did turn out better than expected though :D
Sooooo.... I started thinking of ways to fix this. First, I read this thread http://civic-eg.com/viewtopic.php?t=24 and thought "Oh shit, I gotta weld on new EVERYTHING." But I took off the sideskirts, and saw that it wasn't rusty at all! So I just decided to fix my quarter panels in the usual cheap way... using copious amounts of bondo. BUT!!!! I took it a step further by making steel patch panels that I attached and sealed to the body. Because I took this extra step instead of just bondo'ing over air, I think that this will last a few years at least.
Step 1. Cut out all bad metal. If you don't want to have future rust, you've gotta do this. It might look bad when all the metal is missing, but it'll save you from future rust issues. Pictures in the next step.
Step 2. Add expanding foam. I did this just to seal things up a bit. This stuff is extremely waterproof, which makes it pretty appropriate for this situation. Don't believe me? Get this shit on your hands and try to wash it off with water. You can't! hahaha.
http://i45.tinypic.com/a9u542.jpg
Fly as a mug.
Step 3. Trim foam, make patch panel. I used galvanized steel cut out of a circular ductwork section I had lying around. Trim with tin snips, WEAR GLOVES. Its razor sharp!
Step 4. Attach patch panel. I used epoxy. Once epoxy is dry, seal the panel in using seam sealer... Mine was designed for sealing gutters shut. Found it in a bin in the garage hahaha.
http://i47.tinypic.com/2pp0f2c.jpg
Damn straight.
Step 5. Bondo it up! I used the "premium gold" stuff, it was advertised as having better adhesion to galvanized steel. Take your time with the bondo to get the contours right, do a lot of small coats. Be careful when sanding too, always use a sanding block so it doesn't look lumpy when you're done!
Step 6. Seal up the underside. I used silicone caulk and rubberized undercoating to really make sure no more water can get up in there. This is pretty critical if you don't want it to rust again.
Step 7. Prime that bitch.
Here's my finished product! I'm ordering paint... It'll be here next week I think. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Perfection was not the goal with this product. I just wanted to stop having water in my trunk every time it rained!
http://i45.tinypic.com/azfcja.jpg
straight up boss.
so yeah... here's how much the whole thing cost.
bondo-premium gold. $9 at walmart
sheet metal-free
sandpaper-$6
seam sealer-probably $4 or less
silicone-$5
rubberized undercoat-$7 at napa
fill n seal foam-like $3 at menards
Total-$34. Worth it.
So yeah... don't judge me too much, this is my first shot at bodywork... I'm 17 and do all my work out of my parent's garage. This project did turn out better than expected though :D