I just spent the weekend fixing the rust on my 93 EX. Mine was a lot worse than what is shown in the DIY thread but I think it turned out pretty well. When I bought the car in January I actually though it looked pretty decent. Then a few weeks ago I washed it using my pressure washer and ended up blasting holes in the body in a few places and had a trunk full of water! My car had 6" long holes on both quarter panels, both lower panels where the bumper mounts where hanging on by the seam sealer over what used to be a weld, both sides were missing 2" at the bottom of the front side of the rear wheel well and there was a hole next to the rear light on the passenger side. Even though it looked pretty bad it was much better than the wagon I had previously so I decided to try fixing it. The wheel arches were both all there and not rusty - and below the side skirts was actually very clean too - except for the back corner but the wheel well. Also - the wheel wells were both all there - not all rusted and gone like some others I have seen. I cannot understand why Honda didn't do a better job of protecting the back side of the rear quarters with some kind of sealant or something - but anyway. Here are some things I can say:
- I used aluminum patches and short hair fiberglass to fill in the holes. I tried to completely fill the area behind the hole with the fiberglass - and then put some of the aluminum mesh to try to reshape the outside contour. I have been told that Bondo absorbs water and should only be used to make to smooth out the panel - not to fill holes. I think fiberglass is better suited for that.
- If you have a 4 door you can get a pretty good look at the inside of the usual bad area if you go in through the trunk and remove the antenna and the ABS unit. I had to go in through the backside in a few areas to rebuild the panel. Once I caked on a ton of fiberglass I sprayed the inside of the panel with rubberized undercoating to try to minimize future trouble.
- My car is a 93 EX Arcadia Green and the duplicolor touch up paint actually matches pretty well - with the clear coat. The finish is slightly different but I think once I have buffed it out it will look pretty nice. It sure beats looking at rust holes!
- If you have to rebuild the lower part where the bumper mounts you can use the aluminum mesh and fiberglass and it actually is pretty strong. Make sure you try to stick to the original contour as closely as possible or the bumper won't line up right. (ask me how I know this!)
It is super easy to remove the rear bumper to get better access to the entire panel to check other areas for damage and repair them. The extra 5 minutes this takes is well worth the time.
I will post some pics of the process soon. Here is what it looked like when I bought it...
- I used aluminum patches and short hair fiberglass to fill in the holes. I tried to completely fill the area behind the hole with the fiberglass - and then put some of the aluminum mesh to try to reshape the outside contour. I have been told that Bondo absorbs water and should only be used to make to smooth out the panel - not to fill holes. I think fiberglass is better suited for that.
- If you have a 4 door you can get a pretty good look at the inside of the usual bad area if you go in through the trunk and remove the antenna and the ABS unit. I had to go in through the backside in a few areas to rebuild the panel. Once I caked on a ton of fiberglass I sprayed the inside of the panel with rubberized undercoating to try to minimize future trouble.
- My car is a 93 EX Arcadia Green and the duplicolor touch up paint actually matches pretty well - with the clear coat. The finish is slightly different but I think once I have buffed it out it will look pretty nice. It sure beats looking at rust holes!
- If you have to rebuild the lower part where the bumper mounts you can use the aluminum mesh and fiberglass and it actually is pretty strong. Make sure you try to stick to the original contour as closely as possible or the bumper won't line up right. (ask me how I know this!)
It is super easy to remove the rear bumper to get better access to the entire panel to check other areas for damage and repair them. The extra 5 minutes this takes is well worth the time.
I will post some pics of the process soon. Here is what it looked like when I bought it...
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