I just bought a 1 owner 1994 Civic Si with 45k original miles (all original paint, mint interior, etc...). Unfort I bought it unseen and of course they forgot () to tell me about these 2 spots of rust.

I won't have the car on the road for a little while, especially since our roads are covered with salt right now, so I thought I would get some idea's before I head to the body shop.

I don't know how they take care of rust.... grind it out and fill it in with _______ (bondo? lead?, etc..)?

thanks!

Drivers side rear wheelwell- very minor but I do not want it to spread...


Passenger side rear wheelwell - more serious..not horrible but needs addressed.

 

ouch- not a diy here...

yes, its a body shop fix. they will likely cut it out, weld new piece and sand/blend it. the less expensive way is to bondo it, but in that location i dont think it makes sense.

i would wonder where else you have rust. if you have access to a hoist- put it up and take some time with plenty of light looking over the underside too.

btw, naval jelly is a good rust remover if you find any to remove that hasnt damaged the metal.... unfortunately your metal is damaged.

 

Very typical rust for a 94 Civic. Next it will bubble the front fender right by the wheel well.

Those aren't that tough to take care of. Matching the paint and blending is going to be the worst part.

 

think $400 is reasonable???

 

$400 a side? Sure

 

Too bad the prior owner didn't pull that rubber trim strip off. It traps moisture b/t itself and the paint and eventually eats away at the paint, etc., which leads to the rust. I know taking it off will allow the painted edge to take on chips, but those are easy to fix realative to rust.

The only way to properly repair that is to cut it out, weld a new piece in, shape it, prime, sand, paint and clear.

I bet you have close to $1k to do it properly. That seems like a lot, but if you try to grind it out, use "naval jelly" on it to disolve it, etc. it always ends up coming back. Take this approach and it will look good for a year and then it will come back. You'll end up spending more money and time going this route. Trust me. Been there, done that. Do it right the first time and forget it.

Good luck!

 

^ that is not what i wanted to hear!!! this makes my cheap little low mileage car not so cheap......

I will report back what a couple of the decent local quote...