I would be hesitant on using silicone as it can sometimes do more harm than good

 

Yes it is the sponge double side tape inside. I don't like them as they suck in water and cause problems. I found the silicone sealant is soft and not very sticky when I was replacing them in the bathroom. So I want to try it.

For the rust: Yes but no, somewhere nearby tho. There is a welding line in the slot as shown in fig2 in the original post. I don't have any hole yet, my problem is Honda uses spot weld for the panel then fill the gap with a kind of white glue. I think this glue is not water resistant so the water went through the gap between panels. I can also see a little bit rust inside under the weld.

My plastic cover has a bit different colour too. I think it is because the paint faded differently between metal and plastic.

 

I repaint the whole area under the plastic cover anyway so I will try on this side. In the worst case, I will need to clean and repaint again after a certain amount of time. The other side is fine so I will just keep cleaning it without doing anything.

What sort of damage will silicone cause tho?

 

none. Not sure why someone mentioned it as being a negative. Just be sure you dont glue the cover to the chassis might be hard to remove it later.
But I do have a tip, use a polymer kit instead, I use one called technobond by womi not sire if its international, buts its great stuff very strong keeps soms flex and its overpaintable. Which can be a benefit in some appliccations. And silicone isnt paintable. Otherwise thw polymer looks and feels similar in use.

 

Just had a poor experience. Don’t want you to suffer the same fate is all

 

Can you share your experience?

 

silicone seemed to hold in more moisture compared to if I had left the area alone - it would have drained away/dried

 

Thanks for sharing. I will keep an eye on it. I thought silicone is better than sponge tape.

 

Whenever we get heavy rain, I get a puddle in the well of the boot. I thought it might be an issue with the soft top, but now with the hard top on the problem still occurs. Yesterday afternoon it was bone dry but after overnight rain (and the car remaining parked) I have had to mop out the puddle. I have taken out all the internal trim in the boot, but I can't see any obvious stream of water coming into the well. If the problem is as described in this thread, I would have expected to see the water tracking down through the boot, but there is nothing obvious. The gutter round the boot lid is clear of debris. Any suggestions as to where to look for the water coming in would be appreciated.

 

Obvious is the vent behind the bumper
2nd is those two top rectangular trims fwd of boot lid
3rd is light seals
HT rules out softop for you (and me)