I already told Midnight about another method. When I first got my car, my dad borrowed it, and took it down to his dealer to get the rotars resurfaced and some other stuff. He had a paint guy sand off a small bubble of paint on the rear pas. 1/4 panel, rust proof it, then paint it. My problem existed deeper into the wheel well, where the birth mark always begins. I tore off those gray plastic lip-liners on the rear wheel wheel out edge, and sure enough, there's a chunk of that inner lip that's been eaten right through by rust. I threw those away, because what they do is store salt, dirt and other crud between the metal and itself, subjecting that part of the car to prolonged periods of exposure, eventually leading to rust, which will spread towards the outer part of the fender, thus creating the birth mark that affects the prelude and other hondas so often. Of course, with nothing there to protect that thing section of painted metal, the tires would kick up stones, which would chip the paint, eventually leading to rust anyway.
So to remedy the situation, and replace those plastic liners with a better substitute, I went to a local auto store and got a can of 3M Rubberized Under-Coating, as well as a can of Rust-Free, or something like that (any Rust-proofing spray will work). Here's what I did,
but first, I only did this for that small inner lip section, not any outer parts of the car that would need to be repainted. Also, the rust proof I bought required 24 hours to dry, so if you want to do it right, find a garage or an over hang where it's dry, let it sit for a day after proofing the rusty spot.
To make things easier (only in hindsight do I realize this), you should remove the rear wheels, it's not necessary, but makes things a lot easier.
Here's what you'll need:
- Rust-proofing spray (if you have rust already)
- Fine and semi-rough sand paper (if you have rust already)
- 3M (or similar) Rubberized Undercoating spray
- 3M (or similar) mild or medium adhesion painter's tape
- newspaper
- rubber diswashing gloves (or anything that'll cover your wrists too)
- a stool (be kind to your knees)
- mild cleaning solvent, or glass cleaner.
- Rags, rags, lots of rags.
- a Car (duhh)
- a screw driver (option, to remove mudflaps)
First, I had rust on the passenger side, so I had to fix that before spraying over it, if you don't have rust, and that thin painted section of metal that folds into the wheel well, facing downwards, is clean, skip to part II.
I. RUST PROOFING
a. Take some semi-rough to not-so-rough sand paper and hand-sand off the rust parts, being careful not to remove any paint (basically any area not affected by the rust)
b. ext, clean off dirt that had been collecting for a while, plus, for the rust-proof to work, the area must be clean. I took some cleaning solvent (remember, it can't be too harsh, you are applying it to painted areas) and applied it to a rag, and first wiped clean that entire lip, including the part where rust had basically eaten through the lip. Next, I did the same thing, but this time cleaned all the muck that accumulated ABOVE that lip, basically hold out your hand, palm-up, then slighlty curl you fingers inward so they make a 'C', or so your finger tips are parallel to your palm, make sure there is space between your tips and your palm, then talk your hand and place your fingers above the painted side of the lip, so your palm is touching the lip, your fingers will be touching an inner, recessed area of the wheel well, which is flat, and probably kinda nasty because a lot of stuff kicked up from the tires rests there. Take a rag and clean it out, it'll take a few rags, and a lot of solvent, but you'll eventually run the rag from where the rear bumper meets the metal body, all the way forward and down to the side skirts, and you'll see nothing coming off onto the rag anymore. It's now clean, and that's important for when you spray the rubberized coating.
c. Now that all is clean, use painter's tape (blue, not as adhesive as duct tape, so it won't leave adhesive on the body) and mask off the outer parts of the fender, basically everything on the outer part of the car, save for that small section of painted lip that curls in. Take your time and apply the tape right, because the rust proofing stuff i bought eventually turns black when it dries, and you don't want to ruin parts of your nice paint job, right?
d.When all is masked off, follow the directions on the rust-proof and spray the section of rusted metal. A few coats will do, leaving a few minutes in between to dry. When that's all done, you can dick around for a while (24 hours or so). I sprayed only one side, because only one side was affected by rust, if you have rust on both lips, rotate by spraying side, and while it dries for a few minutes spray the other side, until about 3 coats have been sprayed on the rust. After finished, slowly remove the painter's tape, being careful not to let any overspray accumulation on the tape drip onto the car, the tape must be removed now because if it sits over night, it may bond with the rust proof.
e. (Optional) I took some of the waiting time to remove my mud flaps, clean them off and spray them with some equivilent to Motul Shine-N-Go, which supposedly makes plastics slippery so nothing adheres to it (like snow, which then turns to ice, and packs up behind the wheels). I also cleaned off the section of bumper that the flaps covered, and used some Meguiars paint cleaner to eliminate the "dirt line" that formed where the mudflap edge ended. I put a layer of wax on it to protect it for a while, and left the mud flaps to dry. Now, fast foreward a day to part II ---------->
II. RUBBERIZED COATING
Intro: The rust proofing is dry, and now you can spray the rubberized coating on the lip. This is better than the plastic liner because it'll bond with the lip, and no space will ever be there for crap to accumulate. Of course the rubberized coating is black, and slightly rough (not 100% smooth, but close, also depends on how you spray). So if you prefer a clean, painted lip on the outer wheel well, you've already wasted enough time reading this. I did this because I don't want to lose my car to rust, and the black coating I sprayed looks almost like the gray plastic liner, once again, how you prep with the painter's tape dictates how much like that lining the coating will look, the line you create with the tape is most important. All the rubberized coating needed was that the surface being applied to was clean, bare metal or primed. Painted surfaces are just as good, so no need for extra work.
a. Re-apply the painter's tape, this time use newspaper on the outer edges to protect against ANY overspray on the body, and be careful that this time, you create a nice line with the inside edge of the tape, that is where the coating will stop, and when you peel off the tape, you don't want any jagged lines and inconsistencies, you're basically trying to make it as close to the natural curve of the plastic liner as possible. I broke off several small (2-4 inch) pieces of tape and applied them, curling a TINY (I say again, TINY) part inward, because the liner didn't come all the way to the outer edge of the lip, and it looks better for you car's paint's sake for there not to be black coating all the way out to regular painted section of the 1/4 panel. Prepping is as important, if not more important than the actual spraying, so take your time.
b. Once you have masked both 1/4 panels off, FIRST take the spray (following the directions on the back) and spray rubberized coating ABOVE that lip on the very inner recessed side that you had to clean all the much from. This will ensure that side is protected as well, stopping rust from eating through on that side, and giving you a break if you can't spray water up in there EVERY day. Beware, it's messy stuff, and globs of it will drip down, so keep a nice big cloth handy, and maybe a small pale of water, and you might want to wear dish washing gloves, because this stuff dries fairly fast, and to have to run inside and wash up every time you get some on you is a PITA.
c. Now that the inner area is done, focus on the outer portion of the lip, the area you spent so much time masking. Follow the directions on the coating can, spraying in sheets, and being careful not to focus on one spot too long (the rubber comes out and builds up easily, making thick, mountainous spots of rubber if you don't move your can frequently). Like the rust proof, a few coats will do, waiting several minutes between each for the stuff to dry. Unlike the rust proof, this stuff will dry in a handful of hours. Aire on the side of caution, and leave it to sit as long as possible, if it's still soft when crud get's kicked up onto it, the rubber may move, or parts may be removed. Also like with the rust proofing, REMOVE THE TAPE IMMEDIATELY after you've finished you last coat, and pull the tape so the edge that came in contact with the most coating is pulled straight down, or up from the coated line, not away, or into (it'll pull some strands of rubber, making the line less clean-looking. When it's partly dry, you can pad down some lumpy areas with your finger tip, but be careful not to press too hard, or else some may come off.
When I finished this, I put my mud guards back on, and admired my handy work. The line I made with the tape could've been a little better, and the coating comes out a little more than I would have liked, but it covers the exposed area, and it's been about a week or 2 now, and it's holding up just fine. Sorry this walk-through was so long, I have a problem explaining myself, basically I try to hard lol. If you have any questions, lemme know.
Linear Mode
