Rear quarter panel rust in wheel well - Honda Prelude Forum

G_Loc · 02-12-2002, 08:49 PM

i noticed im getting some rust on the right rear wheel well. just had the car repainted in august too, oh well

anyways, whats the proper (not just covering up the rust and have it reappear again ) way of fixing this? cutting out the affected metal and welding a new piece in its place? or replacing the WHOLE panel? (which seems kinda, uh, big, extending to the windshield)

i dont think im gonna fix it anytime soon due to lack of fundage... how much should it run?

jloewy · 02-12-2002, 08:54 PM

yeah that apparently is a real PITA for preludes...most have that little rustspot there...i heard one guy say it was because of salt buildup during the winter, and the sheetmetal there being super thin...but he could be wrong...and you're from.miami so i doubt its salt...anyways i contemplated trying to sand it off and repaint, but i think its too thin there. so i paid a guy to do the first thing you said, take out the affected area, weld a new piece in there and repaint...as for price i really can't tell you accurately because when i had that done, he always fixed my rear quarter panel where it was crushed from some IDIOT running into me in a parking lot and driving away...total for all was $675 though..looks perfect now, like when i just got it!

SiLudeH23A · 02-12-2002, 09:10 PM

the reason why preludes get rust right there is the little black molding that goes on the egde of the sheet metal in the wheel well. water gets under these and will not go away. if you still have them on i would recomend taking them off. water sits in there for weeks after it rains. i took both mine off. but having them on itsnt helping you at all. thats just what ive heard and it makes sence to me.
-tyler

Frost_White94Si · 02-12-2002, 10:30 PM

well im getting some big ass bubbles on my 94... and you can see that its already been fixed once.... anyone else have any remedies???

Mark94 · 02-13-2002, 07:46 AM

I had mine repaired on my previous Prelude and it cost me $400. They cut out the rusted area, then welded in a new piece and sanded it flat, then primered the area and repainted the quarter panel. They also blended the door so there was no noticable color difference.

The real reason why this happens is partly because of the weather stripping. Water does sit there like SiLudeH23A said, but only contributes to it. Honda quarter panels are designed using two pieces of sheet metal (one outer which is what we see from the outside and an inner piece). The water sits there due to the weather stripping and eventually works its way in between the two pieces of sheet metal. Once the water is wedged in between it has no way of evaportating and it has to work its way out, therefore it rusts through.

Mark

'92Sigrl · 02-13-2002, 10:19 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by SiLudeH23A
the reason why preludes get rust right there is the little black molding that goes on the egde of the sheet metal in the wheel well. water gets under these and will not go away. if you still have them on i would recomend taking them off. water sits in there for weeks after it rains. i took both mine off. but having them on itsnt helping you at all. thats just what ive heard and it makes sence to me.
-tyler

your right thats exactly what it is! I took them off as soon as I bought it and there were little rust spots (which I had sanded and painted) Everyone who has not taken them off yet should do it now!

phatfarm · 02-13-2002, 10:35 AM

Yes take them off, Mine had some rust. I just sanded it down with a sanding wheel from canadian tire then repainted the whole lip with 3 coats of flat black tremclad rust paint.

whitesiprelude · 02-13-2002, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by '92Sigrl

your right thats exactly what it is! I took them off as soon as I bought it and there were little rust spots (which I had sanded and painted) Everyone who has not taken them off yet should do it now!

I have the same problem but won't taking that stripping off let even more water up under the body panel and get in the trunk area ????

Peace

phatfarm · 02-13-2002, 10:43 AM

No, It just covers the lip, it has nothing 2 do with the trunk. Its the WHEEL well lip in the rear. It will allow the water 2 drain off, Also after I sprayed mine with tremclad, I sprayed the entire lip with some RustProof spray.

'92Sigrl · 02-13-2002, 11:19 AM

yeah its not the splash guards its just a little rubber lip... just look under there you'll see it.

Forbidden · 02-13-2002, 12:08 PM

I don`t think it would be a good idea to show you a pic of my quarterpanels, the rust have eaten them. Hopefully I should be getting a new paint this spring (if I have enough money) or in worst case maybe I`ll try to do some of the job myself and get a body shop to finish the job and paint it. One other thing I noticed is my spoiler (OEM) has like a division in the paint like it was made in 2 pieces painted then glued together and there`s water getting in it and also tips of the spoiler are starting to bubble I just don`t understand how that could happen...