Expert: William Forster - 12/1/2008

Question
William, I have a 91 Accord wagon, with the typical rear wheel wells rust spots, just above the bumper. It had been 'repaired', very badly with what looks like Bondo, caulk and steel wool as filler. As a do-it-your-selfer what do I need and how do I make these look better? I have also found a rust hole under passenger side skirt, about the size of three pennies, side by side. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Joe

Answer
Hello Joe! Joe, I'll be direct. The car is in an advanced state of decay. I would be reluctant to put any money into a 19 year old accord, they are notorious rust buckets. It needs new panels or patches welded in if it's going to last more than a year. The 3 pennies spot is rust bleeding through from the inside of the panel- not a good situation. The panel you are calling the skirt, which I can only guess what it might be, is rusted out. I don't provide tutorials on how to do body repair start to finish because that requires enough information to fill a book. I more or less give advice and pointers to guys and gals who are sort of stuck on a particular problem. There is a book called how to repair and restore bodywork available through Year One, the classic car replacement parts company. You also migh check ABE books or one of the other online bookselling services for a used copy. Bill