mohater

Searched and found some people with similar problems but no solutions postes

I think I found the primary source for the leak into my car:

A bit of rust under one of the molding strips on the roof. It's the spot closest to the front windshield. I had trouble finding the leak as water is getting to multiple places. Today I figured out it's flowing through the seams of the frame and just noticed the rust under the molding strip.

Anyone ever dealt with this before? Not much room to work. My main goal is to stop the rust from expanding and seal it (all while keeping is affordable )

On a previous Civic (a 92 hb), I had a hole in a wheel well. I sanded the rust out and used spray on bedliner to seal it. Worked like a charm, but here, I can't sand and get to everything (water is seeping through the roof: rust is pretty deep).

Any ideas folks?

Thanks,

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

Someone posted this recently. Sadly, with rust, if you can see some then there's a lot more that you cannot see. Trying to stop it probably isn't an option. That's why they call it cancer. Take it to a shop to have them look at it.

mohater

Why do you always give such practical and reasonable responses/solutions?

I want a magic fix

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

So do we all.

CFiannotti

How close to the windshield? After having about 4 replacement windshields, I had some rust develop near the windshield. No doubt caused by scratches as the glass was being removed. I had to have a body shop take care of it.

mohater

Images:

JdmHonda4Life

In my past experience i would take it to a shop.
at the shop they'll remove the windshield and use a clean and strip wheel or a spot blaster to remove the rust as best as possible then if there patches nessesary they'll do so. i've done it on my personal cars inthe past its not that hard if you're doing it at home just make sure to get a good rust inhibiting paint before your prime stage...good luck

Mount Reverie

I had the same problem a while back in a very very similar place. I took it to a body shop to have it inspected. I was told that if it wasn't fixed soon the rust could spread towards the windshield and eventually crack the windshield.
I dropped it off at the body shop to have it fix, the day it was ready I picked up. If you didn't know about it, you would never be able to find where the repair was done. It's been a year since the repair and the rust hasn't returned and it stills looks the same since the day I picked it up.
My advice, if you aren't sure about taking on this problem, let a professional handle it.

mohater

Well, time to shop around at body shops.

Thanks guys.

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

Make sure that it's not just surface rust. It might not be as bad as we think.

mohater

10-4

Thanks,

kseriesdreams

Crest toothpaste does a great job of cleaning that sort of thing up

JasonGhostz

There are two products off of the top of my head that will help. The main issue will be to use a gel instead of a liquid so that you can better control the effects to non-rusted areas.

Naval Jelly - can be found in many local hardware stores in practical sizes and you don't get stuck with a lot of poison to store in your house/apartment.

Rust Release Supergel - Hardcore. It works similarly to the above, but it's industrial strength and sized. I haven't found anything smaller than a half-gallon for $20.

The bad thing is that your problem area is on relatively thin metal. The good thing is that your pictures suggest there are no signs of flaking, and that the rust hasn't gotten that deep. It may be the picture quality, but it doesn't look like there is much "bubbling/pitting", or in the least, that the bubbling isn't that bad. However, rusted paint means that there are likely other rusted portions of your roof that are not showing through yet.

Whether you DIY or PSE, make sure that you/they *** DO NOT USE A RUST CONVERTER ***...

[soapbox]I can't understand why people go to the trouble of using a rust converter when a rust remover can be applied similarly.[/soapbox]

Lastly, masking tape, sandpaper, a wire brush, and elbow grease always work .

Rust sux! Beat that ****! GL! Have A Great Drive!
JasonGhostz

mohater

Crazy thanks for the above.

Found a shop that will sandblast, clean up, fill and paint for $200 + the cost of windshield removal + installation.

Reasonable price for the work. I'll buy the naval jelly for the spots on the inside.

mohater

Looks like the rust was a lot worse than previous thought. The below pieces came out when the guy started sandblasting.




The seam is starting to give on all the ends of the roof (this one was the worse. The others are just now beginning to show). Ended up costing an extra $200 to fix it (had to weld a patch on given how thin the metal is).

Gonna go with what JasonGhostz suggested to clean up the other corners before they get any worse and do those myself.

Thanks again to all.

mohater

bump:

looks like all four corners of the roof have this same problem. I'm guessing the guys who installed the aftermarket sunroof stood/sat on the roof of the car while working on it, causing a small separation in the seams where the layers of the frame are pressed. Over time, rusted and began allowing water to flow through.

The one spot I got welded is fixed, but now water is trickling in the passenger side and still trickling into the trunk. I'll make this a summer project and hopefully sandblast + bondo + paint will do the job.