So i went to a body shop and they quoted me $1200 to have my body work done. that was just in labor. but i had done some thinking and decide to take on the challenge. This is my first time ever doing body work, but i am willing to take on the challenge (besides its more satisfying when you do something yourself) i was told by some people it is a terrible idea for me to take on this project because it is my first time. screw that, you have to start somewhere.

Pic 1-driver side rear wheel well
pic 2-passenger side rear quarter
pic 3-driver side front wheel well
pic 4-passenger wheel wheel well
pic 5-drivers side door

 

so there was a little more rust then i thought but i have faith. so i got started. remember im new to this so work with me a little (constructive criticism) and helpful tips are welcome. also im using my friends drive way so i dont have my own garage.

i got started yesterday and this is what i got done so far before it started to storm.

pic 1- passenger side rear quarter
pic 2 thru 5-driver side rear quater

 

should have spent the $1200. Your not fixing anything by fillling rust holes with bondo.

 

i agree. you didnt even keep the line of the wheel arch. it just slopes down now.

 

you fail sir!

 

2 things, you really arent doing anything by bondoing over rust, f*** people who give you **** if you have the ambition to do something your self go for it but try to do research so you screw up less

 

i say u use more bondo

lol

 

cut and weld cut and weld cut and weld NEW WHEELE WELL IS ONLY 60 BUCKS cut and weld

 

i would rather cut and weld but my problem is im in the military and i dont have my own place so im using my buddy's driveway. i dont have a welder or a plasma cutter.


and for the other guys that were a little rough with the comments i beleive i said constructive criticism. if i wanted to spend 1200 i would have but thats ridiculous and i wanted to try and learn. and the only way is to do and learn from mistakes.

 

i hear you man, i pretty much did the same thing on my civic, im not proud of it but im broke as hell and needed to clean it up, but its easier if you cut out the rust atleast( i used a dremmel) so you got an easier shape to work with and use some cardboard or something as a template so you can keep the wheel arches smooth, its not perfect but it looks better than it did until i can get new quarters for both sides of my car

 

Doesn't your base/post have a you-fix-it auto hobby shop? Every base I was on did. Some even had a knowledgeable mechanic running the place who could help out or at least give advice.

 

Honestly man, you are just wasting your time and any money you spend on that. What you are doing will continue to rust and bubble up again in no time. I would at least grind all that back out, cut out the rust, treat the metal with some rust mort or somthing like that, then put some aluminum tape over the hole and form your shape, Go over that with some duraglass or all metal filler. That will at least last you a few years. Good luck

 

they have a hobby shop but they dont want body work done there. its a bs but what can i do?

 

thanks for the help. the pics are a lil bad cause i didnt take them the hole time i was working but i did cut back the rust (using a dremel) and i used this stuff by power purple to protect and get rid of the little rust i had left.

 

if you dont have access to a welder use some rust converter after cutting out the stuff thats mostly rust then use fiberglass to repair the sections

 

thanks man i appreciate the constructive feed back. i used this stuff by this power purple company and it seemed to have worked good so far.

 

Poor car.

 

Using bondo to fix rust will just make it rust even more later on.

 

Hey for your first time its not bad at all, but if you didnt cut of all the rust it will start to come thru again in a few months. I should know rust is starting to come back on my car! but when I get the cash i'll buy some rear quarters of ebay. but it was a good experience to do it myself and im sure once its painted it wount be as bad! keep it up, you gain experience by doing, not by having done!! gl

 

Yeah, unfortunately you will probably end up spending more than $1300 to fix those mistakes down the road. Especially since once you paint it you're going to end up having to paint it again real soon.

 

just a note here. all looks aside.

bondo retains water like you wouldnt believe. since the honda rust starts from water sitting in that area and all you have there is add some bondo and some mesh. you have pretty much created a huge sponge in your quarter panel. all of the water that ends up there will get soaked up on the backside by your 1/2 inch of bondo. as a result the rust will spread worse, and that bondo will swell up. this bandaid will last all of about a few good rainfalls.

 

Don't worry about peoples telling you crap about your body work. Just to let you know it look very good. $1200 is very pricey to get the body work done. I don't see why spending that much because it just and old car. You will learn to correct your mistake.

 

Hey Fav, so if bondo contains a lot of water, then when I work with bondo to fill up the dents, do I have to paint, then apply bondo, then paint again? cuz it's is a bad idea to have that bondo which contains a lot of water directly sitting on bear metle right?

 

The bare metal should be coated with an epoxy primer. Then apply body filler, prime with some 2k high build primer and paint.

 

Bondo doesn't contain water, it retains it. Meaning it's like a sponge. Eventually it will shrink and cause the paint to crack, allowing water in. Once the water's in, it will stay there and cause much more damage.