There's some exposed metal on a couple body panels on my Civic, nothing structural. I'm wondering if I could cover those spots with something before it freezes to prevent rust during the winter, such as tape or something hapdash. Yeah, it's sketchy, but all it needs is to do the job and prevent the bare metal from meeting salty roads and freezing temps until I can take care of it the real way in the spring.

 

get some phosphoric acid at Home Depot, put it in a sprayer and spray all the surface rust. let it turn black then slather with rattle-can primer. I also shoot phosphoric acid in all of the door panels and other areas where water accumulates. don't breath it or get it in your eyes and keep it out of the reach of kids and animals. BTW: they put phosphoric acid in soft drinks....